Analysis of Solenoids as a Means of Exploring the Prototyping Process

Abstract

This project is an offshoot of the Hammond Organ MDP team’s work to bring an electronic organ into the 21st Century. This led to a discussion of the use of solenoids as a mechanical playback system. In turn, this paper aims to document the application of the prototyping process onto the selection of solenoids and an exploration of the differences between first principle models and their empirical counterparts. This was accomplished by using software to develop a first principles model and comparing it to an empirical dataset of solenoids. In addition, the model was run through an optimization tool to identify general predictive trends for future use.