PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.3.4 (codename "Leonhard") also available as a 30-day, limited use demo.
This is a minor update to fix an issue with material properties in saved model files. Until now, .sa files did not contain full material property data for user-defined materials, allowing the possiblity of incorrect materials being used when a saved model is loaded, particularly if it was saved on one computer and loaded on another. The new version eliminates the problem in any models saved from now on, and warns the user to check material properties on loading a model file saved from an earlier version.
PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.3.3 (codename "Leonhard") also available as a 30-day, limited use demo.
This version should fix any remaining crash issues and also improves workflow for custom materials (add / remove / edit properties of custom materials on the Materials tab).
PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.3.2 (codename "Leonhard") also available as a 30-day, limited use demo. This is primarily a bugfix release with minimal extra features over the previous public release (1.3.0).
A few users have reported unexpected program termination (crashes) in versions 1.2 and 1.3, particularly when using the new models introduced in these versions. Tracking down the reasons for this has been difficult as in most cases I've been unable to reproduce the effect myself, so many thanks to those users who have helped. As far as I can tell the reasons for this were:
Switching to a previous version of the program after upgrading. During upgrades the program makes changes to the format of the user-data store, and while I always aim to make upgrades possible, downgrades are generally not. I have always advised uninstalling previous versions before installing any new update but I hadn't previously realized how important it was to do so. I think the problem was compounded by the fact that the version 1.2 installer was missing desktop shortcuts, allowing the possiblity of leaving a desktop icon pointing to the (still installed) previous version. From 1.3.2 onwards, SonoAnalyzer will check for this condition and produce a helpful warning if it detects that the user-data has been upgraded to a later version, but of course that will not help with existing installations.
Exception-handling behaviour difference between different hardware platforms. This is particularly difficult to diagnose but appears to be the case based on the automated crash report sent by one user. The affected code has been tightened up and while I can't be 100% certain it's fixed (since I'm still unable to reproduce the problem on my own hardware) I am confident that this will resolve the issues.
PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.3.0 (codename "Leonhard") also available as a 30-day, limited use demo. Changes from the previous release (1.2.0) include: New models: New user-defined cylindrical sonotrode using the same profile-generator as the recently-release rectangular block sonotrode, this offers the curved geometry using lines and blend radii over 12 sections of specified length and diameter. A series of other, simpler shapes are also provided, based on this model, for convenience: A new stepped sonotrode, more flexible than previous models in that the input and output lengths are controlled independently and the blend radius is user-defined. A similar conical sonotrode has a conical section in the middle instead of a step. Finally, for now, an exponential sonotrode model demonstrates the efficiency of this profile for high-gain horns. Enhancement: The program now supports a local cache for model data, results and images. So the first time you perform a complex analysis it might take a minute or two to complete but if you ever return to the same geometry and materials, the original results will appear almost instantly, loaded from your local hard drive. This also applies to downloaded images (animations and stress / displacement plots) and makes the process of switching between models much faster. Finally, results for the standard default models (before any dimensions are changed) have been included with the distribution in order to pre-populate the cache, so the standard model results will appear instantly without clicking the "Recalculate" button.
PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.2.0 (codename "Luca") also available as a 30-day, limited use demo.
Changes from the previous release (1.1.1) include: New models: Rectangular sonotrodes (block horns) are now supported with some limitations, notably that these sonotrodes are solid, without slots, and the width is limited to a maximum 100mm (which in practice is probably larger than you'd want to use for a non-slotted horn anyway). Models supporting wider, slotted horns are planned for SonoAnalyzer Pro, due for beta release later this year. This release offers two options for block horn analysis: a simple stepped profile and a user-defined profile containing up to 12 sections of specified length and thickness.
I've just released a new version of SonoAnalyzer. This update adds support for computers behind corporate firewalls where internet connections to the web go via a proxy server. A new dialog box allows for proxy server settings to be entered by the user (server name, port and optionally, for systems using authentication, a username and password).
PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.1.0, also available as a 30-day, limited use demo.
Changes from the previous release (1.0.0) include: New feature: Colour contour plots of stress and displacement can now be downloaded from the analysis server and displayed via the File -> FEA menu. Like the animated .gif images available in previous versions, these static images will appear as new tabs in the graphic (right-hand) section of the application. To ensure the numerical values shown in these plots are representative of the real-life situation, a control for input amplitude has been added to the Analysis tab - default value 10 microns peak-to-peak. New coloured areas have also been added to the 3D graphic display to illustrate which surfaces are counted as input and output - green for input, orange for output.
I've just installed an update to the software controlling the online analysis for SonoAnalyzer. The update will support the generation of stress and displacement contour plots similar to the existing animation download, as shown here (click the image for a full-size version). However the requirement to store stress information means that all new results files are incompatible with the old ones, so all cached analyses had to be replaced.
I have completed the re-analysis of all cached jobs and the new update is backward-compatible with SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.0, so there should be no perceptible effects on users. However, it is a significant change so if you do notice any strange behaviour, particularly involving cached jobs, please let me know.
Stress and displacement contour plots for all online FEA analyses will be available in the next release of SonoAnalyzer OE, due shortly.
PowerUltrasonics is pleased to announce the release of SonoAnalyzer OE version 1.0.0, along with a new demo version that is identical except for the license - the demo license expires after 30 days and permits only a limited number of analysis runs.
Changes from the previous version (RC 0.9.9) include:
PowerUltrasonics SonoAnalyzer software makes the power of finite-element analysis accessible to all! With no specialist expertise required, this desktop software takes the user through a simple process to define the sonotrode and displays pre-calculated and on-demand finite-element analysis results.
The purchase price includes one year of annual maintenance - online services, version updates and support for a period of one year. At the end of this time additional annual maintenance periods can be purchased, or credits for the online analysis services can be purchased as required.
PowerUltrasonics SonoAnalyzer software makes the power of finite-element analysis accessible to all! With no specialist expertise required, this desktop software takes the user through a simple process to define the sonotrode and displays pre-calculated and on-demand finite-element analysis results.