Paper speaker

What I did

For this project, we were asked to construct a paper speaker utilizing the laser cutter.

 

What I used

Materials: a spool of magnetic wire, 8 cylindrical magnets, card stock, paper

Tools: laser cutter, glue gun, diagonal cutters, small pvc pipe, sandpaper, tape, scissors

 

How I did it

To begin, I cut a circle with a 4 in diameter and a rectangle measuring 4.5 in x 5 in out of card stock using a laser cutter.

 

Next, I used scissors to cut a piece of paper measuring approximately 2 in x 5 in. I then rolled the paper around a small pvc pipe to create a 2 in tall tube, taping it together. I then wrapped my wire around the paper tube on the pvc pipe to create an approximately 1 in tall coil.

  

 

Next I cut the wire with diagonal cutters, leaving about 2 in of wire loose on each end of the coil. Then I used sandpaper to sand the coating off approximately 1 cm on each end of the wire and glued to coil to the paper tube using a hot glue gun.

  

 

Next I used the glue gun to attach the paper tube to the center of the card stock circle.

 

Then I glued a stack of 8 cylindrical magnets to the center of the card stock rectangle.

  

 

Next, I cut two strips of card stock about 3/4 in x 3 in. I then folded the strips accordion style and glued on side of each strip to each side of the card stock rectangle.

  

 

Finally, I set the card stock circle on top of the rectangle, such that the stack of magnets sat inside the paper tube. I then glued the free ends of the accordion folded strips to the card stock circle. It is important that the paper tube hovers above the card stock rectangle base and does not sit flush with it.

  

 

What I learned

This project showed me the importance of testing and experimenting. I completed the speaker simultaneously with a peer and while doing so, we discussed the possible logistics of the speaker and how our choices may impact how the speaker turns out. We couldn’t decide whether placing the coil closer to the magnet stack or the paper disk would result in better sound. After discussing this, we decided to each place the speaker at different heights on the paper tube. By doing this, we figured we could listen to both of our finished speakers and see which one is more successful at creating loud and clear sound.