At Formlabs Audio,
we believe that the future of the consumer audio experience
is custom-built earphones.
For the first time,
it is possible to combine phone scanning,
manufacturing automation, and affordable 3D printing
to bring custom fit as an accessible earphone category.
In this video, we're going to walk through
the four basic steps of creating a custom ear tip,
from scanning, CAD, printing, and post-processing.
We'll be making a custom ear tip
for the excellent Bose sports earphone,
but the process works on creating a custom ear tip
for any earphone model, brand, and wearable ear technology.
Let's begin.
Before printing, you need a scan of the customer's ear.
Thankfully, this has never been easier
due to significant advancements
in smartphone scanning technology.
Ear scanning apps are available from Snugs,
Hearables 3D, and MyFit Solutions.
This is a growing market driven by significant improvements
in phone camera technology
and developments in machine learning.
Today, we will be using Hearables 3D ear scanning app.
The Hearables 3D app uses augmented reality
to guide the user through the scanning process.
The process is fun and takes only a few minutes.
Artificial intelligence is then used
to strengthen the scan quality
and reconstruct any missing parts of the ear.
Now, you're ready to export your scan into CAD software.
With the ear captured as a scan, it's time to create
a comfortable and perfectly fitting ear tip shape
that matches the form of the ear
and attaches into the earphone.
This is the same process that is used
by hearing aid manufacturers,
who provide custom-fit hearing aids
to guarantee comfort and noise isolation to their patients
all day, every day.
Traditionally, this CAD modeling step would be done
by a skilled modeler using specialized CAD software,
but new developments in machine learning
now fully automates this step.
This means that it is now possible
to go directly from a scan to a print file
using the Hearables 3D AutoDesign cloud service
and output the file
into Formlabs's PreForm software for printing.
This step is fully automated.
Now, you're ready to print.
The ear tip is sent directly
into Formlabs's PreForm software,
which prepares the 3D print file for a Form 3B printer.
From PreForm, the design is sent to any printer,
either locally or remotely, where the ear tip is turned
from a virtual, digital file into a real, physical product.
The Form 3B is ideally suited to mass printing
of custom ear tips
due to the combination of highly detailed parts
and its low cost per part,
which allows for scaling print volume.
More than 135 ear tips can be printed
on the Form 3B printer at once,
allowing for nearly 300 parts per day.
This can be doubled if printing overnight
and further simplified
by using Formlabs's remote print features.
For this workflow, we are using the Formlabs Flexible 80A Resin
to provide a material balance of softness with strength.
Flexible 80A Resin can withstand bending, flexing,
and compression, even through repeated cycles.
And a lacquer process offers skin contact use and shine.
Other materials and colors are also possible.
Once the ear tips are removed from the printer,
you're almost done.
The parts are inserted into the form wash and form cure
to remove excess resin.
Once removed from the build platform,
the parts are lacquered so that the Flexible 80A Resin
is safe to be inserted into the customer's ear.
Here, we are using LP/W lacquer from egger.
Finally, it's time to ship the ear tips to the customers.
Once the package arrives, the customer removes
the one-size-that-tries-to-fit-all ear tip
provided with the earphone
and uses their custom 3D-printed ear tip instead.
In this case, the ear tip has been designed
to perfect fit the Bose sports earphone,
including its charging case.
Now when the customer wears their earphones,
they enjoy an immersive listening experience.
From music to podcasts,
custom-fit earphones are here to stay,
courtesy of Formlabs 3D printing.