[Project] 3D Print Your Own Headphones

Is there anything cooler than hooking up a 3D printed gadget with some electronics? Hardly. Unfortunately, not every 3D printing tinkered has the ability to back up such electronic ambitions, but this weekend’s project says “hooey” to that — anyone with a printer and the funds for a few parts can get in on this.

Thingiverse user gumo_design has devised a 3D printed headphone design using off-the-shelf earphone components and a customizable 3D printed housing. Reducing the assembly to the simple act of sticking the printed parts together and bolting things here and there, even those gifted with two left hands can have at it.

Without further ado, let’s jump in and take a look at the required parts and the steps needed to assemble.

These 3D printed headphones consist of twelve printed parts, the electrical interior plus some screws and bolts to hold it all together.

Prints

The 3D printable STL files are available on Thingiverse. It is recommended to print with PLA at 20% infill and 0.2 mm layer height for optimum results. Supports are generally not needed but can be used, especially for the housing parts, as to avoid caving in. We do recommend though to print the pieces separately or in small batches to minimize printing failures, etc.

Apart from that, you are good to go. You can go to town when it comes to color selection. These headphones look great both in unicolor and multicolor. And for those who want to go real extravaganza, the headphones can even be equipped with an attachable set of 3D printable cat ears, for a bit of extra flair. Meow.

Parts

The following non-printed parts are needed for the assembly:

• Koss KSC75 Headphones
• Earpad Size 100mm round
• Polyfiber dampening material

And some screws/bolts:

• M5x10mm – 2pcs
• M3x5mm – 6pcs
• M3 set screw – 2pcs
• M4x6mm Countersunk flat head screw – 2pcs
• M4x10mm – 2pcs (optional for cat ears)

These screws/bolts are all standard and should be available from any good hardware store or order them online.

Once you have the 3D printed parts prepared and ordered the rest, it’s time to assemble the headphones.

Assemble the casing

Each of the cans of the headphones consists of two printed parts: the main housing and driver support. The first step is to snap the driver support into the housing and use three M3x5mm bolts to fix the two together. A little post-processing may be necessary to get a clean fit, especially if you used supports during the print.

Put in the speaker

Once you have completed step one, it is time to put in the electrical speaker. If you order the Koss KSC75 speaker online, it will most likely come fully assembled as a clip-on speaker. So before you put them in the casing for your newly 3D printed cans, make sure to stip them of all the exterior parts such as the casing at the back, the foam cushion, and the earpiece. Take care not to rip out the electrical cord.

After freeing the KSC75 speakers from their original casing, it is time to install them into their new home. Make sure the speaker is adjusted the right way, and carefully tighten the driver support using the set screw. The screw pushes a small wall at the inside of the casing to fix the speaker unit securely. Carefully tighten the screw set until you feel the driver part push into the groove.

Close up and add joints

Before closing up the outer housing, we do recommend to ad dampening material to the interior. Poly-fiber works well. This step will help cancel out outside noise but also minimizes internal sound reflection, resulting in a better sound quality overall.

After stuffing the earpieces, you click on the back cover parts and use the inbuild twist mechanism to fix it. Afterward, carefully click on the headphone joints.

Assemble the Headband

The headband consists of two arm-pieces, which affix to the joints using M5x10mm bolts on each side. A middle piece — which attaches to the two arms using two M4x6mm countersunk flat head screws — allows you to adjust the headband’s size.

Lastly, you need to cover the earpieces with the earpads. One last tip from the creator is not to use fenestrated earpads, as they will eat the bass and mids.

Purrfect Extras

As a little extra, you can print out the cat ears as well and attach them to the headband. They are held in place by two M4x10mm screws.

Lead image: gumo_design/Kaworu Chang, via Youtube