Project updates Gladiolus
12 January 2023
Start of the prototyping journey. Every component is designed with 3D printing in mind. The very first print is the core. This is to get a better idea of the overall shape and proportions. The shape, proportions and scale were fine, so the design did not need to drastically change. The holes for the speaker module were a bit too close, so these were drilled out more and changed in the CAD file for the future. The polygons from the STL were very noticeable in the shiny black PLA so the outer coat was exported with more detail to make the cylinder smoother.
15 February 2023
Some small changes were made to the model. Fixed hole distance speaker. Added places to screw the coat to the core. Made the inner diameter of the core a bit larger to make space for the electronic components. Printed in White and marble PLA to make the details more visable.
13 March 2023
Started on the most basic components like the Bluetooth module and LED strip. Electronics aren't my strongest skill, so I asked a friend to help me with this aspect of the process.
14 March 2023
First look and sound check of the speaker. There is still a long way to go but it's nice to see the speaker come to life for the first time. First, the speaker sounds fine for now but the chamber can not be closed, so the sound profile can still change a lot in the future. Second, the LED strip is so bright that it shines right through the 3D-printed marble PLA. This makes the channel very noticeable. I haven't made my mind up if I like it or not. In the future, the outside coat can be made out of metal to eliminate the light bleed if need be. The next steps are the battery, ON/OFF switch and light animations.
31 March 2023
I tried to make a speaker cover. It's an improvement to the exposed black speaker, but I want to experiment more with the shape and materials. I am thinking about adding fabric over the grill, but these are future problems.
10 April 2023
I made some test pieces to fit a barrel connector and a buck convertor in the bottom for the power delivery. Besides that, I also designed a bracket to hold the Bluetooth module in place. This means that the core also needs to be changed. For now, I only reprint small pieces of the core while testing before reprinting the full core again.