Design help

You may have a resonator design that you are considering or have already built (either by computer simulation or machining). If this resonator has (or may have) problems then you should first try to resolve these problems from the information on this site. If that information is not adequate then you can request free design assistance here. Note that design assistance will try to guide you toward a solution. However, the design assistance will not attempt to actually fix the problem (i.e., no design optimization through finite element analysis or machining will be provided); that is your responsibility.

When requesting free design assistance for a particular resonator, please specify the known and/or desired parameters. Please be as specific as possible. (Not all of the following may apply. For the initial discussion, just supply whatever information you can.)

• Vibration mode (axial, radial, flexure, etc.).
• Primary resonant frequency (the frequency at which you would like the resonator to vibrate).
• Adjacent secondary resonant frequencies. These secondary modes are undesired and may adversely affect the primary mode.
• Resonator general dimensions. A drawing would be helpful but a picture or sketch could initially suffice. In order to avoid compatability problems, pdf files are preferred over dwg, dxf, or other formats. If 3D models are available then these should be supplied as step (stp) files.
• Materials and associated properties (Young's modulus, density, Poisson's ratio, heat treatment, grain direction, etc.).
• Output amplitude (for stress related or cracking problems). The amplitude is typically measured at the center of the resonator's face.
• Amplitude uniformity.
• Gain.
• Environmental factors (temperature, corrosives).
• Specifics of problem (e.g., low amplitude uniformity, cracking location, low or high gain or amplitude, tuning problems, interference from secondary resonances, incorrect node location, wear, etc.).

Note: If you wish to provide information that may be confidential or proprietary, please discuss appropriate arrangements before providing such information.