Kuman – A Revolutionary Casting Alloy for Vibration Damping

In the world of high-fidelity audio, industrial equipment, and musical instruments, combating unwanted vibrations is a critical challenge. GussMaker introduces Kuman – a revolutionary manganese bronze-based alloy specifically engineered for casting products with superior vibration-damping properties. This material ushers in a new era for creating acoustically and mechanically inert structures.

A Material That Converts Vibration into Heat

The core of the Kuman alloy lies in the unique ability of its crystalline structure to effectively dissipate mechanical energy. Unlike traditional alloys such as steel, aluminum, and bell bronze, which “ring” and sustain oscillations for extended periods, Kuman behaves differently.

When subjected to vibration, a twinning mechanism is activated within its microstructure – a reversible deformation at the crystal lattice level. The boundaries of these crystalline “twins” shift, instantly absorbing vibrational energy and converting it into heat. This effect is so pronounced that if a bell were cast from Kuman, it would not produce a single clear tone – only a dull, short thud. The entire impact energy would be absorbed by the material in a fraction of a second.

We have developed several modifications of the Kuman alloy, optimized for various types and sizes of castings, allowing us to have full control over its casting and damping properties.

Superiority Over Alternatives: Kuman vs. Gray Cast Iron

The closest casting material in terms of vibration-damping properties is gray cast iron. It is used for manufacturing machine tool beds, grand piano frames, and, in rare cases, audio equipment. However, Kuman surpasses it in all key parameters:

• Damping Efficiency – Kuman manganese bronze absorbs vibrations 5 times more effectively than gray cast iron.
• Aesthetics and Finishing – cast iron has a porous, unremarkable surface. In contrast, Kuman is a noble alloy that can be polished to a mirror finish and subjected to patination to achieve any desired artistic hue. This makes it possible to create products that are not only functional but also aesthetically perfect.
• Producibility – our casting technology and subsequent multi-stage heat treatment process allow for the creation of complex shapes from Kuman while preserving its unique damping structure.

Competitors

A company JERN produces compact speaker systems from gray cast iron, but this material cannot compete with the Kuman alloy in either acoustic or aesthetic characteristics. We have not found any companies that produce cast speaker systems from copper-based alloys.

Applications of Kuman Alloy

Thanks to its unique combination of vibration damping, strength, and aesthetics, Kuman is the ideal material for a wide range of products where vibration control is crucial:

• Audiosculptures – speaker enclosures are the primary and foremost application for our alloy. A solid, monolithic enclosure cast from Kuman has no resonances in the audible range and does not create standing waves, ensuring crystal-clear sound reproduction. We call these products “Audiosculptures” because they blur the line between a loudspeaker and a work of art.

• High-End Audio Components – Kuman alloy can be used to manufacture massive cast enclosures for turntables, inert stands and platforms for audio equipment, and speaker baskets (frames) that effectively damp parasitic vibrations.

• Musical Instruments – we see immense potential in manufacturing frames (plates) for grand and upright pianos from Kuman. Such a frame would absorb parasitic vibrations more effectively than gray cast iron, making the instrument’s sound cleaner and richer.

• Industry and Instrumentation – any other vibration-loaded components requiring maximum stability and an absence of resonance – from bases for precision measuring instruments to parts for industrial machinery.

Our Developments

The GussMaker team, in collaboration with professional acoustic engineers, has calculated the parameters and designed several flagship Audiosculptures. Among them are models with sealed box and quarter-wave pipe (transmission line) acoustic designs, which fully unlock the potential of the Kuman alloy.

At this stage, we have completed the research and development (R&D) phase and are seeking funding and strategic partners to bring these innovative ideas into real products. Our project and the Kuman alloy are more than just a business – they represent an opportunity to revolutionize the world of pure sound and high-precision modern engineering.