kitronik channels old-fashioned hobby kits for modern DIY 3D-printed speakers

kitronik channels old-fashioned hobby kits for modern DIY 3D-printed speakers
(above) the designs have been kept relatively simple consisting of just a few parts each

with the rise of 3D printing, laser cutting, development boards, and other hardware design and prototyping tools, it’s never been easier for somebody to dive head-first into designing their own products. aiming to help assist designers and engineers-in-the-making, the designers at UK-based kitronik have created two speaker design kits that users can download and 3D print to better understand the design and construction of modern electronic devices; the ‘cube speaker’ and the ‘stereo speaker’. among other interesting design details include a front plate on the stereo speaker design that was laser cut from birch plywood, in an effort to show how multiple materials can be combined with good effect.

the easy-to-assemble speakers require no previous experience with electronics

‘when we started off, people said to us that electronic kits were becoming less popular,’ said kitronic co-founder kevin spurr. ‘I think that’s because the kits that were being used weren’t very interesting. the trick is interesting kits at affordable prices.’

the speakers, which were designed in autodesk inventor and prototyped using a robox rbx-01 3D printer with pla filament material, make use of kitronik’s plug n’ play mono and stereo amplifier kits designed for today’s smartphones, laptops, and other music players. ‘we know that we have an issue with manufacturing in this country,’ adds spurr. ‘the manufacturing side isn’t done by humans, it’s done by technology now but the design is done by humans and that’s where we need to have more people.’

the speakers were created in autodesk inventor

while those with access to a 3D printer can download the files directly through thingiverse, those without access can now 3d print directly from the online marketplace using a local 3D printer through the 3D hubs network, which now includes over 31,000 3d printers around the world. 

simple electronics components make it easy for beginners to learn how consumer electronics work 

the designs can be printed on most 3D printers and through 3D Hubs

users can also modify the designs to their liking using the 3D printable files as a design reference

the finished and assembled cube speaker

the finished and assembled stereo speaker

the finished and assembled stereo speaker

the cube is a perfect on-the-go speaker solution

the clean and minimalist design fits in any environment

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom