The creators of the LumiPocket 3D Printer have just posted an Instructable on using their DLP 3D printer to create a working mini speaker. The LumiPocket is an affordable (and small) resin 3D printer that is currently raising funds on Indiegogo.
You’ve seen 3D printed speakers before, but they are usually just a 3D printed case for purchased pre-made parts. But this Instructables post, by madaeon, walks you through building a simple speaker using a magnet, some copper wire, and a very thin 3D printed speaker membrane made from resin. The speaker is printed at 0.1mm thickness, and is so thin that the black resin that it is printed with looks almost transparent.
That is probably far too thin for a typical FDM 3D printer, so you may want to stick to resin if you try this project. Madaeon, of course, used his own LumiPocket to 3D print the parts, but he says that any good resin-based 3D printer should be up to the job. Once you have your parts 3D printed he suggests that you wash the parts in alcohol and further post-process it by setting it next to a UV lamp.
After your speaker parts are printed you simply need to wrap the copper wire around the speaker and connect it to the magnet. Just screw it all together, attach the copper wire to the male end of a headphone jack cable and, according to madaeon, it should work without any type of amplifier. Once you assemble your speaker you can actually use a drop or two of the same resin to hold everything together by setting it under the UV light or in bright sunlight.
Take a look at the LumiPocket Indiegogo video:
This is a pretty clever way of getting publicity for your ongoing crowdfunding campaign, I must say that I’m impressed. These types of case studies are generally done by companies who already have their technology out on the market. But whether it inspires someone to buy an existing 3D printer or back a crowdfunding campaign, the goal is the same, getting the word out about what the product can do.
You can check out the Indiegogo campaign for the LumiPocket 3D printer here, where it’s doing okay with 16 days to go.
