The future of DIY is here today: 3D printing. The huge advantage is the complexity of the parts that can be made, giving you complete freedom if you are able to design the parts. I used FreeCad to model the case for this amp and printed it on my Bambu Lab X1C All of it was made from ABS plastic which is durable and heat resistant, and the whole thing used less than 2lbs of filament. The amps are a standard implementation of the LM3886 and run on a +/- 29 VDC supply, putting out roughly 40 watts per channel. The LM3886 is regarded as a high quality audiophile grade part for high fidelity reproduction. Translation from audiophile lingo: they sound great. The amp is dead silent at idle, even sitting inside a non-metal case. Like I said in the video, I finished building this amp months ago and have been using it every day since then. The 3D printed parts have held up perfectly and are exactly the same as when I made it. Some of the parts were a bit rougher than I'd normally allow, but this was mostly a test to see how well a 3D printed amplifier case would hold up. To do it over I'd take more time to fix any cosmetic issues to produce a better fit and finish.
What a great idea. I was measuring and browsing and remeasuring and browsing for a fitting case for my STC-1000 temp controller... but you made everything perfectly fitting to the ACTUAL dimensions you needed!!! :D Awesome John.
you don't need mouse ears that tall, 1-2 layers suffice, and they break away by hand. And i think Bambu studio (but not orca slicer) finally implemented manual placing of them
My first time using them and I added them directly to the parts I designed in FreeCad. Since then I've made them a lot thinner still rather cut them off to avoid tearing.
I still do most of my printing on the P1P, actually. I used the X1C here mainly because Bambu sent it out to me along with a bunch of filament and figured I should use it in a few videos. I like the P1P because it is more open for filming and is slightly faster getting started.
Looks great! What tools do you use to design the parts. The change costs of tools has me changing design software often which makes me loose interest as have to learn new software to just make a part. Makes me go back to metal and a file.
If you have trouble with case, it will be sagging from heat of the transformer, as it is heavy and gets warm. I used PETG and have trouble, hopefully abs is better, maybe I should reprinting parts in ABS.
I think the experiment was successful ) Would you proceed to casting aluminum into a form made with 3d printed model? For me it would be cheaper than to order a CNCed parts from the Chinese service if you would need a "high end" amplifier case. May be you won't need it at all but as an experiment - why not?
Always a possibility to do something like that, although the parts would have to be designed with casting in mind, which would make it a lot more difficult. Machined billet aluminum in high end cases is just a marketing hook, though, since the home experience for audio equipment isn't rough enough to justify a bulletproof enclosure.
3D printing is more of a complete solution where it can produce something that's ready to assemble and use. CNC is just another shop tool, like a table saw, that just cuts or shapes parts.
The future of DIY is here today: 3D printing.
The huge advantage is the complexity of the parts that can be made, giving you complete freedom if you are able to design the parts.
I used FreeCad to model the case for this amp and printed it on my Bambu Lab X1C
All of it was made from ABS plastic which is durable and heat resistant, and the whole thing used less than 2lbs of filament.
The amps are a standard implementation of the LM3886 and run on a +/- 29 VDC supply, putting out roughly 40 watts per channel.
The LM3886 is regarded as a high quality audiophile grade part for high fidelity reproduction. Translation from audiophile lingo: they sound great. The amp is dead silent at idle, even sitting inside a non-metal case.
Like I said in the video, I finished building this amp months ago and have been using it every day since then. The 3D printed parts have held up perfectly and are exactly the same as when I made it.
Some of the parts were a bit rougher than I'd normally allow, but this was mostly a test to see how well a 3D printed amplifier case would hold up. To do it over I'd take more time to fix any cosmetic issues to produce a better fit and finish.
I am very impressed with your industrial design capability. More thought went into the casing than I expected from any DIYer. Nice design John.
What a great idea. I was measuring and browsing and remeasuring and browsing for a fitting case for my STC-1000 temp controller... but you made everything perfectly fitting to the ACTUAL dimensions you needed!!! :D
Awesome John.
Thanks for sharing.
That’s my kind of diy project, way cool!
you don't need mouse ears that tall, 1-2 layers suffice, and they break away by hand. And i think Bambu studio (but not orca slicer) finally implemented manual placing of them
My first time using them and I added them directly to the parts I designed in FreeCad. Since then I've made them a lot thinner still rather cut them off to avoid tearing.
Beautiful work, John! It turned out fantastic! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Nice
Great job!
You upgraded your printer. How you liking it? I've been thinking of getting the P1P or P1S. That X1C looks real nice but beyond my needs.
I still do most of my printing on the P1P, actually. I used the X1C here mainly because Bambu sent it out to me along with a bunch of filament and figured I should use it in a few videos.
I like the P1P because it is more open for filming and is slightly faster getting started.
What do you listen to in your listening room? I love to imagine it's that dark electronic stuff thats over the assembly section of the video. hah!
Looks great! What tools do you use to design the parts. The change costs of tools has me changing design software often which makes me loose interest as have to learn new software to just make a part. Makes me go back to metal and a file.
I learned FreeCad and that does everything I need.
If you have trouble with case, it will be sagging from heat of the transformer, as it is heavy and gets warm. I used PETG and have trouble, hopefully abs is better, maybe I should reprinting parts in ABS.
I put a footpad directly below the transformer to prevent that - it's designed into the bottom panel along with the other feet on the corners.
I think the experiment was successful ) Would you proceed to casting aluminum into a form made with 3d printed model? For me it would be cheaper than to order a CNCed parts from the Chinese service if you would need a "high end" amplifier case. May be you won't need it at all but as an experiment - why not?
Always a possibility to do something like that, although the parts would have to be designed with casting in mind, which would make it a lot more difficult.
Machined billet aluminum in high end cases is just a marketing hook, though, since the home experience for audio equipment isn't rough enough to justify a bulletproof enclosure.
@@IBuildIt Agree with you sir. But always wanted to have something ... unusual. I mena an enclosure. But this is about tons of money.
Pretty sweet, why do you think you got into 3d printing but never really cot into that small cnc router you got a long while back?
3D printing is more of a complete solution where it can produce something that's ready to assemble and use. CNC is just another shop tool, like a table saw, that just cuts or shapes parts.
I think you’ll get more views if you put ‘3D printed’ on the title of the video