Sound Diffuser/Absorber Dome

thingiverse

This design is an attractive sound diffuser/absorber of 100x100mm [printer] footprint. The best uses for this are likely going to be a shelf/cubbyhole object of curiosity, and as a target for consuming partial filament spools. In an area the size of a room, one of these will make no noticeable impact on acoustics, but it will certainly be a beneficial member of a group of objects that improve the sound qualities of a space. Its primary function is to trap and wear out sounds that come directly at it, while redirecting sounds from other angles, making them softer on the ears and reducing resonances at specific frequencies. The shapes - inside and out - were chosen to focus and bounce sound pressure into multiple ports. These ports, and the paths to them, are shaped with maximizing impedance losses in mind. Once inside the model, the sounds become trapped in a group of chambers that continuously change the path of a given sound and guide it along rough surfaces and disruptive geometries until its energy is depleted. Though this is not going to be a one-print-fix for a room, holding it up to my ear while a sample plays has a much more significant sound level difference than the full-panel prints that I also have available. A significant flaw in this design is that - since the internal structures start with a hollow mixing chamber about a millimeter from the base - placing the base against a vibrating surface will tend to amplify that sound. Of course, you could exploit this property as a "feature", but otherwise, the base should be spaced or damped from a surface. I set them on their sides though, and arrange them so that the side walls are reflecting at favorable angles, like toward the dome of another unit, or away from the listener, for example. I really enjoyed packing the internal volume of this with geometry, and I'm excited about how well it worked, so I really wouldn't mind making a version that also rejects vibrations from the base. It wouldn't change the external look, so let me know if that's a feature that you would benefit from and I'll bump it up the To-Do list.