Teach Sound with 3D Printed Passive Speaker/Amplifier

thingiverse

This is part one of a two part lesson on the characteristics of sound. In part one students will use premade passive speaker systems. The first part will cover the different aspects of sound, vibration, echo, reverb and decibels. The topics covered will connect the characteristics of sound to 3D design and 3D printing. There are several example of several passive speakers that can be printed to demonstrate sound is a vibration and that it can be amplified. Most of them can be found on this website by searching "phone speaker" or "phone amp" which is where I found most of my samples. Part two will discuss having students make their own speaker design: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1724824 Print Settings Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator (5th Generation) Rafts: Yes Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.3mm Infill: 10% Notes: There are different speaker sample with different print times and support requirement. Please look at each model individually and chose the setting that are best for each model. The gramiphone takes the longest to print. You have to print each part seperately for a total of about 7 hours. The other samples are easier. Standards NGSS Overview and Background Teach Sound with 3D Printed Passive Phone Speaker/Amplifier Do you remember when you used two cans and a string and school to learn about sound? This is that project but way cooler. Student get to use passive speakers and then design their own all while learning the properties of sound. Learning about sound This project involves teaching students the properties of sound. Mainly demonstrating sound's physical properties and how it can be manipulated. In part two students take this knowledge and design their own speaker/amplifier. Objectives Students will be able to: Explain the properties of sound Define vibration, echo, reverb, and decibel Explain decibel and understand why we measure it Audiences This project is intended for 3-5th graders in it's basic form but can easily be adopted for higher grade students. Subjects The most obvious subject is Physics being sound is a vibration. It also touches on design principals and basic math while using the decibel meter. Skills Learned (Standards) Next generation Science Standards: 1-PS4-1. Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate. 1-PS4-2. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated. 1-PS4-4. Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance. Lesson Plan and Activity Mini Lesson http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1048524 Using the above 3D printed telephone system you can demonstrate to students how sound can travel on a physical object. The link talks about using filament but I just used plain string and tied it into knots after I fish it into the receiver of the 3D printed phone. You can also use cans and string as a way to demonstrate how technology has advanced to the point that taking this to the next level is easier. Make sure not to let the strings cross when using it. You don't have to use both side of the phone you can just use one if the criss-cross of the string is confusing. If you use string you don't have to print the plug. Just tie the end of the string into several knots. This is the entire phone and you don't need to use supports! The same model is in two pieces if you have a smaller printer. Lesson The heart of the lesson is printing various speaker designs and testing them with a decibel meter. Start a conversation with students about designing a speaker for their cell phone then have the students observe the differences is sound output of the samples. Have them consider why certain speakers sound better/louder than other. Discuss why or why not. Talk about the common design characteristics of the speakers that they like and try to guide them to the common design aspects of each and how they can incorporate them in their designs. Part two of this lesson will be on students designing their own. Materials Needed Materials needed: -3D printer -Filament -String (from the dollar store is fine) -Various cell phones for testing -Decibel Meter ( I used https://www.amazon.com/Leaton%C2%AE-Professional-Digital-30-130dB-Included/dp/B01CCD6CNG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1471459431&sr=8-5&keywords=decibel+meter) Skills Learned 1-PS4-1 1-PS4-2 1-PS4-4 Duration of Lesson This lesson will take about 3 classes to complete after the mini lesson is done. The mini-lesson should take one class period. Make sure to take a student cell phone inventory before hand and get permission to have students bring in their cell phones. Preparation Take a poll of what type of cell phones your students own. Consider the cases dimensions while take note of their phones.