Sorbo Pad Hardness-40 or 70?

[JLiang]

Hi ASC,

I'm currently in the market for a Sorbo Pad for my gearbox, and I was a little hesitant to buy anything at first.

I'm probably going to buy from Airsoft Store Canada (Great Parts Store right there), and I'm looking at their 'Sorbo Buddies' kit.

I have a few reservations though; Before I spend my money, I was hoping someone could help me a bit in buying the right part.

ASC sells their sorbos in two hardnesses: 40 Duro, and 70 Duro. What are the advantages of having a harder Sorbo Pad? I would assume that both have the same impact-absorbing capabilities, due to them being made from the same material, but then why are there separate hardnesses?

If these two hardnesses DO have differences in their impact absorbencies, which should I buy if I am pairing it with an M90 Spring? And, if I decide not to get the M90, which would be suitable for an M110? In case manufacturers need to be known, the M90SP is made by Lonex, and the M110 is stock.

Is there a real advantage into buying the Neoprene Pad along with the Sorbo? Is it that delicate that it needs a protective veil? And if it has this veil, will said cover impede in the abilities of the Sorbo at all?

If anyone could help give a bit of insight, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[wuff]

This link might help... http://www.sorbopads.com/styled/

[JLiang]

Awesome. Thanks a bunch!

[wb_1971]

as a newb can someone tell me what this is for i went to link and read faq but a little unsure...but in seeing what the pad looked like could you not go to a local hardware store and purchase a rubber washer or something of the sorts that'll do the same thing

[JLiang]

Sorbothane is an impact-absorbent elastomer.

It can absorb up to 94% of all kinetic energy transferred to it, and therefore makes great impact-absorbent padding.

I'm not going to bore you with the science, but basically, sorbo is the best thing currently out there helping you keep your gun working.

The reason why everyone's buying these is because they are laser-cut with ultimate precision, making it far more accurate than you could do at home. This, then, translates into an equal surface for the energy to diffuse onto, and better overall performance.

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by wb_1971

as a newb can someone tell me what this is for i went to link and read faq but a little unsure...but in seeing what the pad looked like could you not go to a local hardware store and purchase a rubber washer or something of the sorts that'll do the same thing

Great question.
Regular rubber doesn't have the same impact damping properties as sorbothane (really just a special formula of urethane), so you're not going get the as much of the protective properties out of rubber.

More info here:
http://www.airsoftstore.ca/index.php...dex&cPath=35_3

The 40D pad is typically used to support up to 400fps.
We used to sell the 40D sorbo pad separate from the neoprene protective pad but we found that because the 40D pad ALONE was softer it didn't hold up as well at the limits (approaching 400fps and/or using crappy piston heads), so we just decided to package them together (Sorbo BUDDY - get it?)

Now you can just get a sorbo buddy 40D for your M90 or M110 spring and it should be good to go. Just make sure you use superglue to stick it all together. Used to be that the only option available was the ARS sorbo pack but that's literally twice the price of the sorbo buddy for the exact same thing less the gluing together. I mean, we could just glue it together but some people don't want the neo pad on it, so the options always there.

I run 70Ds exclusively in all my guns - some with neo pad and some without, just makes my life easier. You'll find the 40D will give a more dull sound signature compared to the 70D - it's less of a slap. It's almost imperceptible but it's there.

Hope that helps.

[JLiang]

Awesome.

Thanks for the info.

One last question, though; sorry.


If I want to correct my AoE with the Sorbo, you sell them in 3/16" thicknesses, correct? Will the sorbo have a chance of collapsing under the spring tension so that it mucks up the AoE corrections?

[Stealth]

Originally Posted by JLiang

Awesome.

Thanks for the info.

One last question, though; sorry.


If I want to correct my AoE with the Sorbo, you sell them in 3/16" thicknesses, correct? Will the sorbo have a chance of collapsing under the spring tension so that it mucks up the AoE corrections?

Yes and no. Without a high-speed camera, there's no way to conclusively tell. But I'd imagine that it would be entirely dependent on the speed of your gears relative to the rebound rate of the sorbo pad.
When spacing for AoE, I would build in for a margin of error (use the neopad) or just use a 70D. It collapses less under load and has a faster rebound rate (well maybe not the latter, too lazy to look up a spec sheet atm)

[JLiang]

Great info. Thanks so much!

So to summarize, using an M90 spring with a 40D would be great, and the minimal loss of angle for the AoE would not affect it compressing too bad unless firing fully automatic. Am I correct in assuming that?

[Stealth]

Yes.

[MaciekA]

I would be very careful in characterizing the appropriate pairings in durometer-to-fps relationships, because it is inherently flawed in the context of high-RoF or fast trigger response AEG builds.

It is possible to build an AEG with an M160 or M190 spring and to yield (on purpose) velocities well below 400fps. This is important because when trying to cure PE, people are often resorting to these kinds of methods, and curing PE goes hand-in-hand with other things you need to fix when you're building a high-RoF setup, like fixing AoE. Hence the warning.

The commonly-shared guideline should be revised to express spring strength vs. durometer. If I were to build a testing rig for this, I'd be doing two tests:

1) measuring "net piston head offset" vs. spring strength vs. durometer at rest.
2) measuring rebound distance and time during high-RoF fire for various spring strength vs. durometer combinations.

All that said...

For most actual game-legal setups that are not pushing far past 400fps/30rps, there isn't much to worry about either way when choosing between 40d and 70d. I have run 40d on M130 setups and prefer it for the dampened acoustics.

If you can't tell the difference in acoustics, 70d is always a safe bet.

[JLiang]

Beautiful. Thanks so much for all the info!