August 2004

Dear subscriber;

The message above seems particularly true since the previous newsletter went out in June 2001! Since then I've been so tied up with trivia (earning a living, building a house, meeting my soul mate, getting married, in fact generally getting a life!) that the important job of maintaining this web site has been sadly neglected...

Seriously though, despite my neglect the site has continued to grow in popularity and many new people have signed up for the mailing list so I've decided to make an effort to improve it. Thank you for your patience and support!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUPPLIERS DATABASE UPDATED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first visible change is to the ultrasonics suppliers database, which is now implemented using a much more robust MySQL database for improved searching and easier updating. A new "simple search" looks for a keyword anywhere in the supplier information, and initial search results are now shown as a list of business names and descriptions with links to the full details.

So the description text is an important factor influencing visitors in their choice of which suppliers to investigate further. But since this field had no direct counterpart in the old database I've just used business name and country for the initial descriptions. I'd strongly recommend to all suppliers that you update your entry now to provide a more interesting and informative description. The new description field is limited to 255 characters, but there's also another free-form field you can use for extra information, keywords or notes. (I'm not sure yet what this will be limited to - probably 1000 to 2000 characters).

To add a new ultrasonics supplier to the database you must first register for a login name and password. Then follow the prompts.

Existing ultrasonics suppliers wishing to update their details should start by finding their entry - start by searching the database for your company name, then click on the name to take you to the details page, and from there click the link "Edit this record" and follow the prompts.

You will also need to register again, but if you can use the same e-mail address as before then you will be allowed to change your record as you see fit. If not you'll be prompted to create a new record based on the existing one, and I'll delete the old record once I'm satisfied that you really represent the company concerned.

Entry in the ultrasonics suppliers database remains free of charge to relevant businesses and organisations.

~~~~~ HAVE YOUR SAY ON OTHER CHANGES TO THE SITE ~~~~~~~

Here are some of the other developments I have in mind for the powerultrasonics site:

• New sexier style and graphics
• Updated books page with more listings and links to amazon.com as well as Barnes and Noble
• Advertising links based on suppliers database
• Complete version of my thesis available for download (probably in pdf form)
• Technical article links in a searchable database
• More links to technical articles
• More basic information on existing applications and processes
• More Flash animations of industrial ultrasonic processes (like the metal welding and plastic welding movies)
• Detailed FAQ page based on ultrasonics questions received over the past 4 years
• Online calculator for sound velocity, resonant frequency, sonotrode length etc.
• Public forum for technical questions and responses from industry representatives
• Improved and updated guest book
• Other improvements may well come to mind, perhaps from your suggestions. I'll try to keep the voting form up to date with the latest list.

At current rate of progress it will take months or years before all of these are in place so please tell me what you think is most important: online voting form.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERULTRASONICS CONTACT DETAILS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a small change to the address (the Post Office boxes have been renumbered):
Chris Cheers
PO Box 7117, Mannering Park, NSW 2259, Australia.
Phone / fax +61 (0)2 4359 3801
Mobile +61 (0)408 676255

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's all for this time. Feedback is always welcome...

Chris Cheers (chris@powerultrasonics.com)