SpeaDTutorials
← Owner’s Manual

Adding Cone Sizes

Use the Data Manager to put more sizes in SpeaD’s Nominal Size list — first a size that is already in the database, then a custom size of your own.

Before You Start

The Nominal Size list in the Soft Parts panel on Initial Design is built from the Cone Sizes table in the Data Manager. Every row with Show ticked is offered, from every category, smallest Sd first, with Custom Sd at the end. Choosing a size writes that row’s Sd into the Sd box. The same list feeds the Cone Size box on the Diaphragm page.

As supplied, only the round inch sizes from 4″ to 18″ are shown. The database also holds 2″ to 3.5″, 21″ and 23″, metric round sizes, ovals, rectangles and tweeter sizes, all hidden until you tick them.

You will change the database, not a design. A design keeps its own Sd whatever you do in the Data Manager afterwards. The example in this tutorial is a 2.25″ driver.
1 · Open the Cone Sizes Table
  1. In SpeaD, choose Tools → Data Manager. Opened this way it edits the database SpeaD is using — the file name is in the Data Manager’s status bar — and SpeaD reloads its lists when you close it.
  2. In the Categories tree on the left, under Soft Parts, click Cone Sizes.
  3. Use the Category drop-down to choose a group of sizes. The groups are Round Imperial (Standard), Round Imperial (Small), Round Metric, Oval Imperial, Oval Metric, Rectangle and Tweeter/Dome.
Data Manager, Cone Sizes, Round Imperial (Standard)
Round Imperial (Standard): 4″ to 18″ have Show ticked and appear in SpeaD; 21″ and 23″ do not. Sd is in m². Click the image to open it full size.
When you change category, the status bar may report that the category is “now the default” or “no longer the default”. The Default box does not change which sizes SpeaD offers — only Show does.
2 · Show a Size That Is Already There
  1. Choose the Round Imperial (Small) category. It holds 2″, 2.5″, 3″ and 3.5″, none of them shown.
  2. Tick Show on the size you want — here 3″. The status bar reads Unsaved changes - click Save & Sort when done.
  3. Click Save & Sort. The status bar confirms the save.
Show ticked on the 3-inch size
Show ticked on 3″, not yet saved. Click the image to open it full size.

When you close the Data Manager, 3″ joins the Nominal Size list. Untick Show and save again to hide it; the row stays in the database.

3 · Add a Custom Size

A size that is not in the database needs two things: a name and its Sd. Sd is the effective piston area — from a data sheet, or worked out as π × (D/2)² from the effective diameter D, usually measured to the middle of the surround roll. For the 2.25″ example, D = 43.7 mm gives 0.0015 m², which is 15 cm².

  1. Choose the category the size belongs in — here Round Imperial (Small) — and click New. A row named NEW appears at the bottom with Sd 0 and Show already ticked.
  2. Double-click each cell, type the value and press Enter: Size 2.25", Sd (m²) 0.0015, Unit Standard, and a note if you want one. Unit is a label for your own reference — Standard for inch sizes, Metric for millimetre sizes; SpeaD does not calculate with it.
  3. Click Save & Sort. The rows are re-sorted by Sd and renumbered, so 2.25″ moves between 2″ and 2.5″.
  4. Close the Data Manager. SpeaD reloads its lists.
New row added
After New: a row named NEW with Sd 0, Show ticked. Click the image to open it full size.
New row filled in
The row filled in: 2.25″, 0.0015 m², Standard, with a note. Click the image to open it full size.
Rows saved and sorted
After Save & Sort: 2.25″ sorted into place by Sd. Click the image to open it full size.
New writes the row to the database straight away. If you leave it as NEW with Sd 0, SpeaD will offer a size called NEW — fill it in or delete it. Give a custom size a name no other row uses; SpeaD looks sizes up by name.
4 · Use It in SpeaD
  1. On Initial Design, open Nominal Size in the Soft Parts panel. 2.25″ is now first in the list, because it has the smallest Sd of the sizes shown.
  2. Choose it. The Sd box changes to 15 cm² and the design recalculates.
Soft Parts panel with Nominal Size 2.25 inch
Soft Parts with the new size chosen: Nominal Size 2.25″, Sd 15 cm². Click the image to open it full size.

Sd shows in cm² or m² as set in Preferences → Units; the Data Manager always uses m². If you type an Sd that matches no shown size, Nominal Size changes to Custom Sd.

Initial Design with the 2.25-inch size
The whole Initial Design page with the 2.25″ size in use. Click the image to open it full size.
5 · Hide or Remove a Size
  1. To hide a size, untick Show and click Save & Sort. The row stays in the database and can be shown again later.
  2. To remove a custom size for good, click its row, click Delete and answer Yes. This cannot be undone.
Delete confirmation
Delete asks first. Click the image to open it full size.
A design that used a size you later hide or delete keeps its Sd; its Nominal Size box shows Custom Sd instead of the name. Leave the pencil button next to Category alone unless you mean to rename the whole category — with a category selected, it renames it for every size in it.