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Designing custom speaker grills - help me choose a design?

13K views 31 replies 11 participants last post by  brandontw 
#1 ·
Ive got some Dayton RS-180's in need of grills, and nowhere to buy them, but hey this is DIY afterall...

I've got a place I can get metal laser cut from cad files. The price will probably be about 20-30$ for the pair out of 1/8th inch mild steel.

So... I'm a bit stuck on the designs. I want something clean and simple, but very sturdy. They will be for kick panels... and they might get... kicked.

So here is 4 i came up with so far. Any preferences? Any SQ considerations with these?

And while i'm at it... let me know if you need any, maybe i can get a better price if i get a handful burned!



Thanks, Brandon
 
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#2 ·
I like #1 the best, BUT is the RS-180 going to be your midbass only or midrange also? If midrange, I'd try to just keep the six spokes without the two rings (like #4 without the curved design. That way there's less chance of diffraction.
 
#14 ·
This one seems to be the best for speakers. I agree with the others when trying to watch out for diffraction. Simple may not be as edgy but definitely better for sound, but that's just my $.02
 
#6 ·
Haha.. don't feel bad. Its not like im a speaker grille designer or anything. I don't really like any of them too much, but i like the simple design i settled on.

Not really any sort of designer actually. just a guy with a computer and Inventor...:)

And your absolutely right. They all look like Shower drains except for 4. I hate them all now. thanks a lot... lol
 
#9 ·
On your second run I like #1 & #3. At this point I guess it depends on what vehicle you drive & what kind of theme (if any) does the rest of it follow? Do you have aftermarket wheels on your ride?

Oh, & cool designs by the way. What kind of stuff do you invent?
 
#12 ·
Well, its a 98 Audi a4. Stock everything. Mediocre interior with tan old leather, wood grain, and an awkward color of blue leather for everything else.

So... no theme. The theme is "please dont kick in my spendy speakers". Lol

Oh, and I do all the mechanical design, web design, and graphic design for a small forklift attachments company. Jack of all trades, master of none.

Cbimfg.com
 
#13 ·
As far as diffraction...

A slit which is wider than a wavelength produces interference effects in the space downstream of the slit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction

This is speaking of diffraction through a single slit, but IIRC the principle is the same for circular apertures or multiple slits.

Wavelength
of 3khz sound is about 4.5", 2khz is more like 6.7"

Thing is, a smaller slit causes more diffraction (i.e. the sound waves spread out more) so :confused:.

Can someone double check this?
 
#15 ·
Well, got the quote back from the metal place. If I get them out of 1/8" stainless steel, theyll be 13$ a piece...

Thats with the "freinds and family" discount. If i got them out of regular steel they'd be cheaper... but im starting to think that the stainless might look better and be worth a few extra bucks.

I think i can do 13$ a piece...

I decided that 6 spoke design didnt have quite enough metal for me... so i tried a 12 spoke one, and a couple other randoms.

Im sick of messing with this, so any input on these few would be appreciated then ill go ahead and order a pair up:

7:


8:


9:
 
#17 ·
Well, got the quote back from the metal place. If I get them out of 1/8" stainless steel, theyll be 13$ a piece...

Thats with the "freinds and family" discount. If i got them out of regular steel they'd be cheaper... but im starting to think that the stainless might look better and be worth a few extra bucks.

I think i can do 13$ a piece...

I decided that 6 spoke design didnt have quite enough metal for me... so i tried a 12 spoke one, and a couple other randoms.

Im sick of messing with this, so any input on these few would be appreciated then ill go ahead and order a pair up:

7:
...
8:
...
9:
...
I like 7 and 9.

Any pricing differences on more than one pair? I may be interested if possible...:blush:
 
#23 ·
I considered doing bar style, but I'm not a fan of the style you pictured, and better ones cost more money, and don't offer as good of protection as these will, and these give me the option to stretch some grille cloth over if I want.

And what's a bbs-rs?
 
#26 ·
Those are too cool...

I was thinking of commissioning someone with a Flo-Jet to do some plates with the SR logo to act as a grill for my sub but never pursued the idea based on cost. Not only is that a reasonable cost, but your designs are nice too.
 
#29 ·
Got em in fresh from Portland yesterday afternoon! They look great. The lines are clean, they are sturdy, and stainless!

There are very slight abnormalities where the laser stopped and started, but nothing to turn your nose up at at all.There are two different sides... a factory finish, and what looks like a wheel abraded side. You could easily clean these up even more with some sandpaper and elbow grease.

Here are pictures of the ones I ordered for ZeNmaC, you can see what they look like in a little more detail.




And here are mine... I just threw them in super quick last night with some spacers from Home depot to make sure they were gonna fit and work. The fit was 100% perfect. The holes line up like Dayton made them. :)

Eventually ill take em back off and work on the finish a bit, and find a better spacer solution. They pretty much look fine how they are for utilitarian speaker kick protection though, which is what they are.




 
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