The author came up with the idea of creating a home-made Bluetooth speaker after he got acquainted with some articles about assembling similar devices. Many of them were made completely independently, their creators made calculations, drawings, manually sawed parts, etc. All this required good skills and time-consuming. Then the author found a video in which it was shown how to make such a device using semi-automated machines and software. Realizing that almost everyone can do this, he decided to create his own Bluetooth speaker.
Materials and tools:
- inexpensive combo board amplifier \ Bluetooth module.
micro USB card
laser cutting machine
-3D printer
-sandpaper
-former
-drill
screw
18650 lithium batteries.
LED strip
Description of the manufacture of Bluetooth speakers:
Step One: Design a sound device enclosure.
To begin with, it was necessary to determine the appearance of the column, and then proceed to create drawings. Using the Autodesk Inventor program, the author began to realize his design fantasies. This program allows you to create models of various designs of a wide variety of shapes and colors, and the capabilities and tools built into it help to make the necessary calculations and drawings.
Having decided on the appearance of the column in the form of binoculars, the author proceeded to create the necessary structural elements. A distinctive design decision of this column will be translucent rings through which the device will be illuminated.
Step Two: Production of housing elements.
To develop each element, the author also used special programs. The main drawings of the elements of the device case were made in a CAD program, and then processed in two more CAM programs. Since the front panel of the speaker should have the recesses necessary for installing the speakers, the author used the MeshCam program. This program is convenient in that it has the necessary scripts and tools for easier calculation of such elements of parts as edges, indents, gaps and more. To create drawings of the backlight rings, CamBam was used; it specializes in creating 2D contours.
The video below shows the work done:
When all the drawings were ready, the author proceeded to create parts. To create parts, laser cutting was used.This allowed us to make more accurate edges of the cut parts and significantly save time for subsequent processing.
In total, approximately 4 hours were spent preparing most of the column parts.
Step Three: Printing on a 3D printer other column design elements.
To ensure the necessary quality of sound and bass, the author made a special channel through which air will be supplied to the device. After developing all the components necessary for such a solution in Inventor, the author loaded the necessary data into a 3D printer and printed the details.
Considering that it would be nice to have to charge the speaker not only from the adapter, but also from any USB connector, a micro USB board was purchased. Fixing such a board in the device and the presence of the usual micro usb cable will make it possible to charge the Bluetooth column from a computer or other device with a USB connector.
Step Four: Assembling the Bluetooth speaker enclosure.
When all the components for assembling the column housing were received, the author proceeded to refine them. To do this, all the bumps were removed with sandpaper. In the front panel, according to the markings, recesses were cut out with the help of a shaped cutter in order to install the speakers. Also, several screw holes were made in the places where the speakers were attached to the front panel.
After that, the author began assembling the box of the case. Trying on the rings that make up the outer part of the case showed that the cut parts fit perfectly, as was intended in the calculations. Therefore, the author decided to immediately begin gluing them. To fasten the rings of the casing, epoxy glue was used, after which the glued parts were pressed by a five-liter bottle and left until completely dry.
Step Five: The final stage of manufacturing the case.
After the glue had dried, the surface of the body was again treated with sandpaper. Then, speakers and a switch were installed on the front panel of the speaker casing. After completing these steps, the author also glued it to the main part of the device. The back panel of the device will serve for technical access to the main elements of the electronics, so it will be fastened with screws. To do this, the necessary holes were made in the back wall, after which the column case was completely assembled.
For a more aesthetic look, the device case was securely fixed in a vice and polished again to the final look. Using several stages of external processing, an effect was achieved that you can see in the photographs. Then, a layer of sealant was applied to the entire surface of the housing, this will prevent it from warping.
Step Six: Install the electronics in the speaker enclosure.
The device’s power source was 18650 lithium batteries. In order to get a battery with a capacity of about 12,000 mAh, six such batteries were connected in one circuit. Since the voltage of the resulting battery turned out to be only 3.7 V, I had to use a DC-DC boost converter, due to which the supply voltage was increased to 12 V, since it is from this voltage that all amplifier boards and backlight LEDs should be powered. Setting everything electronic details into the case and making wiring, the author attached LED strips to the inside of the column, which will serve as the backlight of the device.
After that, work on the Bluetooth column was completed, and the column itself was completely ready for use for its intended purpose. The result was a device with an unusual pleasant appearance, beautiful lighting and high-quality sound.
