hi guys, just finished some renderings of my current project. The design will be made during the summer here at uni, and these pictures are an initiaal concept- the styling has already changed slightly to neaten up some areas and make the two parts "gel" more as a whole, but ive not yet finished the CAD models for the new variant.
The speaker comprises two parts, similar to a watt/puppy, albeit aimed at a much lower price point.
Thought you might like to see the pics, any comments welcome
The speaker comprises two parts, similar to a watt/puppy, albeit aimed at a much lower price point.
Thought you might like to see the pics, any comments welcome
Attachments
thanks
the top mid/tweet unit is an all polymer construction, with a double walled shell forming the airspace for the 15cm driver to work in. between the two walls, a particle damping system is used to effectively damp vibrations from the drivers. Similar to using sandboxes under turntables to damp vibrations, but not using sand
The bass enclosures would be made from a combination of a rigid ply ply frame covered with flexiply, with an outer shell vacuum formed from polycarbonate.
Thats in theory, in reality the prototypes will be made from a combination of rapid prototyping, fiberglassing and good old woodwork. Should be a fun summer- build myself a cool pair of speakers and get myself a degree in the process
Just waiting for about £120 of crossover components to arrive from germany so i can test some crossovers and hear how the drivers are going to sound together.
the top mid/tweet unit is an all polymer construction, with a double walled shell forming the airspace for the 15cm driver to work in. between the two walls, a particle damping system is used to effectively damp vibrations from the drivers. Similar to using sandboxes under turntables to damp vibrations, but not using sand
The bass enclosures would be made from a combination of a rigid ply ply frame covered with flexiply, with an outer shell vacuum formed from polycarbonate.
Thats in theory, in reality the prototypes will be made from a combination of rapid prototyping, fiberglassing and good old woodwork. Should be a fun summer- build myself a cool pair of speakers and get myself a degree in the process
Just waiting for about £120 of crossover components to arrive from germany so i can test some crossovers and hear how the drivers are going to sound together.
maxro said:
cheers for the comments guys
yes your right- the feet were binding posts, which wouldve been the way the two enclosures joined electrically- however, due to me finding out that KEF have a patent on doing that and me needing to reduce the parts costings, this idea was dropped and on the second rendering simple rubber feet have been used, with the bass enclosure wrapping around to the binding posts on the back- so no external wiring is needed to join the two units- simply slide the midrange enclosure on and away you go- no chance of incorrect wiring damaging the unit.
The renders were produced using PTC ProEngineer - a proper parametric CAD package rather than a "fake" 3D package like 3D Studio Max- which means i can use these models to produce CNC machined parts and analyse mechanical properties of components.
The full size version of the pictures here are 12 mega pixel (3500x3500 pixels) and take about 4.5 hours to render on my Athlon 3200 with 1Gb RAM. Gives me lots of time to listen to music hehe
muhy3 said:
Cheers
That would be one way of doing it- but in my eyes thats an inelegant, time consuming and wasteful approach, its also been done many times before and i would get a rubbish mark for my project! I'm using this project to try out some new ideas that I havent really seen before- if it works (and my research indicates it could be quite good), then thats a bonus- if it sounds rubbish then theyll look cool for my degree exhibition and i can use the drivers in a more conventional enclosure after i finish uni
heheParts of the lower enclosure will be made from this method- namely the baffle and the top part of the bass enclosure that supports the upper enclosure, but its incredible how much filling a cavity up with a particulate material deadens a panel. Use of moulded forms allows much, much more freedom of form than using laminated sheets, and is much easier to finish to a high degree.
When Ive detailed up the insides of the lower enclosure ill post some pics so u guys can get a better idea of how it will go together.
matto
You mention the baffle being made from wood, and considering the shape of the enclosures this seems quite a good approach indeed. However I would restrain from using anything more than lining inside the enclosures to absorb sound as this will rob your speaker of its dynamics. You should obviously try both approaches and experiment with stuffing, but you will find that it is tried and true.
Which is also the reason why people make speakers from wood, and many more make from slices. However the less joints in any design, the less weak spots -- so thats a bonus. However I don't know how much your plastic shell will flex, even cement flexes under the extreme pressures created by drivers, and the matrix bracing method that B&W uses has proven to be much stronger than anything else. It also provides for very good dampening.
Which is also the reason why people make speakers from wood, and many more make from slices. However the less joints in any design, the less weak spots -- so thats a bonus. However I don't know how much your plastic shell will flex, even cement flexes under the extreme pressures created by drivers, and the matrix bracing method that B&W uses has proven to be much stronger than anything else. It also provides for very good dampening.
How do you mean only use dampening material inside the boxes? Do you mean instead of the filled panels?
The walls will have cavities which will be filled up with a relatively lightweight particle material like LDPE beads or Perlite (expanded rock like pumice) granules to absorb vibration energy within the panels of the enclosure. The internal volume of the enclosure will be like any other speaker.
You mention matrix bracing- indeed, the bass cabinet will utilise this method of bracing, constructed so it is integral to the laminated baffles to reduce the number of joins. The bracing will be skinned with flexiply to define the internal volume, and vertical battens affixed to the outside of the ply shell. The plastic shell will be glued to these battens, with the hollow spaces created filled with particulate material. The prototypes will be a 35 liter sealed unit based around a scanspeak 8555.
the upper enclosure is competely moulded from plastic parts- mainly because i wanted to see what would happen, and due to the much smaller stresses created by the smaller diaphragm of the midrange driver. Although the top unit is ported to extend bass response when used alone, the port would be sealed for use with the additional bass unit. Bracing will be moulded integrally to the inner shell to increase rigidity.
The walls will have cavities which will be filled up with a relatively lightweight particle material like LDPE beads or Perlite (expanded rock like pumice) granules to absorb vibration energy within the panels of the enclosure. The internal volume of the enclosure will be like any other speaker.
You mention matrix bracing- indeed, the bass cabinet will utilise this method of bracing, constructed so it is integral to the laminated baffles to reduce the number of joins. The bracing will be skinned with flexiply to define the internal volume, and vertical battens affixed to the outside of the ply shell. The plastic shell will be glued to these battens, with the hollow spaces created filled with particulate material. The prototypes will be a 35 liter sealed unit based around a scanspeak 8555.
the upper enclosure is competely moulded from plastic parts- mainly because i wanted to see what would happen, and due to the much smaller stresses created by the smaller diaphragm of the midrange driver. Although the top unit is ported to extend bass response when used alone, the port would be sealed for use with the additional bass unit. Bracing will be moulded integrally to the inner shell to increase rigidity.
Attachments
lufbramatt said:
Cheers
That would be one way of doing it- but in my eyes thats an inelegant, time consuming and wasteful approach, its also been done many times before and i would get a rubbish mark for my project! I'm using this project to try out some new ideas that I havent really seen before- if it works (and my research indicates it could be quite good), then thats a bonus- if it sounds rubbish then theyll look cool for my degree exhibition and i can use the drivers in a more conventional enclosure after i finish uni
Parts of the lower enclosure will be made from this method- namely the baffle and the top part of the bass enclosure that supports the upper enclosure, but its incredible how much filling a cavity up with a particulate material deadens a panel. Use of moulded forms allows much, much more freedom of form than using laminated sheets, and is much easier to finish to a high degree.
When Ive detailed up the insides of the lower enclosure ill post some pics so u guys can get a better idea of how it will go together.
matto
agreed..doing multiple slabs of wood would not only be a PIA but a waste of time..My advice..make the baffle one piece and build a skeleton out of mdf for your desired shape and wrap with fleece or lyrcra..fiberglass....duraglass...rage..and be done with it..the only thing that I see that might cause you some problems is making the contours in back...
trusound, sounds the most logical to me. Fiberglassing with many layers over a skeleton seems the most logical, but nothing is going to be more solid than layers of wood. Maybe if the fiberglass was reinforced from within it would work better. You could make it solid wood and then fiberglass directly over it, and still paint it to achieve the quality look you want.
Nice looking project nonetheless!!... cant wait to see it done. do you have a web site for it??
Nice looking project nonetheless!!... cant wait to see it done. do you have a web site for it??
Ah, ok. That would be for time alignment.
http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Time_alignment.html
How would one actually measure the necessary depth difference? What factors does it depend on?
http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/Time_alignment.html
How would one actually measure the necessary depth difference? What factors does it depend on?
lufbramatt, that is some spectacular CAD work!
I was quite proud of my Orion rendering but you've completey put that to shame.
Take loads of pics when you get round to fabricating. I'd be very interested in seeing your implementation stages.
I was quite proud of my Orion rendering but you've completey put that to shame.
Take loads of pics when you get round to fabricating. I'd be very interested in seeing your implementation stages.
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