After I had purchased my new iPod, I soon realized that it was incapable of creating its own sound. Thus, I decided to create a speaker that was small and light, but still had good audio quality. In the process of researching what type of speaker I should use, I came across a concept called bone conduction. A bone conduction transducer is a small speaker that does not have a moving cone. Instead, a small metal rod is wrapped around the voice coil. When current is pulsed through the coil, the magnetic field causes a piece of metal to expand and contract. This produces a sound that can be passed into objects. If pressed against a flat surface or cavity it turns it into a speaker. After reading this I decided that I must make one for myself.

This cheap bone conduction transducer allows you to turn any surface into a speaker. With its sleek 3D printed case, it not only looks nice, but it sounds good too. Once you have created these speakers, you no longer have to bring heavy impractical speakers to share your favorite songs with your friends.

Made by: BruceE3 and r2pen2

Step 1: Tools and Materials+3D Print

All of the materials can be gathered from Adafruit

Materials:

Amplifier board - we suggest the MAX98306 or TS2012

-Bone Conductor Transducer

-150mAh Lithium Ion Polymer Battery

-Stereo Headphone Jack

-Slide Switch

-JST Battery Ext. Cable

-Wires

Tools:

-Wire stripper

-Soldering iron

-3D printer

-Pliers

-File/ Sandpaper

Most of these tools you should already have. If you do not have a 3D printer then you can take the STL file and send it to a company that 3D prints things for people. I recommend either white or clear for the filament, and printed under the highest quality settings. Supports are not necessary.

bonebox-top.stl

bonebox-case.stl

bonebox-bottom.stl

Step 2: Solder

Solder the bone conduction transducer to one of the two amplifier channels. Next, solder a small wire to R- and L- connections on the TPA2016 amplifier board. After, connect the AUX input jack to the R-, R+ and L+ connections on the board. Lastly, connect the power source to the VDD and GND connections on the top of the board. Once this is all soldered together, test the transducer on your computer.

Step 3: Assemble!

After you completed the circuit, all you need to do is shove the circuit into the 3D printed box. The transducer should fit snugly in the bottom of the 3D print, and the AUX cable will snap into the cap on top. The rest will should fit snugly inside the body of the 3D print.