THE FIRST EVER CERTIFIED TECHNOLOGY FOR VIBRATION REDUCTION IN PADEL RACKETS
SHOCK BLOCK SYSTEM
Manufacturers are constantly striving to enhance the performance of their rackets, and comfort is one of the most important aspects.
Racket comfort requires three key aspects to be considered:
1. Manageability
2. Vibration
3. The overall area of the “sweet spot”
In this blog, we are more interested in points two and three, as they are closely related. Manufacturers and players often speak of vibration and the sweet spot. Scientifically and technically speaking, we would talk about the concepts of the ENERGY TRANSMITTED TO THE PLAYER’S HAND by the impact to the ball, and how this varies depending on where the point of impact is located:
VIBRATION: the energy transmitted to the hand.
SWEET ZONE AREA: the variation of energy depending on the point of impact.
To increase the sweet spot, a racket is designed in such a way that all its components work in harmony to absorb the energy generated by hitting the ball before it is transmitted to the player’s hand.
What racket components need to be worked on to improve comfort? As we always say, the performance of a padel racket involves the intervention of many different factors and variables, which include the following:
- The composition of the impact face material
- The rigidity of the racket structure
- The distribution of the perforations
- The geometry, heart design, etc.
- The anti-vibration elements or accessories
In this article, we will consider the latter of these, the use of an anti-vibration system developed and patented by Kuikma, called the SHOCK BLOCK SYSTEM, that appears in the manufacturer’s 2023 collection. The system consists of an elastomer component inserted into the handle.
The objective of the test was to characterise the vibration reduction that the system provides.
For this purpose, two test sequences were designed, following the same procedure.
First, the test was performed with the SBS insert integrated into the racket, and then it was repeated without the system. The results from both trials were then processed and compared using seven different prototypes with different material configurations in the sandwich.
The first was performed using the robotic station at the Testea Padel Laboratory at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). This test provided an impact line along the longitudinal axis of the racket using sensors fitted into the racket’s grip zone, to better understand the response or energy transmitted to the hand by thestroke. This provided a CHARACTERISTIC CURVE, (what we call at Testea, the racket’s DNA.) The curve is specific and intrinsic to each racket, and allows us to parameterize among other things, the vibration and Sweet Spot Amplitude.
The result obtained from prototype 01 shows the characteristic curve obtained with the anti-vibration system integrated into the racket and without it:
It can be observed that the curve at the sweet spot (point of minimum energy transmission) remains the same, but as other off-center points are hit, the curve with the SBS remains more horizontal, which means less transmission ofenergy to the grip (less vibration) and a more predictable performance (greater amplitude of the sweet spot), which translates into greater comfort.
The second test was performed using the laboratory’s serving machine. In this configuration, a movement is generated in the racket that impacts aball suspended from a pendulum, while the response transmitted to the grip is recorded. The difference here is that the conditions are dynamic, (the racket is in motion.)
The results show that in every case, the SHOCK BLOCK SYSTEM reduced the amount of energy recorded by the sensors in both test methodologies, in values ranging from ten to thirty-eight percent,depending on the configuration and on the test boundary conditions.
Therefore, it was possible to verify that the anti-vibration system achieved the desired effect of reducing vibration and increasing racket comfort, certifying the effectiveness of the development and its benefits for the player, providing an enormously valuable argument to communicate to the player.
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