First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

[xenzmann]

I need a set of speakers to attach to my PC. I could go to Best Buy and get a pair for $15, but no, I'm compelled to make my own. The cabinet size I was looking to create is just within the capabilities of the printer. The shape is a truncated cube 110 mm across.

At this point, I've got a shape that will print in one pass. This is actually a challenge because while you can do sloping sides, you can't print a ceiling without support. To get around this I have a conical shape coming from the sides to just under the driver opening. This not only holds up the top (front actually), but is also gives a thicker material for screws to hold the driver.

Flush mount is sized for the Dayton RS-100-8. The enclosure, sealed in this design is 1.1L (0.039 ft^3) and should be about right for the RS-100. The walls probably aren't thick enough yet (2.5 mm except on baffle where it is up to about 10 mm).

Maybe the ND91 would be a good choice for this project. Similar size and price range. Flush mounting is a little harder, but certainly within the capabilities of Sketchup.

[xenzmann]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

After adding the RS-100's (Parts Express 295-352), the speakers look like this:

I'm currently using the small TDA7498 based amplifier (Parts Express 320-303) to drive them from the audio out jack on the back of the computer. In the image below, you can see on the left the Solidoodle in the beginning stages of printing an updated enclosure, bottom left is the amp board, center are the first two speakers printed. Under the desk is a "Basscube 8S" sub that I got second hand after the amp chip got fried.

Sound seems fine, but it is clear from higher volume testing that I need to add some internal bracing to the structure and slightly thicker walls.

[robertcottiers]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

What was the approximate cost of the material(enclosure only)...They look great BTW ;)

Bob C.

[xenzmann]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

What was the approximate cost of the material(enclosure only)

The tool used for printing reports that ~43 Meters of filament are used. A 2 Kg roll of 1.75 mm PLA filament has around 400 Meters of filament. So, figure 0.11 * cost of the roll. The price of a 2 Kg roll of filament ranges from $18 to over $30 depending on the source. This puts the cost of each box from $1.94 to over $3. Not going to be competing with mass produced injection molded parts any time soon, but I can do one-off shapes with a day or so of design and 5-10 hours of time to do each print.

I'd say that for a really mature enclosure of this size (around 5" on a side) with internal bracing, ports (if desired), etc. a $3 cost per enclosure is a good guess given current (early 2015) prices. Larger enclosures can certainly be designed where you bolt or glue parts together, in which case the $'s would go up.

[bret191]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

Can you change filament color mid stream?

[Sydney]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

...The walls probably aren't thick enough yet ...

Nifty.
I've seen some speakers made on a 3d printer and the walls had triangular inner bracing between 2 thin walls - in the same fashion as corrugated cardboard or honeycombing. Can you do that?

[tomzarbo]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

That's pretty cool. I like the overall look a lot.
Makes me wonder where this 3D printing thing is going to go in the future.

TomZ

[Mike b]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

That's pretty cool. I like the overall look a lot.
Makes me wonder where this 3D printing thing is going to go in the future.

TomZ

I think it is going way beyond this in the near future from what i've read

[xenzmann]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

Can you change filament color mid stream?

While it is possible to pause a print job in the middle and manually feed in new filament, I would be hesitant. One issue that arises is that there is a bit of a puddle of the material inside the heated head, so when changing filaments you need to push through a meter or so of new filament to get all the old color out.

There are multi-head printers that can do 2 or more colors in a single print, but they are beyond my means.

[xenzmann]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

Nifty.
I've seen some speakers made on a 3d printer and the walls had triangular inner bracing between 2 thin walls - in the same fashion as corrugated cardboard or honeycombing. Can you do that?

The slicing software provides quite a bit of control over what you do with the solid interiors in your design. Thin exterior walls (~1 mm) with a honeycomb fill of ~20% is the default. One way to improve rigidity is to have multiple parallel walls so you get alternating layers of solid and honeycomb.

Totally solid is easy to configure, but in most printed parts is a waste of material. It will be interesting to experiment with different options for enclosure walls - it is controllable in software so I'm sure that as more people start to use this technology we will get a better feel for what filament materials are best and what internal structures work well for audio applications.

[emilime75]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

Makes me wonder where this 3D printing thing is going to go in the future.

TomZ

To infinity, and BEYOND!!!

[Sydney]

Re: First Pass at 3D Printed Computer Speakers

The slicing software provides quite a bit of control over what you do with the solid interiors in your design. Thin exterior walls (~1 mm) with a honeycomb fill of ~20% is the default. One way to improve rigidity is to have multiple parallel walls so you get alternating layers of solid and honeycomb.

Totally solid is easy to configure, but in most printed parts is a waste of material. It will be interesting to experiment with different options for enclosure walls - it is controllable in software so I'm sure that as more people start to use this technology we will get a better feel for what filament materials are best and what internal structures work well for audio applications.

I've been watching developments in 3d printing - huge potential impact.
I've noted ( via Google Image Search ) the amazing projects. Some of the reviews of these have critical, but I feel they miss the point of these demonstrations of potential.
I made spherical speakers a few years back; more or less as an experiment on alternate fabrication - 3D printing would be much faster and much more professional.
I believe that a honeycomb structure would be a viable method.