Speaker Project

With this project, I was given the instructions to create a speaker using a separate object. I ultimately decided to use an athletic shoe as my base for the speaker. The first task was taking apart the speaker, and getting an inventory of all of the different parts. After seeing all of the parts of the speaker, I started the design for how I wanted to create the speaker inside the shoe. I used a white board, and drew what I wanted the speaker to look like; I then made a model of the three dimensional part I needed to create. What started as a simple three dimensional wedge turned into a more complex design. After the three dimensional part was created, I had a larger problem. When taking apart the initial speaker, some of the wires were cut and removed from their solders. Over the course of a few days, I had to solder many of the wires that had been wrecked. I then had conformation that the foundation of the speaker worked.

One of the last few details of the speaker that I had to add was the hole on the bottom of the shoe and on the three dimensional print; this was done so that the wires would flow through. The last detail I had to add was the sock that would cover the speaker. That was more of a stylistic choice rather than a necessity. Overall, the process of creating the speaker was difficult, but taught me new skills that will help me in the future.

Step 1: Items Needed for Speaker

These are the items I believe are necessary for the completion of the speaker shoe:

The three dimensional print- here I have linked the STL for the three dimensional part I designed. The scale of this specific design in for a women's size 9 sneaker. You may scale it to whatever you wish.

The shoe- You may use any shoe you would like, but the one I used was a woman's size 9 sneaker by Sketchers.

The speaker- I used a generic computer speaker, and all of the other parts were included.

A soldering machine

A hot glue gun

A sock (which is a stylistic choice)

A drill press

Also, I used the software SketchUp to design the part, and to print it I used a Maker Bot.

Step 2: Step 1: Inventory

The first step to this project was disassembling the original speaker and collecting the pieces.

Step 3: Step 2: Designing the Piece

The second part of the process was designing how the speaker was going to fit in my object of choice. I chose to put the speaker into a shoe, so I had to create a three dimensional piece that would allow all of my parts to fit in the shoe. I first used a white board to draw out my design, and afterwards I used pieces of cardboard as a guide to find the measurements for the three dimensional part.

Step 4: Step 3: the First Print

In the first three dimensional print I found multiple issues. The first problem was simply just needing to make the part wider. The second was that I needed to put a back on it. These were mostly easy fixes, and I didn’t have many issues resolving them.

Step 5: Step 4: My Second Print

In my second print I came up with more solutions on how to fit all of the essential parts on the three dimensional print. I figured out that I needed to add some cuts in the bottom and the sides to make sure that the parts stay in place. By that point, all of the parts had fit inside the shoe, but I just needed to secure them. The next issue I needed to resolve was the fact that not all of the wires were connected, and that the technical parts of the speaker would not work.

Step 6: Step 5: Soldering

My next task was to re-solder all of the wires connecting the speaker. I unfortunately had the issue of one of the physical solders disconnecting from the wire, and I then had to re-solder it. The soldering process took about three days worth of class time, which included me learning how to solder. After I finished soldering, I tested the speaker to see if the mechanics worked. Luckily, the speaker worked, and I only had to finish the assembly of it.

Step 7: Step 6: the Third Print

The third print came out perfectly, and all of the pieces fit. The only issue I ran into was how all of the cords would go through the shoe and the print to plug into the wall. I then decided to drill two holes: one in the three dimensional piece and one in the shoe itself. The hole are for the wires to run through; After it was completed, the wiring and all of the parts fit perfectly.

Step 8: Step 7: Finishing Details

The last details I added to the speakers were stylistic and functional. I added a sock to cover the parts of the speaker to hide the separate parts, and so all of the separate pieces would stay held together. I just had to cut some holes into the sock, so that the buttons would remain visible. After this was completed, the speaker was finished. The speaker is now functional, and inside the shoe.