Virtual ALTI-EXPO 2 was held on July 15, 2020.
Abstracts and links to view the content (where available) may be found by scrolling down the page.
Just added! FINECone 2020/Geometry Modeler and FINEBox 2020 9AM EDT to 10AM
By Peter Larsen- LOUDSOFT
FINEBox 2020
Fingertip tuning of ABR’s and Rectangular Ports
Tuning of Passive Radiators (ABR) used to be tedious by manually adding mass to the ABR, and recalculating parameters and the response.
In the new FINEBox you can play with the response tuning with the mouse wheel, just like you are used to with the Bass Reflex tuning (Fb). You can also quickly find the most flat /extended bass reflex response by pressing the Max Flat button.
Or if your (round) Bass Reflex Port is too wide to fit in the front baffle? Now you just move to an equal oval or rectangular port, and adjust the height and width with the mouse wheel.
New Geometry Modeler in FINECone 2020
The new Geometry Modeler in FINECone 2020 makes life much easier for engineers.
Before it was difficult to create a DXF (CAD) file, which was accurate enough for FEA. Now the Geometry Modeler makes it incredibly simple to create the geometry, by being Adaptive. Enter a dimension on the right side, and the Geometry is instantly updated on the left side, see picture here.
VIRTUAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT OF AUDIO SYSTEMS 10:30AM EDT to 11:15AM
By Alfred J. Svobodnik, Tommaso Nizzoli, Ralph Haddad, Thomas Gmeiner- Mvoid
Virtual product development has become an important tool in the creation of new acoustic products. Simulation technologies have been developed to reduce the iterations and number of prototypes, which turned out especially attractive in automotive. The priorities in professional audio are in principle the same: Reduce time and cost and still get a better product.
By introducing virtual methods, the development process changes:
• The product definition at the beginning can be largely expanded to trying out different variants of virtual prototypes. The listening session is at the beginning, not at the end.
• The term “best product” becomes more specific by meaning the “optimised product for a set of functions”. From the requirements, numerical optimisation methods can find the “sweet spot” between all the trade-offs to be made.
In the tutorial, we examine the product development processes in professional audio, consumer and automotive. An overview of virtual methods and tools is presented. Opportunities as well as restrictions are discussed.
Examples are presented in live demos, exploring all the levels where simulation can support or change the development process.
Multidomain Modeling of Speaker Nonlinearities with Simulink and Simscape 11:30AM EDT to 11:55AM
By Stephen Thompson, PhD- Penn State University
Multidomain modeling of acoustic transducers can be implemented in many ways, from older analog circuit tools such as SPICE to modern multidomain FEA tools. Each level of model complexity has its place. An intermediate level of complexity is available with tools such as those that use Modelica or Simscape. These are not full partial differential solvers. They use a combination of ordinary differential equations and algebraic equations to calculate the performance in each physical domain (e.g. mechanical, electrical, magnetic, etc.) and provide the necessary physical coupling between the domains. They provide reasonable fidelity with less computational intensity, so they can be used as components in a larger modeling system that includes programmable controls to reduce distortion or energy losses.
This seminar will demonstrate the use of Simscape to model a moving coil speaker including multiple nonlinearities. It will demonstrate the ability to model a control system around the speaker for improved far field performance.
Tips for creating effective ANC systems in wireless earphones and hearables Noon EDT – 12:45PM
By Tom Miller- Knowles Corp.
ANC is becoming an increasingly popular option in wireless earphones but there isn’t a lot of detailed information available to assist with implementation. In this presentation Tom will share what he learned in his own development work, covering many of the factors needed to provide good noise reduction in small headsets. He will show how to keep an ANC system stable across a variety of wearers, dispelling some myths about latency and stability. Also discussed will be how to make good use of balanced armature devices in ANC systems, including increasingly popular hybrid dynamic-BA combinations, without disrupting stability.
What Is New In Materials for the Speaker Industry 1PM EDT – 1:30PM
By Mike Klasco- Menlo Scientific
Change Is Here To Stay – China’s Perfect Storm and Where Do We Go from Here ? 2PM EDT – 2:30PM
This webinar will be presented as a stand alone presentation. Announcement coming soon!
By Mike Klasco, Menlo Scientific
Over the last few decades we have all grown complacent with sourcing our products, or at least most of our components, from China. Long established relationships, trustworthy suppliers that know what we want and need, are losing their position as viable vendors. The rising cost of goods from China, the tariff war, the Hong Kong struggle with Beijing, and now the corona Virus have reached the tipping point and staggered what was once the obvious country of choice for audio products. The tariff war was sold as re-shoring – bringing our production back home – yet it seems that we have just further burdened ourselves with adding the tariff to ourselves and sent most of us looking elsewhere in Asia for new suppliers.
Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, not to mention Korea, Myanmar and Cambodia – are all getting finding themselves bathed in the first waves of brands exploring their options. We will review the landscape of long established as well as new speaker factories.
What about bringing the audio business back home? We have the stick of tariffs that we have beat ourselves with, how about the carrot of tax incentives, grants and matching funds for R&D –perhaps these perks contingent on the new technology built in the U.S. ideally in state-of-the art factories similarly incentivized.
Finally, a discussion of how should ALTI help its members navigate through the storm?
Warkwyn Associates Facility Tour 3PM EDT to 3:30PM
By Kent Peterson- Warkwyn Associates
In the Spring of 2019 Warkwyn’s parent company; MISCO built a completely new speaker factory and moved a short distance from Minneapolis, over the Mississippi River, and to Saint Paul Minnesota. This afforded Warkwyn to build completely new lab, demo, listening and sales spaces to conduct business. Please join Warkwyn for a quick spin around the new spaces in a virtual tour where we can show where and how we do business, our capabilities, and where and how we use both Microflown and Klippel instrumentation.
Loudspeaker Modeling in COMSOL Multiphysics 4PM EDT – 5:30PM
By Kirill Shaposhnikov- COMSOL
We are unable to provide this presentation. Look for news regarding COMSOL workshops.
This workshop will give an overview of the capabilities of COMSOL Multyphisics for loudspeaker simulation. In the first part, we will discuss the physics phenomena that should be taken into account while performing a loudspeaker analysis as well as different levels of model complexity.
In the second part, the attendees will have a chance to use the trial software to create a simplified loudspeaker model right in the classroom by following the leader. You are able to learn the basic work flow in creating a multiphysics model inside COMSOL that includes defining global parameters, importing CAD geometries, setting up proper physics and multiphysics interfaces, meshing, solving, and postprocessing.
There are 2 steps to prepare for the Hands-On portion of the COMSOL workshop:
1- Download the file at:
http://cds.comsol.com/mg/95f06cbd79a9ac.zip
Estimated size: 2.0 MB
This link expires July 16, 2020. Please make sure to download before that date.
Included files:
loudspeaker_driver_full. mph, and loudspeaker_ driver_geometry.mph
Note that you will not be able to open these files. Just hold for the workshop
2- Trial License:
Download your 2-week trial of COMSOL Multiphysics® with this link and passcode:
Link: http://www.comsol.com/product-download
Passcode: 9FFF3FFFF7F533-PYUS-200729-2096304-2552048C71CE
Expiration Date: July 29 , 2020
Note: This passcode will work for Windows and Mac. Linux installations require a license file which can be emailed upon request.
Linking Cost, Performance, End-User Satisfaction by Physical and Perceptual Assessment 6PM EDT – 7:30PM
NOTE: This is a prerecorded extended version of the 30 minute session presented at Virtual ALTI-EXPO in June
By Wolfgang Klippel- Klippel GmbH
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KEs7DiH3Ah9NRwYJCbw2TY_RsanjoSXX/view?usp=sharing
This tutorial discusses the maximization of the end-user value, which determines the success in the market. The end-user value can be described more practically by the performance/cost ratio which considers physical, perceptual and other non-technical features and the cost structure of the product.
The discussion starts with the target performance as seen by the end-user, which is the basis for the development. The tutorial focuses on the assessment of the sound quality and discusses listening tests, auralization techniques and perceptual modeling to define the audibility threshold and the impact on the end-user value to generate acceptable tolerances. Those are required to generate meaningful specifications and PASS/FAIL limits. The manufacturing process should provide the defined performance at minimum production cost and with practical risk management (prevent field rejects). The discussion ends with new opportunities provided by digital signal processing and electrical control for in-situ monitoring and improving the performance, endurance and reliability of the product in the final application.
A note from Dinaburg Technology:
Dear ALTI Expo Attendees,
The Dinaburg Technology presentation scheduled for July 15 is being delayed so that we can continue to obtain more data about this revolutionary patent-pending design. This design utilizes a completely different type of physics to produce sound when compared to the Rice-Kellogg method of designing an electro-dynamic transducer. Preliminary results obtained recently from the world-renowned test facility at Warkwyn in Minneapolis confirm the main improvements of this new approach regarding a wider frequency range, lower distortion and greater efficiency versus conventional transducers. These tests were conducted on a 12” hand-built transducer. Dinaburg Technology plans to continue further tests on engineered prototypes that represent the main types of transducers in use today as well as create detailed computer models to better explain these new principles of physics.
Dinaburg Technology will look forward to presenting our groundbreaking technology in an ALTI webinar in the near future. Further details and announcements to follow.