2008 Winter Symposium: Tutorial Session Review

All paper titles will link to a PDF file or downloadable presentation of the paper. Note that these are available to ALMA members only. If you have forgotton your username and password to access the members only area of the ALMA site, please email management@almainternational.org to request that your password be emailed to you. To learn more about ALMA membership see the 'membership information' link on the left hand side of the page.

An interesting selection of tutorial sessions and technical papers on a variety of manufacturing topics was presented. Click on the paper title for a downloadable PDF version of the presentation.

Testing loudspeakers in a production environment - the P630 test system
Ib Rasmussen, K&K International

The tutorial session discussed test of loudspeakers in a production environment using the P630 test system. It introduced the different parameters that can be measured with the equipment including Rub & Buzz. It covered a description of different types of Rub & Buzz and how they are generated, why it causes problems in a production environment and the difference between THD and Rub & Buzz. It demonstrated how to set up a Rub & Buzz test using a P630 and discussed typical problems of making these measurements in a production environment.

SpeaD.FEA Loudspeaker Design Software
Patrick Turnmire, STEP Technologies

SpeaD and Reverse SpeaD software is well known to the loudspeaker industry as an effective design tool greatly reducing the product design cycle. The introduction of SpeaD 3.0 and SpeaD.FEA will dramatically increase its effectiveness and bring completely new tools to the loudspeaker developer. The presentation introduced the SpeaD 3.0 and SpeaD.FEA, showed how the improved modeling capabilities can reduce product cost and increase design productivity, and showed examples of advanced AC FEA coupled to nonlinear mechanical models that accurately predict harmonic and multi-tone distortion.

Navigating the patent minefield – what every inventor and small business owner should know before filing a patent application
Andrew McKinney
Every inventor wants to patent their ideas, and for a small company or individual, a DIY approach is often necessary. Patent attorney Andy McKinney explained what individual inventors and small businesses need to know about getting patents and enforcing patent rights. He described the steps involved with filing a patent, warned of the fees and challenges that are unavoidable and explained how to minimize these, and adviseed of the questions you need to ask yourself (and your patent attorney) before pursuing a patent.

National Enquirer Tour - Doing Speaker Business in Asia

Mike Klasco, Menlo Scientific
In this tutorial, seasoned traveler Mike Klasco shared his observations on Asian loudspeaker manufacturing, taking attendees on a tour of the various manufacturing centers in Asia. He discussed the advantages, disadvantages, manufacturing and engineering skills and weaknesses of each region, as well as providing useful information such as cost, accessibility, the standard of hotels, and how to get there.

Speaker System variations using FINELab™ QC
Peter Larsen
The tutorial discussed how FINELab™ QC can be used for minimizing speaker system variations. It covered how to find the “Golden Average” driver, intelligent limits in QC, measurement of TS parameters at high level with curve fitting, and export of measured QC driver responses for FINE X-over.

A CD containing all papers and tutorials can be purchased from ALMA by Members Only for $25. Email management@almainternational.org for details.

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