With the help of analysis software, Bose Corp. engineers are turning up the volume on new stereo technology.
By Len Vermillion, Managing Editor
Boom...boom...boom. Hear that? That's the sound of modern technology. These days, stereo equipment manufacturers are producing clearer sounds and more convenient equipment. And, these technological advancements aren't just for music. They have a wide range of uses, stretching as far as outer space – as in communication equipment for the space program.
So how are they doing this? At Bose Corp., a manufacturer of audio equipment, engineers did the research, analyzed what they found, and took advantage of several software packages to produce a range of new products for the home, car, airplanes, stadiums, houses of worship, and retail businesses.
What all these sound systems have in common are simplicity, good engineering, and elegance through styling and miniaturization, i.e. what people want, according to Thomas Froeschle, vice president of research at Bose. "We try to make the sound systems virtually invisible," he says. "The speakers can be almost entirely hidden away so that listeners can have the theater experience without the furniture."
But the process of mixing high-quality sound with miniaturized units that can "disappear" in a home's décor or fit into the cozy confines of a spaceship is a challenging undertaking. As Froeschle points out, it tends to run against the paradigm that bigger and heavier equipment has to be better and more expensive. But the reality is that it can be just as expensive, or even more so, to make a small, intense, good sounding acoustical source.
That's where research technologies and software come into play.
Research Technologies
To accomplish their goals, Froeschle and his R&D team use a suite of engineering software tools from Ansoft Corp. Froeschle says the greatest software expenditure for engineering involves design creation, documentation, and archiving. On the analysis side, tools are needed for test, vibration, heat, and other mechanical analysis applications.
"Regarding the mechanical design of loudspeakers, we conduct dynamic analysis," Froeschle says. "Often, we are seeking answers with respect to vibrating walls of enclosures."
He says there is a lot involved with analyzing loudspeaker designs, beginning with the electrical voltage applied to the "voice coil." There are also electromagnetic forces that produce mechanical motion of the cone, which in turn produces sound. Therefore, a mechanical analysis of the loudspeakers is needed to better understand mechanical motion.
"We do a great deal of work with 1-D analysis," Froeschle says. "To do that, we use Spice software. We have our own library for analyzing loudspeaker systems. Spice also allows us to perform electronic design and analysis as well as conceptual work regarding acoustic issues."
Bose engineers also rely on Ansoft's flagship products Maxwell 2D, Maxwell 3D, and Maxwell Empulse. Recently, the company implemented Ansoft's Simplorer software as well.
"Maxwell is an important tool for the prediction of loudspeaker behavior," Froeschle says. "Using Ansoft software, we evaluate magnets and coil assemblies to predict the efficiency and linearity of the electromechanical conversion. In addition, we have been extensively using Ansoft products to conduct research into new ideas for electromechanical systems."
Froeschle adds that the new ideas involve investigating linear actuators, devices that move in a single direction. He says the company is using Maxwell to design actuators that can receive as much as 60 kilowatts of electrical power and produce between 5,000 and 10,000 Newtons of thrust. Froeschle and his team are also studying multi-phase linear actuators and fast-pulse, single-pulse linear actuators for other applications.
In addition, Bose engineers use the software to predict eddy current associated with some of the company's manufacturing processes. "In one case," Froeschle says, "we evaluated an induction heating process used in manufacturing to accelerate the curing of adhesives."
Sound Benefits
Froeschle says Ansoft software helps Bose quicken its time to market. That's because the software allows the engineers to consolidate tedious steps in the analysis phase. He says there are certain analyses that are conducted completely on the computer. There are no experimental iterations, for example, of magnets and steel parts. Because of this consolidation, product development time is reduced while product quality is improved.
Froeschle also says that Ansoft software helps him investigate new ideas. "I became an Ansoft user three years ago," he recalls. "At that time, I was carrying around a notebook that contained 30 years worth of ideas that were too difficult to explore through experimental methods, and we had no software powerful enough to efficiently address the ideas. In the first year of using Ansoft, we were able to look through every concept in that notebook and determine which ones warranted further investigation."
More information on the technologies featured in this article is available by contacting Ansoft Corp., 4 Station Sq., Ste. 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or calling (412) 261-3200.
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