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Hi all, I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp. I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points: Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics? Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards,
Matt
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Hi Matt,
I'm not wise enough to chime in on the acoustic properties, but having looked around at the commercial offerings for EM272 caps, it doesn't seem so critical with Omni's.? I have printed some enclosures akin to Pluggys / Usis which thread into a Neutrik housing (M17 X 1mm thread in case anyone is interested) and can share the files later when I am back home. I'd be interested to see how you did the blimp as I've played with a few designs by they seemed a little too fragile in PLA.? Micbooster sell Rycote lyres that fit the Pluggy housings and also ones that fit the XLR housings, these could be suitable, or even inspiration for your own designs.
Adrian?
Hi all, I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp. I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points: Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics? Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards,
Matt
|
Hi Adrian,
I think I will try pla for the omni enclosure, an yes thank you for the tip (M17 X 1mm), just saved me a bunch of time. Image of my blimp is attached.? It's essentially two hemispheres and a cylinder.? The ends are just truncated, rotated rings; the struts are approximately 3mm x 3mm (thinner was more fragile).. The ends are detachable, and removing one end allows the whole cage to slide away from the mic mounts. I used openscad, and happy to share - would need to clean up a bit. For wind protection, I found some very cheap furry hats, I just removed the liner - one on each end.? Stop laughing.
Regards
Hi Matt,
I'm not wise enough to chime in on the acoustic properties, but having looked around at the commercial offerings for EM272 caps, it doesn't seem so critical with Omni's.? I have printed some enclosures akin to Pluggys / Usis which thread into a Neutrik housing (M17 X 1mm thread in case anyone is interested) and can share the files later when I am back home. I'd be interested to see how you did the blimp as I've played with a few designs by they seemed a little too fragile in PLA.? Micbooster sell Rycote lyres that fit the Pluggy housings and also ones that fit the XLR housings, these could be suitable, or even inspiration for your own designs.
Adrian?
Hi all, I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp. I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points: Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics? Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards,
Matt
|
Great job with the blimp!
?
For suspending a 'standard' 20 mm stick mic, the lyres from Rycote or Rode are nice but a bit pricey. I also like the from the far east, if the thing isn't going to get banged around too much. The latter mounts can also be DIY if you can find suitable bands? - eg elastics for ponytails.
?
For the small omni electrets like the PUI AOM5024,? I use the bodies or caps of deceased felt pens, or short lengths of brass tube. I haven't yet got a solution for shock-mounting these little guys. I find that if they're in foam or fuzzy windscreens then gently secured to something, there isn't much physical sound transmission.
?
?
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Hi Matt,
Cool blimp!?
Regarding 3d printing material, PLA is more brittle, and will become even more brittle as it is exposed to sunlight.? PETG or TPU are less brittle and better suited to the design you proposed, in my opinion.? TPU (95a or harder) will pretty much never break.
? Another material that could be very interesting is Varioshore TPU - it foams up when printed at higher temperature.? Very curious if anyone has experimented with it, what they did, and how it affects signal quality.
Regarding sound quality:? The combination of material + blimp cage you showed probably doesn't impact sound quality in a perceptible way.? The material type might interact with the spherical / cylindrical design you have to create resonance at specific frequencies.?
Some thinking here:? A blimp is often metal cage.? Metal has a large acoustic impedance, whereas the acoustic impedance of air is much smaller.? The greater the mismatch in acoustic between two materials, the more signal reflection (and less signal transmission)
will occur at the interface between the materials.? This means that metal blimps reflect sound, but I believe that we commonly assume they do not affect the sound in a noticeable way.? If plastic is chosen (lower acoustic impedance than metal), more signal
will be transmitted through the material.? It seems reasonable to say that this transmitted signal will be subjected to possible distortion in phase (because sound travels faster through the plastic than air), in amplitude (if the material attenuates signal
unevenly across frequencies), and possibly also in a combination of amplitude and frequency modulation (caused by resonance of the blimp's spherical shapes).? So I will guess that a plastic material will transmit more sound? because its acoustic impedance
is closer to air than metal is, but the plastic may also introduce undesirable (and probably undetectable) distortion. ? Side note: ? I think this line of reasoning misses something important about a material's natural resonant frequencies (and harmonics of
those frequencies).
An interesting writeup on acoustic impedance (a not published property of a material) and bulk modulus (frequently published by 3d printer filament manufacturers)?
).? This website shows that the acoustic impedance is directly correlated to a material's bulk modulus, which means the material with larger bulk modulus has a larger acoustic impedance.??? Searching
for the largest bulk modulus will result in a material with most reflection properties.? But again, this doesn't address the possibility of resonance in the material - I don't currently know enough acoustics physics to reason about resonance.
Alex
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Hi Adrian,
I think I will try pla for the omni enclosure, an yes thank you for the tip (M17 X 1mm), just saved me a bunch of time.
Image of my blimp is attached.? It's essentially two hemispheres and a cylinder.? The ends are just truncated, rotated rings; the struts are approximately 3mm x 3mm (thinner was more fragile)..
The ends are detachable, and removing one end allows the whole cage to slide away from the mic mounts.
I used openscad, and happy to share - would need to clean up a bit.
For wind protection, I found some very cheap furry hats, I just removed the liner - one on each end.? Stop laughing.
Regards
Hi Matt,
I'm not wise enough to chime in on the acoustic properties, but having looked around at the commercial offerings for EM272 caps, it doesn't seem so critical with Omni's.?
I have printed some enclosures akin to Pluggys / Usis which thread into a Neutrik housing (M17 X 1mm thread in case anyone is interested) and can share the files later when I am back home.
I'd be interested to see how you did the blimp as I've played with a few designs by they seemed a little too fragile in PLA.?
Micbooster sell Rycote lyres that fit the Pluggy housings and also ones that fit the XLR housings, these could be suitable, or even inspiration for your own designs.
Adrian?
Hi all,
I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp.
I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points:
-
Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics?
-
Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your help.
Best regards,
Matt
--
|
Hey Matt.
?
You already did print your blimp but this may help as a secondary solution.
?
I had these printed, from PETG (PLA is too fragile and easily deforms in higher temps).
?
?
I find it much easier to mount two separate mics then two in one enclosure.
These blimps are designed for 20 mm dia but can easily be modified for 22 mm dia.
I use them for my omnis (AOM 5024 in Boya adapter bodies, there's a thread on them on this forum)? and pencil SDCs.
?
For my field recordings I use a light tripod, no hand holding, so I do not bother with elastic mounts.
I use plastic clips for electric conduits. Cost pennies, hold mics firmly and it's a breeze to clamp the mic in and out.
?
?
I just cut off the top clamp, no need for this.
?
?
|
Ah, I did originally start with two small blimps about 90mm OD, but wanted to create a larger bubble of still air. Also, the various cables and mounts in my design, were a bit of a hassle.
With the larger blimp I can set up the mounts and mics, dress the cables and put on tripod and throw in car. When I arrive I can quickly add the blimp and wind protection if needed.
I really like the design of the one you have shown, where the mic is inserted through the ring. Much easier to put in a backpack when I have to march off somewhere.
I see a compliant TPU gland in my future!
For now I have opted to use TPU for the enclosure and the mount. Keeps size small, can be pulled apart and I can play about with he density and springiness.?? See attached image of prototype.
Thanks everyone.
Hey Matt.
?
You already did print your blimp but this may help as a secondary solution.
?
I had these printed, from PETG (PLA is too fragile and easily deforms in higher temps).
?
?
I find it much easier to mount two separate mics then two in one enclosure.
These blimps are designed for 20 mm dia but can easily be modified for 22 mm dia.
I use them for my omnis (AOM 5024 in Boya adapter bodies, there's a thread on them on this forum)? and pencil SDCs.
?
For my field recordings I use a light tripod, no hand holding, so I do not bother with elastic mounts.
I use plastic clips for electric conduits. Cost pennies, hold mics firmly and it's a breeze to clamp the mic in and out.
?
?
I just cut off the top clamp, no need for this.
?
?
|
Apologies for the delay, life got 'interesting' lately.... I've attached an STL of one of the bodies I designed for an EM272. It works, however you need a small sleeve inside it to prevent the 3 pin element of the plug from pushing back as you insert it into your recorder or XLR socket. I just used something that I had to hand. I did look at trying to design something into the actual cap, but the ground pin on the plug interferes with the wall needed. You could just cut down a sacrificial cable grip from the XLR you are using. Anyhow, I hope it is of some use to some of you. If you have any ideas for mods, let me know and I'll play with the CAD. 
Ah, I did originally start with two small blimps about 90mm OD, but wanted to create a larger bubble of still air. Also, the various cables and mounts in my design, were a bit of a hassle.
With the larger blimp I can set up the mounts and mics, dress the cables and put on tripod and throw in car. When I arrive I can quickly add the blimp and wind protection if needed.
I really like the design of the one you have shown, where the mic is inserted through the ring. Much easier to put in a backpack when I have to march off somewhere.
I see a compliant TPU gland in my future!
For now I have opted to use TPU for the enclosure and the mount. Keeps size small, can be pulled apart and I can play about with he density and springiness.?? See attached image of prototype.
Thanks everyone.
Hey Matt.
?
You already did print your blimp but this may help as a secondary solution.
?
I had these printed, from PETG (PLA is too fragile and easily deforms in higher temps).
?
?
I find it much easier to mount two separate mics then two in one enclosure.
These blimps are designed for 20 mm dia but can easily be modified for 22 mm dia.
I use them for my omnis (AOM 5024 in Boya adapter bodies, there's a thread on them on this forum)? and pencil SDCs.
?
For my field recordings I use a light tripod, no hand holding, so I do not bother with elastic mounts.
I use plastic clips for electric conduits. Cost pennies, hold mics firmly and it's a breeze to clamp the mic in and out.
?
?
I just cut off the top clamp, no need for this.
?
?
--
|
Thank you for sharing. I copied, and made some adjustments to suit my needs.
A ring in the middle to activate the clamping mechanism of the XLRE insert.
A ring at the end to backstop the capsule. the cavity in the centre is where the wires get pushed when I solder on the capsule.
Both as truncated cones to aid printing. Slits to squeeze the capsule, and a ring to give the wind protection something to grip. 
Apologies for the delay, life got 'interesting' lately.... I've attached an STL of one of the bodies I designed for an EM272. It works, however you need a small sleeve inside it to prevent the 3 pin element of the plug from pushing back as you insert it into your recorder or XLR socket. I just used something that I had to hand. I did look at trying to design something into the actual cap, but the ground pin on the plug interferes with the wall needed. You could just cut down a sacrificial cable grip from the XLR you are using. Anyhow, I hope it is of some use to some of you. If you have any ideas for mods, let me know and I'll play with the CAD. 
Ah, I did originally start with two small blimps about 90mm OD, but wanted to create a larger bubble of still air. Also, the various cables and mounts in my design, were a bit of a hassle.
With the larger blimp I can set up the mounts and mics, dress the cables and put on tripod and throw in car. When I arrive I can quickly add the blimp and wind protection if needed.
I really like the design of the one you have shown, where the mic is inserted through the ring. Much easier to put in a backpack when I have to march off somewhere.
I see a compliant TPU gland in my future!
For now I have opted to use TPU for the enclosure and the mount. Keeps size small, can be pulled apart and I can play about with he density and springiness.?? See attached image of prototype.
Thanks everyone.
Hey Matt.
?
You already did print your blimp but this may help as a secondary solution.
?
I had these printed, from PETG (PLA is too fragile and easily deforms in higher temps).
?
?
I find it much easier to mount two separate mics then two in one enclosure.
These blimps are designed for 20 mm dia but can easily be modified for 22 mm dia.
I use them for my omnis (AOM 5024 in Boya adapter bodies, there's a thread on them on this forum)? and pencil SDCs.
?
For my field recordings I use a light tripod, no hand holding, so I do not bother with elastic mounts.
I use plastic clips for electric conduits. Cost pennies, hold mics firmly and it's a breeze to clamp the mic in and out.
?
?
I just cut off the top clamp, no need for this.
?
?
--
|
Looks nice. Can you share the STL?
Am So., 15. Sept. 2024 um 15:23?Uhr schrieb Matt Joyce via <matt.joyce= [email protected]>:
Thank you for sharing. I copied, and made some adjustments to suit my needs.
A ring in the middle to activate the clamping mechanism of the XLRE insert.
A ring at the end to backstop the capsule. the cavity in the centre is where the wires get pushed when I solder on the capsule.
Both as truncated cones to aid printing. Slits to squeeze the capsule, and a ring to give the wind protection something to grip. 
Apologies for the delay, life got 'interesting' lately.... I've attached an STL of one of the bodies I designed for an EM272. It works, however you need a small sleeve inside it to prevent the 3 pin element of the plug from pushing back as you insert it into your recorder or XLR socket. I just used something that I had to hand. I did look at trying to design something into the actual cap, but the ground pin on the plug interferes with the wall needed. You could just cut down a sacrificial cable grip from the XLR you are using. Anyhow, I hope it is of some use to some of you. If you have any ideas for mods, let me know and I'll play with the CAD. 
Ah, I did originally start with two small blimps about 90mm OD, but wanted to create a larger bubble of still air. Also, the various cables and mounts in my design, were a bit of a hassle.
With the larger blimp I can set up the mounts and mics, dress the cables and put on tripod and throw in car. When I arrive I can quickly add the blimp and wind protection if needed.
I really like the design of the one you have shown, where the mic is inserted through the ring. Much easier to put in a backpack when I have to march off somewhere.
I see a compliant TPU gland in my future!
For now I have opted to use TPU for the enclosure and the mount. Keeps size small, can be pulled apart and I can play about with he density and springiness.?? See attached image of prototype.
Thanks everyone.
Hey Matt.
?
You already did print your blimp but this may help as a secondary solution.
?
I had these printed, from PETG (PLA is too fragile and easily deforms in higher temps).
?
?
I find it much easier to mount two separate mics then two in one enclosure.
These blimps are designed for 20 mm dia but can easily be modified for 22 mm dia.
I use them for my omnis (AOM 5024 in Boya adapter bodies, there's a thread on them on this forum)? and pencil SDCs.
?
For my field recordings I use a light tripod, no hand holding, so I do not bother with elastic mounts.
I use plastic clips for electric conduits. Cost pennies, hold mics firmly and it's a breeze to clamp the mic in and out.
?
?
I just cut off the top clamp, no need for this.
?
?
--
--
|
SUre can.
If you need to adjust the model, or tune it for your printer, you can use the scad file, you'll need OpenScad.
Regards
Hi Matt,
I'm not wise enough to chime in on the acoustic properties, but having looked around at the commercial offerings for EM272 caps, it doesn't seem so critical with Omni's.? I have printed some enclosures akin to Pluggys / Usis which thread into a Neutrik housing (M17 X 1mm thread in case anyone is interested) and can share the files later when I am back home. I'd be interested to see how you did the blimp as I've played with a few designs by they seemed a little too fragile in PLA.? Micbooster sell Rycote lyres that fit the Pluggy housings and also ones that fit the XLR housings, these could be suitable, or even inspiration for your own designs.
Adrian?
Hi all, I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp. I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points: Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics? Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards,
Matt
|
How did you find the threads?printed? I had to do quite a bit of cleanup to get them to even go in, never mind smoothly.
I'm now also massively interested in your code for the spectrogam?video generation, that could be a world of fun.
SUre can.
If you need to adjust the model, or tune it for your printer, you can use the scad file, you'll need OpenScad.
Regards
Hi Matt,
I'm not wise enough to chime in on the acoustic properties, but having looked around at the commercial offerings for EM272 caps, it doesn't seem so critical with Omni's.? I have printed some enclosures akin to Pluggys / Usis which thread into a Neutrik housing (M17 X 1mm thread in case anyone is interested) and can share the files later when I am back home. I'd be interested to see how you did the blimp as I've played with a few designs by they seemed a little too fragile in PLA.? Micbooster sell Rycote lyres that fit the Pluggy housings and also ones that fit the XLR housings, these could be suitable, or even inspiration for your own designs.
Adrian?
Hi all, I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp. I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points: Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics? Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards,
Matt
--
|
The firstone I printed was a bit tight, but I just reduced the size by a fraction and it worked fine. I used a 0.2mm layer height.??? A dab of silicone grease will help (for pla).
The scrolling spectrograms was just an idea to produce something to embed in other videos, so I can label specific frog calls.
it has had some significant work in the last couple of months.
Be sure to use the 'click' branch.
I will write a tutorial this weekend, it's been on my list of things to finish.....
How did you find the threads?printed? I had to do quite a bit of cleanup to get them to even go in, never mind smoothly.
I'm now also massively interested in your code for the spectrogam?video generation, that could be a world of fun.
SUre can.
If you need to adjust the model, or tune it for your printer, you can use the scad file, you'll need OpenScad.
Regards
Hi Matt,
I'm not wise enough to chime in on the acoustic properties, but having looked around at the commercial offerings for EM272 caps, it doesn't seem so critical with Omni's.? I have printed some enclosures akin to Pluggys / Usis which thread into a Neutrik housing (M17 X 1mm thread in case anyone is interested) and can share the files later when I am back home. I'd be interested to see how you did the blimp as I've played with a few designs by they seemed a little too fragile in PLA.? Micbooster sell Rycote lyres that fit the Pluggy housings and also ones that fit the XLR housings, these could be suitable, or even inspiration for your own designs.
Adrian?
Hi all, I've built several simple P48 AOM5024 microphones for field recording and recently designed and 3D printed a large blimp cage (180mm OD, 400mm long). I'm now at the stage where I want to use commercial mounts inside the blimp. I’ve noticed that many microphones tend to be around 20mm in outer diameter, which seems to align with the size of XLR connectors. I'm considering 3D printing the microphone enclosures myself and wanted to ask for advice on a few points: Size and Length: Does the size or length of the enclosure significantly impact the microphone's performance or characteristics? Material Density: I have access to both PLA (rigid) and TPU (flexible) for printing. Does the material density or rigidity play a role in how the microphone performs, particularly in field recording environments?
Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help. Best regards,
Matt
--
|
underwood