In SonoAnalyzer version 2, Pro users had the choice to use their allocated cloud analysis server or a locally-hosted analysis package. Now with the release of Solo and Team editions, version 3 users can do the same.
SonoAnalyzer v3 Solo
The 3.006 update is mostly to support the new Solo and Team local-hosted editions - download a disk image for a virtual machine, install it on your own hardware and access it locally. The release announcement for these is coming soon.
There are also three new examples files available, demonstrating the tuning process described in some detail in the recent articles Tuning 101 and Tuning STEP files.
In the previous article we saw how to adjust the dimensions of SonoAnalyzer models using setup variables. But if we are analyzing geometry in a STEP file, all the dimensions are "baked in" during the CAD design phase. SonoAnalyzer has no way to adjust them... or does it? Here are three possible methods:
1. Trim
Some small changes in this update:
Bug fix and changes to section planes menu
This release fixes a bug in the logic for showing / hiding the section planes options in the Display menu, improves clarity on exactly what happens when saving files and adds an extra option "Save all sections".
Tuning a sonotrode is the process of bringing its resonant frequency towards a target frequency. Physically that's usually done by an iterative process:
Based on some great user feedback I've made these tweaks to the UI:
I've added two new Langevin transducers to the version 3 examples section. The first is a simple cleaning transducer based on the earlier version 2 model. The second is a basic welding transducer created from scratch in version 3.
The welding transducer serves to demonstrate two common issues, but first, some background on element types.
Following on from our earlier preview, free access to SonoAnalyzer Version 3 is now available at:
https://v3free.powerultrasonics.com/
No login is required to access the page, view the built-in documentation or load examples but to run new analyses you will need to sign in.
From the early betas and version 1 in 2011-2012 to version 2 in 2020, the story of SonoAnalyzer over fifteen years has been one of gradual slow growth — new element types, new sonotrode geometries, better solver integration. It's been a native desktop app throughout that time, with built-in OpenGL graphics and a connection to remote CalculiX servers for the FEA work. Now AI has changed the pace of software development and version 3 brings the first major architectural change: the whole workbench moves to the browser.
Here's what's coming.
A common ultrasonics application involves driving several probe sonotrodes from a single large block. This arrangement allows for a significant step-up ratio and wide separation between the probe tips. This article goes step-by-step through the process of creating a model of such a system in SonoAnalyzer and optimizing its performance.