I’ve designed my own headphones from scratch and they look really nice, right? And you can do the same because I’m sharing everything for free on my website. They also sound great so hear me out, pun intended. The cool part is that even the speaker was designed and made by me, and if you remember I showed you this planar speaker design a few months back. So if you want to know more about how I’ve designed such a planar speaker PCB, the magnet configuration and all that, check my previous video on the topic.
This time I’ve designed the enclosure for some headphones as well and the total cost is very low so please check the entire video if you want to know what parts I’ve used, how I’ve made the design, how to print the parts, the Bluetooth and amplifier connections and all that. The headphones have their own USB charger, Bluetooth connection but they could also be connected by wire, the PCB I’ve used has its own amplifier and it works quite well with my planar speaker PCB. That being said, let’s get started.
Let’s make some homemade and 3D printed planar speaker headphones. Damn that’s a long description. Anyway, let’s start. The main part of my design is the PCB. This is a flexible PCB specially designed for planar speakers. It has the copper tracks that will act as a coil and the PCB will be in between magnets and that creates a speaker. I’ve already talked about this design in a previous tutorial where we’ve seen this could reach a quite wide range of frequencies. Actually planar speakers are always more expensive and advertised as more quality but I’m not an expert on the topic. Just for your information this planar speaker cost me 45 dollars that’s why I’ve created my own design.
We also need the 3D design which you could also dwonload from below together with the GERBER files for the PCB. Extra we need the audio receiver, battery and other small components.
This is a flexible PCB specially designed for planar speakers. It has the copper tracks that will act as a coil and the PCB will be in between magnets and that creates a speaker. Download my GERBER files from below and then go to PCBWay.com and let’s order the boards. Select the flexible PCB option and click the quote now button. For the rest I leave them as they are. I save to cart and on the next page I upload the GERBERs. I place the order and just like that the PCBs will arrive in a week or so. PCBWAY done a great job. It is a flexible PCB so is a bit more fragile. You can see the coil made with the copper tracks. Is made to work with 7 pairs of magnets. Solder wires with a lower temperature and faster than usual because these PCBs can’t handle the soldering iron for a long time.
The 3D design I’ve made for the headphones is made out of two main parts. The headband and the speaker cups. Each cup has the main enclosure and 3 covers. The top ring for the cushion and magnets, the middle ring to close the case and the bottom ring for the bottom magnets. They sandwich like this in between and then it gets closed with the enclosure and the speaker would be ready. The design is simple but looks quite well and for sure I will make different enclosure designs in the future for the same PCB.
The left and right enclosure are not the same. Inside the right one we also have space for the electronics and buttons.
First we must glue the magnets in place. The configuration goes like this (see below). I first mark the south and north side on the magnets. Then I use super glue and fix them in place. Now take the main enclosure and we add some of these screw threads. I used the soldering iron to do that.
Now take the speaker PCB and solder wires to it. Take the top ring and add 4 M3 screws like this. On top we add the middle ring like this. Then place the speaker PCB over the pins of this 3D printed part. Then take the bottom magnet support and add it on top and push close it. Just like that we have the speaker. Now we have to connect the electronics and then close the closure with the screws.
But first I solder wires to 3 push buttons. I add those buttons here inside the main case and I glue them in place. Then I solder the wires to the buttons of the bluetooth receiver. Then I also solder the battery to the receiver. At the audio output I also add 4 wires for both left and right channels. Then I glue the receiver just in front of this hole for the USB cable so we could charge the battery. I also glue the battery in place.
Two wires from the audio output will go out through this hole for the left side. The other two are going directly to the right speaker PCB. At this point we can close the right main enclosure. Use those 4 screws so do that. The final touch is given by the cushion. I bought a pair of this 100mm cushions for just a few dollars. I also bought this headband cushion for a few more dollars. Just place the cushion like this and start rotating it and it will get into place. Is almost ready. Now I take a piece of rubber tuber. On the back we have this screw hole so here is where I screw this rubber like this. The rubber will apply friction over the headband later. Finally, I add the clip. I recommend you print this with different colors so it will look better. The clip just snaps into place. Now the right side is ready. Take the headband and test it out. It works perfectly with enough force.
For the left side we do the same. Add the magnets, then 4 screws and then add the middle ring. Then add the planner PCB with wires soldered and then add on top the other magnet part.
On the headband add the cushion. Then, inside also pass the audio wire from the right side. Then fit this wire inside of the left side and make a knot. Then solder the wires to the left speaker. Now you can close the left side as well.
Also add the rubber tube and the clip on top. Fit it on the headband and the homemade headphones are ready. Long press the middle button and turn it on. Connect to any Bluetooth device and listen to your favorite music.
To my surprise they sound a lot better than expected. Not too much base but the sound is impeccable. I’m glad I was able to finally finish my idea. Actually I’m already working on a few different designs for the headphones so you could just download them and make your own. Just download my PCB and 3D files, the schematic and make your own headphones for very cheap. I’m also planning on making some cheap 3D printed headphones with commercial speakers instead of the planar PCB I’ve made.
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