Program Based Learning Assignment (PBL-1)

Manufacturing
Process of Speaker
Enclosure/Body
Manufacturing Technology MT- 244

Prepared by: Shoaib Ahmad

Registration# 2020-UET-GSPCT-MECH-35
Submitted to: Sir Umer Sb
Creation Date: Friday, 06 May 2022
Submission Date: Monday, 09 May 2022

BSc Mechanical Engineering Technology

GOVT. SWEDISH COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY GUJRAT
Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

Table of Contents
Product Introduction ......................................................................................... 2
Product Parts ..................................................................................................... 3
1. Front Panel ............................................................................................... 3
2. Rare Panel ................................................................................................ 3
3. Protecting Grill/Mesh ............................................................................... 3
4. Hanging Ribbon ........................................................................................ 3
5. Metallic Hook ........................................................................................... 3
Material Used.................................................................................................... 3
Manufacturing Methods ................................................................................... 3
Manufacturing Process ..................................................................................... 4
1) Injection Molding Process ........................................................................ 4
a) Clamping ............................................................................................... 4
b) Injection ................................................................................................ 4
c) Cooling .................................................................................................. 4
d) Ejection ................................................................................................. 4
e) Post-Processing ..................................................................................... 5
2) Cold Forging Process for Metallic Grille: .................................................. 5
a) Design ................................................................................................... 5
b) Material Selection ................................................................................. 5
c) Process .................................................................................................. 5
3) Die Casting Process for Metallic Hook: .................................................... 6
4) Ribbon ...................................................................................................... 6
5) Assembly .................................................................................................. 6
Safety Precautions ............................................................................................ 6
Table of Figures ................................................................................................. 7
Glossary ............................................................................................................. 7
Table of References ........................................................................................... 7
Credits: .............................................................................................................. 7

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 1

Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

Product Introduction

Figure 1 Portable Mini Speaker

A Speaker enclosure or cabinet is an enclosure (often rectangular box-

shaped) in which speaker drivers (e.g., loudspeakers and tweeters) and
associated electronic hardware, such as crossover circuits and, in some cases,
power amplifiers, are mounted. Enclosures may range in design from simple,
homemade DIY rectangular particleboard boxes to very complex, expensive
computer-designed hi-fi cabinets that incorporate composite materials, internal
baffles, horns, bass reflex ports and acoustic insulation. Loudspeaker enclosures
range in size from small "bookshelf" speaker cabinets with 4-inch (10 cm)
woofers and small tweeters designed for listening to music with a hi-fi system in
a private home to huge, heavy subwoofer enclosures with multiple 18-inch (46
cm) or even 21-inch (53 cm) speakers in huge enclosures which are designed for
use in stadium concert sound reinforcement systems for rock music concerts.1

1 The primary role of the enclosure is to prevent sound waves generated by the rearward-
facing surface of the diaphragm of an open speaker driver interacting with sound waves
generated at the front of the speaker driver. Because the forward- and rearward-generated
sounds are out of phase with each other, any interaction between the two in the listening
space creates a distortion of the original signal as it was intended to be reproduced. As such,
a loudspeaker cannot be used without installing it in a baffle of some type, such as a closed
box, vented box, open baffle, or a wall or ceiling (infinite baffle).

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 2

Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

Product Parts
Parts of speaker enclosure depends upon its design, although parts of
above speaker diagram are mentioned below:
1. Front Panel 2
2. Rare Panel 1
3. Protecting Grill/Mesh2
4. Hanging Ribbon 4
5. Metallic Hook 3
5
Material Used Figure 2: Parts
Materials used for speaker parts are:
• Metal3 (for grill)
• Plastic (for enclosure)
• Aramid Fiber 4
(for ribbon)
• Rubber (for sealing)5
Each of these materials have their own sound characteristics, their own
advantages, and their own disadvantages.

Manufacturing Methods
Process depends upon different factors such as material, cost, production
quantity etc., following methods can be used for manufacturing speaker
enclosure are:
• Die Casting
• Molding
• Injection Molding
• 3D Printing6

2 Speaker grill is usually found in front of many consumer and industrial loudspeakers, and
consists of either a hard or soft screen/grille mounted directly over the face of the speaker
driver. Its main purpose is to protect the driver element and speaker internals (and possibly
other audio components) from foreign objects while still allowing the sound to clearly pass.
However, because it sits in the direct path of the driver, the grille interacts with the sound
produced. A suitable compromise between protection and sound quality must be made based
on the speaker's application.
3 Speaker grills are typically made of metal and have a plurality of tightly-spaced miniature

holes that pass through the speaker grill. Plastic grills are also used in some cases.
4 Fibber is optional, rope can be used as alternative.
5 Rubber Seal is used between front and rare panel.
6 3D Printing is not suitable for large scale manufacturing.

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 3

Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

Manufacturing Process7
1) Injection Molding Process
a) Clamping
i) Before the injection of the material into the mold, the two parts of the
mold must be firmly closed by the clamping device.
ii) Each part of the mold attaches directly to the injection molding
machine and only one of the parts slides.
iii) The hydraulically actuated clamping device pushes the mold parts
together and applies adequate force to keep the mold firmly closed
while the material injects.8
b) Injection9
i) The raw plastic material is catered into the injection molding machine
and pushed towards the mold by the injection device. During this
procedure, heat and pressure melt the material.
ii) Afterward, the melted plastic is injected into the mold very fast and
the accumulation of pressure packs and holds the material.
iii) The material that is injected is referred to as ‘the shot’.
c) Cooling10
i) The melted plastic inside the mold starts to cool once it comes in
contact with the internal mold surfaces.
ii) As the plastic cools, it solidifies into the form of the desired object.
During the cooling phase, some shrinking of the object can occur.11
d) Ejection
i) After enough time has passed, the cooled object can be ejected from
the mold by the ejection unit, which is attached to the back part of the
mold.

7 I used these processes for my assignment. Other processes can also be used depending upon

criteria.
8 The time needed to close and clamp the mold depends on the size of the machine.
9 The injection time is difficult to estimate precisely because of the complicated and varying

flow of the melted plastic. However, the injection time can be calculated by the shot quantity,
injection pressure, and injection force.
10 The packing of material in the injection phase allows extra material to flow into the mold

and decreases the amount of shrinkage

11 The mold must remain closed until the needed cooling period elapses. The cooling time

may be calculated from the few thermodynamic qualities of the plastic and the highest wall
width of the object.

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 4

Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

ii) When the mold opens, a mechanism pushes the object out of the
mold. Force should be applied to eject the object because throughout
the cooling phase the object shrinks and sticks to the mold.
iii) To ease the ejection of the object, a mold releasing agent can be
sprayed on the surfaces of the mold cavity before injecting the
material.12
iv) Once the object is ejected, the mold can be shut tightly for the
following shot to be injected.

e) Post-Processing
i) After the injection molding cycle ends, some post-treatment is usually
required. In the cooling stage, the plastic material in the mold solidifies
attached to the object. That excess material should be trimmed from
the injected object by using cutters.13

2) Cold Forging Process for Metallic Grille:

a) Design
i) Based on the requirements, I design and draw the workpieces for the
shape of the stamping speaker grille.
b) Material Selection
i) Selected the aluminum material for speaker grille.14
c) Process
i) Cut the metal sheet in required shape and size.
ii) Bent it using Die and Punch.
iii) Punched holed using Press.
iv) Cleaned the surface and removed irregularities

12 The period that is needed to open the mold and eject the object may be calculated from
the dry cycle time of the machine and the time the object needs to fall out of the mold.
13 For several kinds of materials, like thermoplastics, the shred material that results from the

trimming can be recycled by using a plastic grinder called a regrind machine or granulator
which regrinds the shredded material into granules. Due to degradation of the material
characteristics, the granules must be blended with raw material in proper regrind proportion
to be reused later.
14 The materials used for the stamping speaker grille must not only meet the technical

requirements of the design, but also the requirements of the stamping process and the
subsequent processes

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 5

Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

3) Die Casting Process for Metallic Hook:

i) Created the mold for Metallic Hook.
ii) Poured the molten metal into mold cavity.
iii) Let it solidify and ejected it.
iv) Cleaned the surface and removed irregularities.

4) Ribbon
i) After that I used fiber material to produce ribbon.

5) Assembly
i) Assembled all parts

Safety Precautions
• Do not operate the machine unless you have been instructed in its
operation and safety devices.
• Be certain all safety devices are working properly before operating the
machine.
• Report any hazard to your supervisor, no matter how minor it is.
• Report any open receptacles, junction boxes, bare wires, oil leaks, or
water leaks to your supervisor.
• Keep oil and water off the floor around the machine.
• Keep the platform and work area clean.
• Sand Floor in pouring area shall be clear of all objects not involved in
pouring.
• Clamp or weight up molds that require it.
• Metal added to heat must be free of moisture and impurities.
• Metal added to heat during melt must be preheated.
• Skimmers and other melting tools must be preheated before use.
• Move Slowly while removing crucible from furnace and moving to mold.
• Do not look into exhaust during operation.
• Inspect crucibles before use.
• Inspect propane lines.
• Wear respiratory protection while melting copper-base alloys (brass,
bronze).

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 6

 Manufacturing Technology - PBL 1 Shoaib Ahmad – Reg# 2020-UET-35

Table of Figures
Figure 1 Portable Mini Speaker .......................................................................... 2
Figure 2: Parts .................................................................................................... 3

Glossary

Metallic Grille A grating or screen of metal bars or wires.

Post-Processing Processing after other processes have been completed.
Die Casting Metal casting process.
Enclosure An area that is surrounded by a barrier.
Cold Forging Displacement process to shape the material.
Injection Molding Shaping of material by injecting heated material into a mold.

Table of References15
https://planningtank.com/blog/plastic-injection-molding-definition-process-
environmental-impact
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9848255B1/en.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker_enclosure.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/safety-rules-injection-molding-steven-plastic-
mold-engineer-supplier
http://www.themetalcasting.com/safety-tips.html
https://pacdiecast.com/die-casting/3-commonly-adopted-safety-precautions-
in-die-casting/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_grille
https://www.humanspeakers.com/howto/grill.htm
https://www.accurateperforating.com/applications/audio

Credits:
Researched/Designed by:
Shoaib Ahmad Reg# 2020-UET-35

15 Content is plagiarism free, I only get the idea from these websites.

Friday, May 6, 2022 - 9:24:03 AM Page | 7