Tunable vibration dampers and methods of manufacture and tuning

A method of damping an object, comprising:

• a. providing a tunable damper assembly including:
• i. a frame that provides structural rigidity between a base plate and a cover plate,
• ii. a moveable damper mass disposed in the frame between the base plate and cover plate,
• iii. a flexible mass engaging member configured to elastically support the movable damper mass,
• iv. a mass engaging device disposed between the flexible mass engaging member and moveable damper mass, and
• v. a load mechanism operatively coupled to a load plate and an engaging member support such that the load mechanism, load plate and engaging member support are configured to apply a biasing force to the flexible mass engaging member and adjust the mechanical compliance of the mass engaging member, the engaging member support comprising a sloped surface which allows for a change in a contact area between the sloped surface and a highly damped element as a result of a change in the biasing force with the highly damped element being disposed on the flexible mass engaging member between the engaging member support and the flexible mass engaging member;
• b. determining a resonance frequency of the object;
• c. adjusting the load mechanism to match a resonance frequency range of the tunable damper assembly and the resonance frequency of the object so as to change the effective flexibility of the flexible mass engaging member by changing the contact area between the sloped surface and the highly damped element;
• and
• d. securing the tunable damper assembly to the object.