Influence of different materials used for 3D printing in miniature speaker enclosure development

Additive manufacturing techniques are commonly used in industry and mechanical prototyping. The past years brought rapid growth in this technology development, also in the speaker cabinets manufacturing industry. We observe numerous DIY projects on the market based on the 3D printed cabinet parts; however, this technology also offers novel options that should be investigated and documented. In the current state of the art, the basic properties and construction aspects for speaker acoustic performance is not provided as the 3d printing technique is usually treated as the tool for other projects' development. This paper will provide a detailed comparison of the most common 3D printing materials used in FDM techno9logy, such as PLA, TPE, PET-G, and others with different mechanical properties. Example enclosure for a loudspeaker of 37 mm diameter will be printed in different shapes and compared for frequency and sensitivity differences. The results will be discussed, investigating the possible use of different than traditional rigid plastic enclosures and new options using complicated geometry shapes possibly to manufacture with 3D printing techniques.