One of the most recognizable research and development laboratories in the world spent the past couple of years working with a local suppressor maker to make a better can.

Sandia National Laboratories, established in 1949 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has its roots in the Manhattan Project and is one of just three government-owned laboratories by the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. A multi-mission laboratory with some of the fastest computers and best equipment known to man, Sandia has, for the past 25 years, shared its capabilities with the community through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance program. 

And one of those partners in the NMSBA program has been Sandia Park-based Ridgeline Suppressors, which is working to build a suppressor they believe "can better attenuate frequencies that cause hearing damage," as detailed in a press release from the Lab.  

Ridgeline, founded by Matias Roybal in 2018, approached Sandia two years ago to help figure out the science around suppressor tech. Roybal specifically took feedback he had from police response team members who had fired thousands of rounds unsuppressed and were feeling it. 

"While they are wearing premium hearing protection, you still get concussive impulse that causes hearing damage or even traumatic brain injuries," said Roybal. "What we are trying to do with this product is take a problem in the industry and eliminate the occupational hazards."

The Sandia team included acoustics and vibration engineer Michael Denison, Sandia engineer Chad Heitman, and lab technologist Stephen Aulbach. Using the same modeling techniques the Army Research Lab developed to make suppressors more hearing safe, the team used high-fidelity acoustic tests using multiple microphones as well as high-speed video and image equipment to capture the gas velocities and flow patterns left by rounds zipping through a Ridgeline baffle stack inside of a clear outer case to help model gas flow rates inside the suppressor while firing.

"Building a safer environment for those impacted by firearms is important to this team," Roybal said. "The reason that we are using this high-fidelity data is because we care about the end user. We’re not chasing money. We have a good product, but a good engineer knows as soon as a product goes out the door you can make it better."

Banner image: Ridgeline Manufacturing via Sandia National Laboratories