MFK Mini Sound System
date: 2025-09-02
The MFK collective, I am part of, got a new soundsystem in 2024. The speakers (4x Paraflex Subwoofers, 2x SynTripPs Tops) were self-built based on open-hardware plans. For presenting the soundsystem without carrying it through the town, we wanted to print a miniature version of it. In the following, this process is described.
Useful links regarding the speaker plans:
- SynTripP (Top) CAD
- Paraflex (Sub) CAD
- Blog article about the SynTripP tops
- Pictures of the SynTripP tops
The goal was to have a 3D model to print. For the subwoofers, such a model could be downloaded from the above link. Opening the .step file in FreeCAD, it looked like this.
The top speaker model, however, could not be downloaded as an assembly, but only as individual parts. As a consequence, one needed to assemble it to get a full 3D model of the tops.
So I logged in to onshape, downloaded the step files individually and opened them in FreeCAD.
Afterwards, I made an assembly using the FreeCAD assembly workbench. I mostly used Distance joints with a distance of 0mm to put faces onto each other, but also to put them into the same plane, even if they were not facing each other (imagine two faces looking into the same direction, but one is stacked on top of the other one and you want them to be in the same plane). Sometimes, I used Fixed joints, namely when I wanted two edges to touch each other. Where necessary, I used Distance joints with a non-zero distance to place objects in place.
I needed some trials to put together the assembly. The first couple trials I made the joints in a way that when FreeCAD solved the assembly, everything was out of place. In the last trial I figured out how to make the joints so the assembly is more robust. The result was a 3D model of the top speaker. I exported them as .step files.
The .step files I sent to Nils. He put them into a slicer of his choice and printed them.