3D Printed Speaker Parts

Post date: Sep 28, 2017 12:52:07 AM

Student Entry: TJ P.

    As a part of Ian and Matt's speaker project they asked me to help them print out two 9-Volt battery containers to hold the batteries inside the speaker. At first (as shown below) I took the dimensions of the battery provided and extended the inside of the box about a half of a millimeter more for a snug - but not super tight - fit so that when they need to change the battery they can somewhat easily. I included an open top for the battery to fit through and a bottom in the shape of an oval so that one of their fingers can push it out. The overall rectangular prism had an infill of 50% and high quality print to make sure the box would be durable enough (4 millimeters thick) to not crack or break.

    For my second print, I took the two separate boxes and combined them together to create one functional piece. It is difficult to create an exact fit for the 9-Volt batteries because each brand makes slightly different sized batteries (some rounded, some fatter, skinnier, or taller, etc.).

    This model worked and fit perfectly to the dimensions of two Sunbeam Super Heavy Duty 9V batteries. With the holes in the bottom of the casing, it will be easy to change, however the only future complication would be if the new batteries had different dimensions. For now we are okay and with the wires soldered it functions well.

    This is the printed out version of custom air vents that allow for air flow within the speaker. By allowing a place where air can escape, this provides a reduction of vibration and shaking of the speaker overall. Ultimately, this prevents the bass of the music and speakers from destroying it, and really increasing the quality of the speaker for the user. Additional foam in the back behind the speakers helps to reduce the vibration as well.

    This is the end result with the tubes full attached and glued onto front of the speaker, aligning with designed holes already laser-cut into the wood. After fully testing it, it is verified that the tubes do their job in lowering the vibration and excess noise that accompanies the bass. Also, in the top left corner I adjusted the size of the purple covers (shown below and now a clear blue color) to stabilize the buttons and have the box be secure.

    I printed out buttons and covers for each of the screws (slightly bigger that the bottom part of the buttons so that the top of the box sits firmly on top). It was difficult for to print out these objects and all at high quality as they are small. I had to adjust both the speed of the 3D printer and the temperature originally set at default. I ended up using the first set of buttons that I printed out because it was found to be too difficult to print out the smaller radius of the buttons (4.5 mm as opposed to 6.6 mm), so I had to reprint the covers which I found to be much easier as there is only one radius for the whole piece.

    The only other machine that I hadn't worked with significantly was the laser cutter. I created a button cover that indicated play/pause, rewind, skip, increase volume, and decrease volume (from the left to right). I laser cut the screw holes and button holes out of the red acrylic and then etched off the surface to allow the white figures to shine through.