Klarinet Archive - Posting 000404.txt from 2003/06
From: "Keith" <100012.1302@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Hitech flutes (was needle springs)
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 05:17:05 -0400
Nancy
That's a very interesting web site. They certainly have gone to town on
the high tech materials: carbon fiber body, magnetic returns, titanium
keys, miniature stainless steel ball bearings. These all make sense to
me (an emeritus professor of materials engineering and current visiting
professor in physics) as hitech items that address the real mechanical
problems of woodwind instruments, such as weight, key accuracy and
stiffness, reliability etc. I note their patents cover all woodwinds,
though only the flute is done as yet. They claim excellent acoustic
properties of course, but does anyone know flutists using Mati flutes,
and what they think of them?
Clarinets don't "need" needle springs either, other than to save a very
small amount of space at the contact point on the key. The effect of the
tapered shape of a needle is simply to alter the shape that the spring
takes when flexed. It does not alter the force in any way that cannot be
compensated by changing the overall diameter. I imaging they were simply
traditionally easily available as English sewing needles. Nowadays one
just buys the tempered wire in uniform diameter. The word "needle"
probably is just used for "small diameter wire" ... which is equally
painful on impalation!
Tempering does not change the stiffness (restoring force) of a spring.
It changes its brittleness/ductility. Thus you need to anneal (red heat
and slowly cool) a spring to shape the end, for example by hammering to
make it a tight fit in the post hole, then temper it (red heat and
quench in water or oil, followed by a mild heating) to make it resistant
to further shape changes (ie springy).
Keith Bowen
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>Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 03:25:07 -0400
From: Nancy Buckman <eefer@-----.net>
Subject: Needle springs
>On the subject of needle springs, I was taught to spring all flutes
with
softer metal than needle springs are made of. As I thought about my
statement of flutes not having needle springs (like the ones on
clarinets
and saxes), I wanted to know exactly why that was so. In looking on
the
net, I came across this site, www.matitflutes.com/06reach.html, which
uses
magnets for key movement instead of springs. While I haven't answered
my
own question of why needle springs aren't commonly used, I thought
someone
might be interested in reading about this flute.
Nancy
Nancy Buckman
Principal Clarinet / Orchestra AACC
eefer@-----.net
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