A New Adventure

[Steve Manning]

Steve, are you guys also considering using some kind of elastic membrane in between the main material layers to avoid those nasty issues with the translam buiilds?

Sort of ..... There is what we are calling a spacer that will go between each "rib" layer. The material I have chosen is compromise of a number of factors. Cost and actually being able to make/cut the material we selected being two major ones. You think lbl is expensive, try looking at flexible plastic!

[Steve Manning]

Here are a few more renderings of what the initial MT will look like.

[ergo]

very much like that yes - neoprene rubber or such would be cool, but DIY cutting that is probably a pain + it's not gonna be very cost effective as there is a lot of waste material.... though I guess you could buy a knife cutter head for your CNC

[Steve Manning]

You mean a thin layer that looks something like this.

[JonMarsh]

Well, this is all a good lead in to a discussion about materials capabilities and construction and assembly techniques that have been developed, but I will not steal Steve's thunder on this one just because I type faster than he does...

While this has been a collaborative effort as regards first level concepts and principles and goals, Steve is the detail and heavy lifting guy on the ME end of this, just as I am the wires and sparks grunt. And yeah, I'm sitting on a huge pile of CAD renders and drawings and photographs to boot, but this is Steve's story to tell at this point....

[ergo]

I was thinking about the same questions. Seems like this type of build would need each layer/ring to be painted before assembly... or if after then getting the gaps sanded and painted with different shade must be a serious hassle. Adding a thinner layer of 'other material' in between might make it easier indeed and potentially acoustically damped.

Anyhow, a pretty cool look on those speakers, but a serious technical challenge for sure.

[cochinada]

Steve, are you guys also considering using some kind of elastic membrane in between the main material layers to avoid those nasty issues with the translam buiilds?

[Steve Manning]

Funny you mentioned this because it was this exact model that motivated me to make my current one.

Joaquim, that is funny, very appropriate as well. Some of the issues you had with your build as well as those others of us have had, were part of the design considerations for the path we took with what we have come up with.

[cochinada]

Funny you mentioned this because it was this exact model that motivated me to make my current one.

[Steve Manning]

So, a little more info on this MT design we have been talking about. Well Jon sends me a link asking me what I thought about a speaker that he and a friend had auditioned on a trip to Germany a few years ago. Though they thought the cabinets were great, the sound was lacking, especially for the $264K asking price. Of course, there was the wouldn’t it be great to make our own conversation but make it sound better. Of course, that’s when the mayhem began. Doing a little digging into the company we found that they make a full range of this style speaker.

[Steve Manning]

Hey, those look familiar! Once you have a Newfie you kind of start expecting the drool to end up everywhere - including the ceiling. Considering making some large vinyl covers to put over these once complete...just in case.

How does one upload images here? Need Photo-bucket, Imgur, or something instead of Google?



If you look close you'll see those very same baffles...


Steve and Jon - very much looking forward to seeing what you have planned!

Steve - Would you be interested in making some prettier baffles for a set of Dayton 0.25 curved cabinets? I could send one of the cabs and a woofer/tweeter to you for accurate measurements if you need them.

That's a big boy you've got there Danny.

Loved to on the baffles. Email me and we can work out the details.

[technodanvan]

By the way, here's a few pictures of the second set of Ardent baffles that I did. These will have grills (dog slobber protectors, is my understanding). The grills are attached with hidden magnets.

Hey, those look familiar! Once you have a Newfie you kind of start expecting the drool to end up everywhere - including the ceiling. Considering making some large vinyl covers to put over these once complete...just in case.

How does one upload images here? Need Photo-bucket, Imgur, or something instead of Google?



If you look close you'll see those very same baffles...


Steve and Jon - very much looking forward to seeing what you have planned!

Steve - Would you be interested in making some prettier baffles for a set of Dayton 0.25 curved cabinets? I could send one of the cabs and a woofer/tweeter to you for accurate measurements if you need them.

[CADman_ks]

This is really awesome!!

I recently bought a knock-down kit from Parts Express for a sub. It was part of a deal, and at the end of the day, I wanted to try a kit to see what that was about.

I was very impressed with how it all went together, and I'm sure that yours will have the same attention to detail. It may have actually spoiled me from making boxes in the future!!

[Steve Manning]

So, now were getting to the punch line of the story. As most of you have guessed we have started an official business with the name of SMJ Audio. There is a website under development and will go live soon.
As Jon alluded to earlier, we are working on a number of ideas which include complete speaker designs, customizable cabinet designs and waveguide concepts. Once I can pry Jon from his day job, not an easy feat these days, he’ll give some more detail on the arcs and sparks side of things. We are presently working on an MT design that will showcase a number of the things we’ve been working on, more on that shortly.

At this point in time, I’m offering design and fabrication services for who ever needs them. If you don’t have the tools, time, experience, or need something completely custom, I can help make it happen. A good example would be Ardent baffles. Last year I built two sets for forum members and that was before the shop upgrade. It can be anything from getting your ideas into a CAD drawing so you can visualize what you have in mind. All the way up to a turn key set of speakers if you just don’t want to mess with any of it and don’t want to pay the boutique prices of buying something commercial. I can also help you out if you want a custom equipment rack for your electronics, those seem to be an after thought for most of us.

By the way, here's a few pictures of the second set of Ardent baffles that I did. These will have grills (dog slobber protectors, is my understanding). The grills are attached with hidden magnets.

[technodanvan]

Open wallets are always good. :W How's that build going Danny?

I guess I've technically made some progress, but not enough to justify a thread just yet. Working on getting all the panels laminated (18mm BB and 1/2" MDF), but found out I was short on MDF for one side. Of course, the last MDF I used I had shipped to me along with the BB from a local lumberyard, and it's a different thickness (actually 1/2") from the stuff at Home Depot (something less than 1/2"). Realistically I could make it work, but I can just see myself not adjusting for the varying thickness somewhere down the line and I don't want to deal with that mess. So here I am, trying to wrap up other projects to create room for a new load from the lumberyard.

Once that comes in and I start cutting things to size I'll make a thread, I promise!

[Steve Manning]

Steve, I’m happy for you (and Jon) on your new adventure. Looks like you are doing it right. What a feeling to be able to apply what you have learned over time with a proper set up. I will follow with great interest and I with you both the best of luck!

Thanks Scott.

[sdl2112]

Steve, I’m happy for you (and Jon) on your new adventure. Looks like you are doing it right. What a feeling to be able to apply what you have learned over time with a proper set up. I will follow with great interest and I with you both the best of luck!

[Steve Manning]

Steve, is it production and sale of complete speakers of your own brand you are targeting, or custom DIY design and production, or something different - or all of the above and then some?

Would be interesting to heare some more about the plans for your new adventure!
Your investing quite a bit as far as I can tell, so I guess you are quite interested in getting into production mode and start generating some turnover...

Hey TEK,

I plan on giving a detailed answer to that shortly, have to take care of chores first. :W Though the short answer is a little bit of all of what you mention, though mostly focusing on the DIY side of things.

[TEK]

Steve, is it production and sale of complete speakers of your own brand you are targeting, or custom DIY design and production, or something different - or all of the above and then some?

Would be interesting to heare some more about the plans for your new adventure!
Your investing quite a bit as far as I can tell, so I guess you are quite interested in getting into production mode and start generating some turnover...

[Steve Manning]

I dunno what's happening but my wallet has already opened...

Open wallets are always good. :W How's that build going Danny?

[Steve Manning]

Speaker boxes starting to form - very interesting and eagerly waiting for more pics.

Steve, just out of curiosity what software tools and workflow you use for CAD/CAM. I used to use FilouNC for 2.5D tasks and Vectric VCarve for some others, but lately I've been using the Fusion360 as the CAD/CAM are in same package and that has clear benefits. F360 also has some very good cutting strategies for both 2.5D and 3D work.

Ergo, I'm using Fusion 360. I also like that fact that everything is in one package. My understanding is that some packages are easier to use, especially for engraving. I had been using SketchUp for years but that was not set up for CAM. What I really like though is that it's free for start up companies and hobbyists.

[technodanvan]

I dunno what's happening but my wallet has already opened...

[cochinada]

The wheels are in motion... :amen:

[ergo]

Speaker boxes starting to form - very interesting and eagerly waiting for more pics.

Steve, just out of curiosity what software tools and workflow you use for CAD/CAM. I used to use FilouNC for 2.5D tasks and Vectric VCarve for some others, but lately I've been using the Fusion360 as the CAD/CAM are in same package and that has clear benefits. F360 also has some very good cutting strategies for both 2.5D and 3D work.

[JonMarsh]

One might wonder what that WG test is for, but let's just say at this point, we're in the process of testing out a number of ideas. More to come very soon.

[Steve Manning]

A few more ......

The first set of cuts were more of what they consider 2.5D type machining, mostly done in 2 planes. This was a test at true 3D profiling cutting in all 3 axis at the same time. Very cool to watch.

This was also a test of double sided cutting using the dowel system mentioned earlier.




This is the backside of the part.



Part was then flipped and machining continued.

[Steve Manning]

Well if I'm going to be accused of it I might as well do it right ...... here's a few teaser pics of things we're working on.

Picked up some cabinet grade mdf to play with and figure out how to program and run the CNC.



Mdf was glued up into 2' X 4" X 1.5" thick slabs for machining.






Also did some cutting on high impact styrene.

[Steve Manning]

Looking very good Steve!
A tip for shop-layout is to think about the work process from lumber enters your shop and until your done.
I really noticed lack and inefficient in my shop during the workbench build (on hold now due to illness).

To arrange the worksop for efficient workflow can make a lot of different when you start producing thing at a steady level!

Thanks for the suggestion TEK. I'm sure I'm not done tweaking yet. Feel better!

[TEK]

Looking very good Steve!
A tip for shop-layout is to think about the work process from lumber enters your shop and until your done.
I really noticed lack and inefficient in my shop during the workbench build (on hold now due to illness).

To arrange the worksop for efficient workflow can make a lot of different when you start producing thing at a steady level!

[JonMarsh]

And to think Steve has the nerve to call me a tease!!

About the time I was finishing putting the new saw together, the really big upgrade showed up. This has been something I have been wanting to get for a while now ....... any guesses?

The UPS guy got a work out bringing in box after box of parts.


[ATTACH=CONFIG]29301[/ATTACH]

And like one of those nesting dolls, opening the big boxes lead to even more boxes.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29303[/ATTACH]


[ATTACH=CONFIG]29302[/ATTACH]

And then there was a whole bunch of aluminum delivered.


[ATTACH=CONFIG]29306[/ATTACH]


This project certainly falls under the category of "some assembly required"

[Steve Manning]

Thanks Ergo

[ergo]

Some very good ideas for the CNC spoil board Steve! Top one of mine is running thin soon and I see myself replicating these ideas

The dust collector system looks great too and with long spans with metal pipes should be good as you can ground those for safety against chips creating too much static electricity to be dangerous.

[Steve Manning]

To follow on with the dust collection topic ..... now that I can leave the major tools in one spot I did a major upgrade in that area as well.


I went with a larger dust collector than I had originally.



I also went with fixed ducting for the saw and CNC.



I did run a line over to the other side of the shop to take care of the bandsaw, jointer, planer, etc. Still not enough room to have everything in a dedicated spot. Each of the runs has a blast gate so I can direct suction to where I need it.



A couple of shots with things more or less buttoned up.

[Steve Manning]

Yeah, with that being the cutting envelope I think I'll be good to go for most stuff. If I do need to go bigger I laid out a grid pattern for alignment dowels where I can do a larger cut in two stages.

Your on your own as far as a work surface, so this is what I came up with.



I made built in T-Slots for fixturing.



This is some of the align holes that I drilled. Their spaced every 6" across the entire table.

[ergo]

Indeed. Will take me many more years to develop to TEK-s level

[cochinada]

I think TEK is the man with his DIY custom industrial mega size vacuum... thing

[ergo]

Have fun with the assembly - though it'll take time I'm sure. Even the 3D printer as a kit from Prusa took some 8h to assemble, so this will surely take you several days. It's also good to take it slow as missing something critical at right time can multiply the time in end.

4' X 4' is a good size already. Mine is 39in x 23.5in (100cm*60cm) - thats a bit too short for milling out a full floor-standing speaker front or side. But mostly I'd do the speaker holes on CNC and rest with track saw / table saw, so it's workable too. I have a space constraint as well. The CNC is in basement that is warm. Garage is bigger but not heated over winter and I would not want to keep it there.

I've not found a good dust boot commercially for my machine. The one from the manufacturer is crappy for the 89EUR asked for it.

[Steve Manning]

The process of putting this beastie together got underway. I have no idea how bolts I installed to put this thing together.










Once all the frame work was done, it was on to the drive system and all the wiring.





One thing I'm glad I did was to put the base on casters. It allowed me to move the entire CNC around to get at things.

[Steve Manning]

Yep ..... It's a CNC.

Bear, thanks for the info on the aluminum. Though actually all of the aluminum structure is sourced directly from 80/20 by CNC Router Parts. You get a shipment from them and then a separate one from CNC Router Parts for the remainder of it.

Ergo, it's a 4' X 4' I really didn't have them room for anything bigger. Though if I can go bigger in the future you can order an extension kit. The drive cables are already long enough so they don't have to be replaced. As for shoe ideas, I cheated, I just bought one from these guys, https://www.axiomprecision.com/acces...ust-shoes.html. Very nice quality. It was also a matter of where to spend my time vs money.

Joaquim ..... in for penny, in for a pound. :W I would like to have bought a pre-built machine, but with the budget I had it made sense to save the extra ~$6K and put it else where.

[cochinada]

Wow! You are not fooling around... That shed is simply humongous and the new saw and the CNC... wow!
Knowing how talented you all are I'm sure whatever comes out from you will be awesome! Best of luck.

P.S. sadly the world economy is on the path to collapse sooner or latter with current jobs disappearing as humans are getting replaced by robots more and more and specially for the old guys like us it's near to impossible to get reemployed for a decent wage so I think you took the best option which I'm sure it will also be the one that will make you happier. There is nothing more rewarding than working on something we love. I know because I do the exact opposite.

[ergo]

Logo matches

http://www.cncrouterparts.com

What will be the bed size - I'd assume it'll fit a full board of ply/mdf etc?

PS. I hadn't seen that CNC source website before. They have quite a good Youtube channel too with some nice ideas it seems. I'm just designing a new dust shoe for my machine, so ideas in that direction are of interest... but I plan to do 2 things more with it.... have a ring LED around the cutter to ease the initial alignment + make the dust shoe so that there is back and front part of the brushes, so I would be able to put it on also by lifting the cutter up only my a minimum amount. the most common designs need the cutter to be lifted up by several inches to get the shoe through under it.

[Bear]

If you end up needing spare aluminum extrusions, I recommend Misumi over 80/20 or Bosch, though 80/20 carries imperial sizes.

[Mikerodrig27]

CNC macine?

[Steve Manning]

About the time I was finishing putting the new saw together, the really big upgrade showed up. This has been something I have been wanting to get for a while now ....... any guesses?

The UPS guy got a work out bringing in box after box of parts.




And like one of those nesting dolls, opening the big boxes lead to even more boxes.






And then there was a whole bunch of aluminum delivered.





This project certainly falls under the category of "some assembly required"

[Steve Manning]

Pretty sweet! Looks like some good upgrades. I want to set up a 160 sqft shed in my back yard to empty my garage into. I need the space for my woodshop just like you did.

Getting the bigger shed has been a big help. In this case bigger is better, go as big as you can, you won't be sorry.