3D Printed Speaker Adapters

[Shankenstein]

Hi guys,

I tackled an interesting project this weekend. Custom speaker adapter plates.

For the door, you want to maintain the distance between the door's outer skin and the motor backplate. This requires adjusting the "A dimension" to account by difference in mounting depth.

My speakers were Dayton Audio RS180-4 7" midbass woofers. which are significantly deeper than the stock speakers. Here's a quick comparison:


Next, you have to reverse engineer the dimensions:





Then, you load the dimensions into CAD, and make an adapter plate. This design mimics the mounting for the sheet metal, but moves the speaker mounting forward. There are 6 spaces in the back for nuts mount the speaker. I've also added a longer rain shield than the OEM design. You want to protect the cone, but in salty areas, this also protects the motor.






Then, you send it off to your 3D printer and watch the magic unfold. I'm still dialing in the settings to get the print quality perfect. This is indeed my first rodeo.

[gramicci101]

That's awesome. I'm interested in how this works out; I had been looking at the Dayton RS-180s for my doors.

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

That's awesome. I'm interested in how this works out; I had been looking at the Dayton RS-180s for my doors.

I used them in the previous car, and it was solid quality (materials, design, acoustics). No corners were cut, and the price is quite a value. The coating on the basket is susceptible to corrosion and peeling, but that's not a deal-breaker.

2 Ohm (OEM) vs 4 Ohm (Dayton), will require an amp... but you'd probably want that and some signal processing to re-tune the system.

If everything works out, I'll see about building a few extras.

[gramicci101]

I'm looking to use 2 [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VVYL46/]Alpine KTP-445U[/ame] amps. One at 45x4 for the dash and rear speakers, and one at 90x2 for the door speakers. They don't have signal processing capability, so I'm going to build a simple first order crossover with L-pads for them. It won't be as awesome as an active DSP, but it'll be a lot smaller and unobtrusive.

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by gramicci101

I'm looking to use 2 Alpine KTP-445U amps. One at 45x4 for the dash and rear speakers, and one at 90x2 for the door speakers. They don't have signal processing capability, so I'm going to build a simple first order crossover with L-pads for them. It won't be as awesome as an active DSP, but it'll be a lot smaller and unobtrusive.

The fact that you know what an L-pad is... lets me know that you'll be just fine.

The stock system is quite good (from a durability standpoint), and the amps you're adding will give you gains and basic crossover points. That's enough to get "hifi" out of this system. DSP would really only help with time-alignment and subtle EQ issues. Not really worth it, for a sports car.

Hopefully your project comes together more quickly than mine (planning a wedding). Car time is limited, but the fiance is out of town for the weekend. AutoX and speaker time!

[gramicci101]

AVSforum's DIY section will teach you a lot about custom making your crossovers and speakers. It's a good time. And a first order crossover is easy.

First things first is my sub, since I already have the equipment. I've got a Kicker shallow 8" and a px200.1 amp (it's so tiny!) that I'm going to glass in on the side of the passenger footwell. Which means I need to build and place the crossover, because I'll have to pull a signal off of one of the channel pairs for the sub. I'm going to put the crossover behind the dash with the radio and the two Alpine amps where the OEM door amp is. I'd like to put the 4ch amp behind the dash as well, but space may be an issue.

If your door spacers work out that would answer the question of what I want to put in the doors. I'll probably stick with Kicker coax 4"s for the dash and rear.

[I am Anonymous]

That's pretty cool. I just made wood adapter plates for my car. I doubled them up to get the right depth, but don't have a rain guard. Although I live in florida were it rains all the time and it hasn't been a problem for years, so I guess it's not really all that nessasary.


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[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by I am Anonymous

That's pretty cool. I just made wood adapter plates for my car. I doubled them up to get the right depth, but don't have a rain guard. Although I live in florida were it rains all the time and it hasn't been a problem for years, so I guess it's not really all that nessasary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Make sure the wood is properly coated. My last car used MDF spacers and they absorbed TONS of water before disintegrating.

Most aftermarket speakers incorporate waterproof materials (plastics in the cone and rubber surrounds). Even the traditional paper cones are usually infused with resin and include protective layers of plastic on both sides(for chemical and water resistance).

Most OEMs will test the speakers with either a water mist (250 cc/min) or a water spray (3 L/min) for a long time. If you're using the wrong materials (cone or surround), it will pass water within 10 minutes. As you can imagine, staying dry with 3 L/min spraying is a big challenge, and most manufacturers tend to over-build their speakers for this.

Your environment is probably more prone to humidity-based failures. That's sometimes just degradation of the spider (Fs shift), but many times the adhesives will absorb water and expand. This can lead to rub/buzz or even components separating.

[WhiteFRS69]

would love something like this so we could upgrade those tiny 3" speakers in the rear

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by WhiteFRS69

would love something like this so we could upgrade those tiny 3" speakers in the rear

I'll work my way back to those. That should be pretty simple, if you're not trying to seal that gigantic hole in the sheet metal.

Did you want to replace it with a higher-powered full-range? Which speakers did you have in mind?

I was thinking one of the Tang Band W3s would work well:
LINK to Parts Express


Update on the project. I've had a few issues getting the temperatures and movement speeds correct. After switching from PLA to ABS, it seems to be going well.

[Shankenstein]

Progress! First half came out perfectly.

[Shankenstein]

I've got everything mocked up. Now to do some acoustic measurements (Klippel, etc) and characterize the old and new speakers.

[Shankenstein]

New speaker looks pretty solid:

[Shankenstein]

Got a bit of time this morning to trim the excess plastic, deburr the edges, bore out the holes, and fit up the speaker.

It uses M6 x 30 mm bolts and standard nuts.

and... LSU engineering represent!

It's going to be an exciting year for LSU football. Mettenberger is off to the pros, and Les Miles won't name a starter (though the freshman from the Spring game has potential).