Great Stuff

[avatar307]

Does anyone have any experience using a product called "Great Stuff" (made by Dow) to fill or line the interior of enclosures?

It is basically a resin foam in a pressurized canister available at any home improvement place. People use it to seal around pipes or to fill cracks. You simply spray it out, and it expands 3+ times and dries as a hard, dense styrofoam type material. (1" of the material has an insulating value of R5.) At that point, you can easily cut, shave, or shape it.

Below is a link the contains more information. http://www.dow.com/greatstuff/

-C

[Timn8ter]

I've used DAPtex instulating foam sealant on a couple of designs.
http://www.alegriaaudio.com/aural_imaging_isa.htm
http://www.alegriaaudio.com/css_elf_1.htm

[Stephen D]

I've not used it but see it all the time at the local horware store displayed with a can stuck in some that is set up so hard & tight you can't pull the can out. Thought once about trying to cast some TracTrix horns out of it... LOL.

[Da5id4Vz]

Great stuff has an amazing adhesive quality to it. I once spilled some residue in a steal sink and it took me years to clean it out. It can also exert immense pressure once activated. There are more than a few stories of people damaging walls, doors and windows after spring too much into a small space.

I think its evil.
Its likely perfect for DIY audio projects.

I’ve also used a water based version that cleans up real easy but isn’t as dense.

[Brett]

How good is this product acoustically for damping resonances in cavities? I have some folded horns under construction that have a number of moderate sized chambers/voids left in them. The bottom one I will fill with sand, but I didn't want to do that with the ones near the top of the enclosure, as it will be top heavy then.
Also, in the cleanup guide, it mentions sanding to remove any excess/overflow. How well does it work when cured?

[sreten]

Originally posted by Brett
How good is this product acoustically for damping resonances in cavities? I have some folded horns under construction that have a number of moderate sized chambers/voids left in them. The bottom one I will fill with sand, but I didn't want to do that with the ones near the top of the enclosure, as it will be top heavy then.
Also, in the cleanup guide, it mentions sanding to remove any excess/overflow. How well does it work when cured?

Would be pretty good I'd say.
When it dries airflow is not possible through it so sounds perfect
for the job. It will reinforce the structure of the cabinets.

You can easily work it with a stanley knife when dry.
Seem to remember it it sands ok too.

sreten.

[sreten]

Originally posted by avatar307
Does anyone have any experience using a product called "Great Stuff" (made by Dow) to fill or line the interior of enclosures?
-C

I don't think you could fill enclosures with it because air flow is
not possible through it. You could use it for a lightweight
"sandwich" construction to fill the gap between layers of ply.

It dries with a smooth surface so you can't use it instead of
normal foam to line an enclosure. You could use it to fit a
sub-box into an enclosure to reinforce it.

sreten.

[Brett]

Thanks sreten.

[avatar307]

Another note on Great Stuff that is rather interesting. From what I understand, it is water activated. That is why it says not to use water in an attempt to clean it while still sticky, it just makes it dry faster. Thus they came out with a water clean up version, but it lacks the density.

[avatar307]

What about if I only use Great Stuff to fill in the corners in an attempt to create a concaved surface inside the box? Then the smooth surface would result in an almost SonoTube like configuarion...

If I was REALLY, REALLY dedicated, I might even be able to use it to create a inner surface that was a complete sphere. Now THAT is a really cool idea.

Anyone here ever attempted such a thing? Eliminating all parallel surfaces by mounting the driver in an enclosure that is virtually a sphere? As far as I know it has never been attempted... perhaps that should be my next psycotic undertaking.

The imagination soars with all sorts of ways to waste money experimenting. It would definately be cool to look at though. I think I might look into it, just to post the pictures of my progress here. My oh my what a mess...

-MC