Carbon Fiber Subwoofer Enclosure

[arcasmachineracing]

So my original plans changed around totally. I was wondering if anybody here has made an enclosure for a subwoofer out of fiberglass or carbon fiber. I wanted to know if the sound was 'mushy' or didn't sound quite right due to your carbon fiber enclosure.

Any advice in advance?

Thanks guys!

Brandon Mendez

[onephatcracka]

would cf be strong enough to handle the air blows produced by the amp?... you may almost need some type of reinforcement for that if you go that route..... by the time you are done you might as well create a reqular box and then mold around it (that is if you are making some type of custom enclosure).

its just a thought... i'm not sure if it is true though.

[eddiem67]

build a box of MDF and put a thin layer of carbon fiber on the outside, that is the cheapest way to do it.

[2wickedtoyz]

cf is pretty strong and if done right it will be real light and durable. i say go for it just make sure if you do it with fiberglass to do it evenly and the same thickness all around aswell as with cf. good luck and do what you want and don't listen to nay sayers.
door pods are made with fiberglass and so are many other things just take you time when you do it. can't wait to see the finished product

[WortownSolara]

i would build a fiberglass enclosure, then form a layer of carbon around it, this way you A. have the rigidity you need for the woofer, and B. have the awesome look you are looking for.

[arcasmachineracing]

I will be going with a Carbon Fiber Alpine Type X Subwoofer to finish off the Carbon Fiber look.

[mauibuilt59]

I think something about the carbon fiber material properties wouldnt be good for a box. Carbon fiber flexes and has no dampening qualities. It is very strong, but it will probably be useless for speaker box applications.

[onephatcracka]

Originally posted by 2wickedtoyz
door pods are made with fiberglass and so are many other things just take you time when you do it. can't wait to see the finished product

yes door pods might be made of fiber glass... but those speakers are not produceing over 300watts of RMS.

[epidemic]

hope it works out for u please let us know how it goes because I have podering the same idea fr a while now

[WortownSolara]

carbon fiber has a resonating frequency off the chart, its very hard to make it rattle. but if he listens to the suggestion i have made, make a fiberglass box.........then wrap it in carbon. its a prefect solution.

[88 LE]

Originally posted by onephatcracka
yes door pods might be made of fiber glass... but those speakers are not produceing over 300watts of RMS.

Fiberglass is strong. People use it all the time for building sub enclosures. How do you think they get the funky curves and shit?

[spydrvnm]

yeah, on one of the tutorials i've seen, the guy was able to stand on the fiberglass thing he made

[2wickedtoyz]

Originally posted by 88 LE
Fiberglass is strong. People use it all the time for building sub enclosures. How do you think they get the funky curves and shit?

http://webs.lanset.com/trbocam/fiberglass/1.jpg

http://webs.lanset.com/trbocam/fiberglass/2.jpg

thank you for that.

i've made parts out of fiberglass and it's some pretty strong shit if done right. other wise boats wouldn't be made with it or other things that are used everyday

[Sportivo Concepts]

the playground equipment that you use to play on, like the funky slides and little hidways as well as the little animals and cars and stuff that you use to ride on at the playground are all made out of fiberglass.... so are boat hulls, canoes, my snow skis, kayaks, there is alot of stuff that you see or use everyday that is trictly fiberlass........

[mmartin1872]

if you want to make a c/f sub box i'd do it a little differently it would cost a bit of money though. make the sub box that you want out of fiberglass first... then make a mold of the fiberglass box... lay up the c/f in the new mold. put some sort of foam (2 part expanding foam i'd guess) in it and then lay up fiberglass over top of this... vacuum bag it.. don't know how it would sound... and it would be one tricky job to do, but you'd have one light sub box, and you'd be able to make a couple of them and make some cash out of the whole ordeal. even if you just make back the cost of your supplies you'd be laughing. if your going to do this though i suggest picking up some composite fabrication books.. advanced composites by cindy foreman... bit of good information in the A&P technician airframe textbook... and i have another book somewhere that had some awesome info but i can't find it... I also suggest checking out sites like RCuniverse.com... join there forum and read the info in the airplane section (lots of composite fabrication info there) like how to make a vacuum bag set up for cheap (using an old fridge)... My thought is if your going to go through the trouble of doing the job... you might as well do it right.