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Thread: 3-D printing of a horn or a lawn dwarf

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    Senior Member Lee in Montreal's Avatar
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    3-D printing of a horn or a lawn dwarf

    Well. This thread may not last long after the initial enthusiasm. I have several friends who have 3D printers and they use them to build (not just prototype) automotive components, exposed to the outside weather (rain, dust, sun, heat). I suppose that now, the technolgy has evolved far enough that those 3D printers can output strong parts, thanks to an advance in powder/plastic technology. Gone are the days of just fragile prototypes. So, the idea is to produce a model of TAD horn and have it "printed" in one single piece, using the densiest material available. Part of the exercice will involve designing walls no thicker than half inch (12.7mm). SolidWork will most likely be the final model format as it can be read by most softares used in 3D printing. How far will this brain fart go? I don't know, but after CAD woodwork, then we get 3D printing. Isn't technology great?

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    Does your clone include the Helmholtz resonant trap that virtually all TAD horn clones disregard?

    See the dark dot on the horn flare?
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    That doesn't look like a TH-4003, I think those are asymmetrical top vs bottom and don't have fins.

    Like this


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    Senior Member Lee in Montreal's Avatar
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    Thanks for the comments, guys. Interestingly, this thread is more about the process of "printing" a horn than the actual object being reproduced. Let's start all over again, and let's pretend I will be reproducing a dwarf to put on my lawn. At this point of the project, I don't even mind if the drawing is of an Iwata or a TAD, as long as the process works, I will be a happy camper But 10-watt street is right. Many wood or resin TH-4003 clones skip this device. How paramount is it? I dunno but I will be interested in knowing more. Also I am sure that most people will not be fooled by a plastic copy and thinking I am passing a clone as the real thing...

    That being said, I am awaiting a reply from a friend who has a business and uses a couple of 3D printers.

    PS - I think that the drawing presented might be of a TAD TH-4001. Those had no Helmoltz gismo and were symetrical.




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    Senior Member Lee in Montreal's Avatar
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    If somebody can 3D print and shoot a "printed" shotgun, then I suspect that I can find the proper quality of plastic to print a horn.

    http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1...3d-printed-gun


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    Lee, I do think it is a good project and exercise.

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    Senior Member macaroonie's Avatar
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    Excellent Lee , here's a suggestion , scale it down to 25% and see how it comes out. If it's good , carry on .
    Then start collecting the G codes for other ' favorite ' horns

    BR Mac

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    Senior Member Lee in Montreal's Avatar
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    It is so easy to start from a Solid Works model and print a complex object, compared to machining or making molds. I think that the technology is going to evolve very quickly and change the face of small scale productions. Just like when Apple came out with the first Macintosh in around 1984 and it introduced what was known as "desktop publishing". Design, creation and production were changed forever.

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    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    Why not "print" a much thinner "skin" and then backfill to the desired thickness with a dimensionally stable and somewhat inert material ... ? especially if the cost is related to the amount of printer material and time used... Just a thought (I've wondered similarly re H9800 type horns vs milling the entire thing)

    ...or print a hollow mold core to minimize printed material.

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    Senior Member Lee in Montreal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy View Post
    Why not "print" a much thinner "skin" and then backfill to the desired thickness with a dimensionally stable and somewhat inert material ... ? especially if the cost is related to the amount of printer material and time used... Just a thought (I've wondered similarly re H9800 type horns vs milling the entire thing)
    There are many ways to perform the job. Save on plastic and printer time, but spend more on finishing. Ideally, I would prefer to spend, say, $50 extra on printer time and material, than $200 on hand finishing. Also I think people may want to glue some thick tar sheets to make the horn more inert. Anyway, I am not set yet on the exact horn to prduce. One with no fins/dividers, or one with them. Ideally, it will be horn that covers 500Hz to a possible 17KHz with DSP correction. I'd like to stick to something I can use in a two-way system. Plans are easy to reproduce and bring into Solidworks format.

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    Senior Member grumpy's Avatar
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    Understood. Last time I checked (admittedly quite awhile ago), printing large/dense objects was a costly venture. It would be cool if I was just out of touch in that regard

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    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grumpy View Post
    Understood. Last time I checked (admittedly quite awhile ago), printing large/dense objects was a costly venture. It would be cool if I was just out of touch in that regard
    I haven't priced 3-D printing (rapid prototyping as we called it) in quite a few years... I have used quite a number of different technologies since the late '80s. Yes, this technology has been around that long. But in my experience growing or printing a large horn would be pretty expensive. Most of the materials I have experienced are not very stable and always have very obvious grow lines requiring filling and sanding if you want a nicely finished part.


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    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 10 Watt Street View Post
    Does your clone include the Helmholtz resonant trap that virtually all TAD horn clones disregard?

    See the dark dot on the horn flare?
    I cloned an actual TH-4003. (See the rough prototype posted by JeffW above) When I first cast my clone I had the tuned resonator and my clone didn't measure as closely to the original as when I removed it. I thought this might be due to the mass differential between my clones and the original. I used a very dense material similar to JBL's sonoglass. It is extremely inert and is more than twice as dense as the maple ply used by TAD.


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    Senior Member honkytonkwillie's Avatar
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    UC Berkeley has a 3D printing vending machine. http://www.ibtimes.com/dreambox-worl...-video-1288777 If these take off, I don't think 3D printing will reach the ubiquity of PCs anytime soon.

    I can see myself needing to replace some 2344A horns in another decade when my little ones are teenagers. With luck, newly printed ones will be a lot cheaper than originals.
    I control the treble.
    I control the bass.

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    I have a few customers here in NZ with rapid prototyping machines. Some of the new print mediums yield a very smooth surface, certainly adequate for making a horn. But most of them are also rather expensive.

    Allan.

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