The tool was initially installed on a steel and concrete plinth with a steel support structure which incorporated commercial elastomer vibration isolation pads. This pedestal did not achieve the tool’s specified vibration criteria and pattern quality was poor.

In an attempt to reduce vibration, the elastomer pads were effectively shorted out with metal shims leading to a more rigid, non-resonant structure but this resulted in little improvement. The vibration criteria were not met with either version of the pedestal and pattern quality remained poor.

The plinth support structure was removed and retrofitted with a STACIS^® Active Piezoelectric Vibration Cancellation System. The STACIS^® mounts were placed directly beneath the existing plinth. Supporting the tool on STACIS^® resulted in a dramatic reduction of overall seismic vibration levels and achievement of the manufacturer’s floor vibration specification. More importantly, STACIS^® provided a dramatic improvement in pattern quality.