3DPrinting
3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.
The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or [email protected]
There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]
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Awesome, thanks for the reply. I've been curious about printing speakers myself, but it seems like a daunting task.
No problem! If you're already designing speakers, printing vs making them out of something else will come down to your CAD skills/speed vs how long it would take you to make a finished enclosure out of a different material like wood.
I wouldn't call anything about the process hard, but it can be a bit time consuming if you're not a CAD ninja already. Either way, doing this will probably improve your CAD skills.
If you've never designed a speaker before, you could purchase a kit for one of the many DIY speakers out there and print the enclosure. My first DIY bluetooth speaker was an Overnight Sensation MTM stuffed in a very undersized, and ported, wood enclosure with a built in bluetooth board, basic BMS, and amplifier. Parts-Express, Madisound, and a number of players make getting a complete DIY kit easy.
I never designed a speaker. I have been looking for designs a few weeks ago, and there's too much stuff out there and too little to go on if it's actually worth it/better than HiFi speakers I already have. Maybe some day, if I find a good bookshelf speaker project that seems achievable.
Most of the kits on both sites are going to be pretty solid. You'll be able to find reviews for most of them, as well as a bunch of forums like audio karma and what not.
As for cost/benefit of DIY speakers, DIY speakers that are well designed will punch well above their BOM cost (eg a $300 to build diy speaker will generally outperform a $300 retail speaker). But if you have a pair of decent hifi speakers already it might not be worth the dive. Most commercial speakers tune for a "house sound" so switching brands can be a bit off-putting at first. Let's just say that burn in is a two way road and part of that road is your ear acclimating to the sound profit of the speaker.