Juniper Wildey

I changed a lot of the tolerances and made the speaker attach from inside the top section. Printed the V2 prototype to test fits, and it works pretty well. The tolerance on the body of the potentiometer is still too tight (doesn’t go all the way in), and the new tolerance for the dial is a bit loose, but otherwise it looks good. I added the cutout for the Arduino, but the model of it I made for sizing is too big, so the cutout is far too long to hold the Arduino in.

I finished modeling the electronic components in the CAD. I also made a 2nd, smaller bottom section.

I 3d printed the first prototype to test fit the parts I already have (speakers, arduino, and potentiometer). Many of the fits are too tight (Potentiometer in case and dial on potentiometer shaft), and the screws don’t make it all the way through to the nut in the bottom section, so I will have to make the screw start further down on the top section. I also did not make a cutout to give the arduino enough clearence to fit. The speakers also don’t fit properly because their I/O doesn’t fit through the slot. I plan on solving this by making the speakers fit in from the inside, making the outside cleaner as well.

The first prototype is not all bad though, the form factor is what I was looking for, the design is clean and simple, and the case is compact and feels strong. The screw holes, while too long, are the perfect diameter in both the shaft and counterbore for the screw head. The slots for the nuts are also really nice, they hold the nuts tightly enough that they don’t easily fall out, but are not super difficult to remove intentionally.

Overall, not a terrible first prototype, and gave me a lot of valuable information to work off of to improve it. Once the parts I have fit, I will order the other parts (breakout boards and amplifier).

Started designing the first frame/body for the speaker. The top section will contain the core electronics (Speakers, volume potentiometer, Arduino, amplifier, etc.). The bottom section will be interchangeable to provide different form factors and/or capabilities (I’m thinking a battery addon in the future?). The first design for the bottom section is a simple slab to provide a place to rest a phone or MP3 player while it’s plugged in/playing. The top section will attach to the bottom with four screws in the corners. The big challenge so far has been finding an elegant way to fit all the components in a relatively small space. I have not 3d printed any parts yet, since it’s not quite ready for a first prototype.

I don’t really know what to put for the picture because it’s not printed yet, so here is a screenshot, hope that is ok! They show the general product of my work so far

I’m working on my first project! This is so exciting. I can’t wait to share more updates as I build.