MICROPHONE SHOCK MOUNT

This Microphone Shock Mount was made at Techshop!

The purpose of a microphone shock mount is to mechanically insulate a microphone from picking unwanted mechanical noise through the microphone stand. This noise can be caused by nearby vibrations like kick drum, people movements etc.

A friend of mine, who works as a Sound Engineer at tango.me (FREE Mobile Calls) asked if I could come up with a better microphone shock mount.

This Is the Final Product :-)

Here are the steps I followed:

I First Tried to Make the Support With a Welding Electrode

It didn't work :-( I guess I am not talented enough, still need to work on the welding !

I Then Tried to Make the Microphone Support by Bending Welding Electrodes

The result was much worst :-((

Nothing Was Working So I Asked a Techshop Staff Member for Help

He suggested using acrylic: make 2 rings that would be connected by a spacer.

I Made the First Prototype in Less Than 5 Minutes on the Laser Cutter

The idea may be working :-)

After Making the First Prototype on the Laser, the Same TechShop Staff Member (thanks Brian) Suggested Using Autocad Inventor 2012 to Make the Real Deal. This Took More Than 5 Minutes, But Was Worth It :-))

So, Here You Go : Step by Step Instructions on Autocad Inventor 2012

First Launch Inventor, Then Start a New Sheet Metal.ipt File

The Sketch1 Consists On:

a circle centered in the origin with a 7" diameter
a circle centered in the origin with a 6.75" diameter
a circle centered in the origin with a 6.5" diameter
a 8 x .1" rectangle centered in the origin

Clean Up Using the Trim Tool and the Sketch 1 Is Ready to Strude

The Ring Is Now Done. Finish the Sketch and Strude It :-)

Now Open a New Sheet Metal.ipt File

Draw :

a 2.5 x .5" rectangle, its left bottom corner needs to be placed on the origin
2 small rectangles, 1 and 2 inches, from the origin and over the x axel with a size of .1

Trim the side of the small rectangle adjacent to the x axle

Then draw

2 small circles with a .1 diameter, with the center over the edge and 1 and 2 inches from the axle y

Trim the remaining lines

Fillet Both Corners of One End With .25" Then Create a Construction Line Over the Y Axle, and Mirror the Object

Finally to Finish the SKETCH, Go to MODEL and ESTRUDE It

The Next Step Will Consist in Opening an Assemble File

Place the Ring

Then, Place the Spacer

Create a Constrain Between the 2 Rings So That They Will Be in the Same Axle

Now Let's CONSTRAIN

Here You Can See the Spacer With the Rings

Now, It Is Time to Place the Other Spacers Around the Rings, 6 Times :-)

Done !

This is what it looks like when assembled :-)

(Thanks to Brian again :))

Now Let's Use the Laser to Cut the Acrylic Piece.

First, export the rings and the spacers as DXF

Open Corel Draw and Open Both Files

Display the element in a way so that you maximize the use of the acrylic

Cut in the Laser

(See the original microphone support)

Glue the Parts Together, and Mount a Microphone With Rubber Bands :-)

Install It Where You Want :-)

easy ....ahahah....

Thanks to Techshop staff for helping me with the design :-)

Now, It Is Time to Check If There Is a Real Improvement in the Sound Quality With My New Support ...

But I Won't Stop There, Another Friend From Techshop Pressed Me to Improve More a Bit, Suggesting to Reduce the Natural Frequency of the System.

The idea is to uneven the distance between the mass and the support by changing the size of each rubber band, and by hanging a different mass on each rubber band in a different position.

COOL IDEA !

I Could Improve Even More This Last Idea by Attaching a Micro Hydraulic Shocker to the Streams Rubber Bands.

WOW !

I was ready to restart the project, taking it to a whole new level, but the project got canceled :-(((

ONe thing I learned, is that a project, an idea can be exponentially improved if you work with the right tools (Autodesk Inventor 2012) and the right people :-))

Finally some web references for Shock mount: http://www.sweetwater.com/c380--Shockmounts