Hello everyone,
Let's begin this adventure: first step of the build is the choice of tonewood;
The system I developed to assess the qualities of tone wood materials is called the TPC suite (Tonewood parameters characterization),
This system is pretty unique, as it allows to measure audio impulses of
tone wood tap test and to calculate the main mechanical parameters of the sample, comprising the damping:
- Density
- Young’s modulus
- Radiation coefficient
- Q (quality) factor
The parameters are calculated with the method of the free beam, with the sample usually excited on its first longitudinal bending mode, along the grains of the wood.
I use a dedicated jig to support the sample and excite the resonance mode without interfering on its oscillations; the quality of the excitation stimulus and the support jig have a strong influence on the consistency and precision of the results.
The excitation is generated then by a marble, that is left rolling over the edge of the sample, exciting its longitudinal bending mode in resonance.
The microphone captures the impulse, and the software allows to calculate the main parameters:
and export the parameters to an excel file, for simplicity of storage and analysis:
As you can imagine, this whole measurement process is the results of quite a long study of the most important and significant properties of tone wood, and their impact on the acoustic instrument. It is part of the conferences, webinars and trainings I hold for associations and professionals, and that is available under request (the software, also...).
Just give me a couple days, and I'll be back on the matter...
Cheers,
Giuliano