Passive Phone Amplifier
For this project, I 3D printed a passive phone speaker amplifier using the Ultimaker 3 Extended.
Reflective Log:
2/6/19
Today I looked for designs for my passive phone amplifier on Thingiverse. After selecting the design I liked the most, I was able to download it as an STL file to OnShape. Changing the dimensions of my design to incorporate a variety of phone sizes, I was also able to bring the mass of my amplifier below 75 grams (specifically 73).
2/9/19
Today I transferred my design from OnShape to Cura, on open source 3D printer slicing application. When doing this, it was recommended of me to change the print orientation of my amplifier. With the current orientation, there would have to be a lot of support for the upper lip. Changing the orientation such that the back of the amplifier is the first (bottom) layer, support would only be needed for the slit that is made to hold your phone. Saving this now as a g-code file to a USB drive, I was then able to print my passive amplifier on the Ultimaker 3 Extended in white. With the previous print using red PLA, changing from red to white left a small remnant of pink PLA on the first couple of layers. This print was projected to take about 4 hours and 40 minutes.
2/11/19
Receiving my final product, I still had to remove the supports from my amplifier. This was done by getting a pair of long nose pliers and literally ripping them out.
Conclusion:
Looking at my final product, I can say my passive amplifier definitely works in amplifying my phone’s volume in 1 direction. However, looking at it now from a quality standpoint, there are a couple points worth noting. One aspect is that the bottom layer (back of my phone amplifier) is slightly pink due to the change from red to white PLA. This could have been avoided by using a darker color for my amplifier or allowing the red PLA to be completely removed from the extruder. Next, the slit for holding my phone snuggly fits my iPhone X without a case. For other phones that are either thicker or wider, this amplifier will either barely fit or not at all (for very wide phones).
Reflective Log:
2/6/19
Today I looked for designs for my passive phone amplifier on Thingiverse. After selecting the design I liked the most, I was able to download it as an STL file to OnShape. Changing the dimensions of my design to incorporate a variety of phone sizes, I was also able to bring the mass of my amplifier below 75 grams (specifically 73).
2/9/19
Today I transferred my design from OnShape to Cura, on open source 3D printer slicing application. When doing this, it was recommended of me to change the print orientation of my amplifier. With the current orientation, there would have to be a lot of support for the upper lip. Changing the orientation such that the back of the amplifier is the first (bottom) layer, support would only be needed for the slit that is made to hold your phone. Saving this now as a g-code file to a USB drive, I was then able to print my passive amplifier on the Ultimaker 3 Extended in white. With the previous print using red PLA, changing from red to white left a small remnant of pink PLA on the first couple of layers. This print was projected to take about 4 hours and 40 minutes.
2/11/19
Receiving my final product, I still had to remove the supports from my amplifier. This was done by getting a pair of long nose pliers and literally ripping them out.
Conclusion:
Looking at my final product, I can say my passive amplifier definitely works in amplifying my phone’s volume in 1 direction. However, looking at it now from a quality standpoint, there are a couple points worth noting. One aspect is that the bottom layer (back of my phone amplifier) is slightly pink due to the change from red to white PLA. This could have been avoided by using a darker color for my amplifier or allowing the red PLA to be completely removed from the extruder. Next, the slit for holding my phone snuggly fits my iPhone X without a case. For other phones that are either thicker or wider, this amplifier will either barely fit or not at all (for very wide phones).
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