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Halo Speaker
14 Weeks | Fall 2022 | Prototyping & Creating | Individual Project
Create a fully functional speaker out of existing components.
The Challenge
In this project, I was to use existing components of an existing speaker as constraints to design and build into my design. There was a lot of trial and error involved to get the best possible arrangements of components into my design.
Listen to it Playing!
Prototype 1 Goals
Understanding the Components
With the goal to understand how components interact together in an electronic I built a very simple initial speaker.
Understanding how the original speaker works.
Learning how to seal components for better sound quality.
Learning and experimenting on the machines in the shop
Component Analysis
I investigated each component's role and learned whether they needed to be placed near other components or isolated for the best sound quality.
Making Prototype 1
Takeaways
Battery needs space, it cannot be compressed.
Speaker heads (drivers) should be sealed to have better sound quality.
2 or more screws to prevent movement.
Always leave a tolerance (even more for laser cut pieces since it leaves an angle).
Notes on Designing the Springboard
Rough progress on how the springboard was refined.
Conceptualizing My Design
Visual models
I created three variations of the aesthetic design and constrained it so that I could start focusing on the development of the interior.
Ideating the Interior
I made temporary component housings to start arranging them into the aesthetic design, and look for things such as thicknesses that I might have forgot to consider.
The Finalists
Explaining my process on how I went from variation 5 to 6.
Semi-Final Variation
Explanation
There was no space for piece 8 and the seal. I created piece 18 to hold the Halo together, but this made the Halo purely aesthetic, which wasn't my goal.
Final Variation
Explanation
Piece 15 solves the problem, it gives the Halo a function, so it can hold the seal while also giving it the suspended feeling without the need of screws and extra pieces.
Final Variation
Take a look at the final speaker from the inside! The orthographic drawings were especially useful for the construction of the model, they served as reference and for double checking measurements.
How it Assembles
Making the Halo
Takeaways
Initially, I was going to take a piece of walnut wood and turn it just like that, but a friend suggested I look into how drums are made. He said it would save me money on wood and time. I got to work, did the math, and took on the challenge! Here is how I did it.
Next Steps & Takeaways
Have fun and enjoy the process
This project was a lot about learning how things work together. If I learned one thing, it is that things are almost always not going to go your way, so it's better to embrace that, enjoy it, and keep trying to make the best design you could have done with the amount of time and knowledge you had at that moment.
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