Shoe Speakers

This project is to create speakers in a creative material with a shape other than a box. DIY shoe speakers teach skills of soldering, hardwiring, and utilizes several manufacturing processes to create the finished product. It requires a more creative thought process on what to do with the challenges of working with an abstract shape. I created mine to learn more about hard-wiring and energy flows, along with manufacturing skills.

Tips Before Starting

Some helpful tips I would have liked to know before I started this project includes:

• Choose a shoe with a smaller sole. My shoes are thick soled, size 11 men's sneakers I bought at Walmart. I've seen this project done with Nike Airforces as well; however, I think it's easier to use thinner soled shoes with a smaller size (5-7 women's should be much better).
• Make sure the stand you create or use is fairly thick and will hold the weight of your shoe.
• Don't solder before you attach it into the shoe. You have to re-solder everything. It's much easier to start with a breadboard, and solder later.
• I find it more aesthetically pleasing when the speakers are tucked into the shoe and not bolted on as such, but for my prototype I just bolted them on the outside. If you are doing it on the inside, I'd recommend measuring the speaker part instead of the back part.
• Ensure you understand basics of breadboards and electricity connections before starting. (Red is typically associated with positive, black is typically associated with negative.)

Machinery:

• 3D printer + PLA material
• Solder iron + solder spool + brass cleaner
• Wire cutters/wire strippers
• Drill + drill bits
• 2 inch hole saw (or size of speaker diameter)
• Exacto knife
• Scissors

Hardware:

• Pair of shoes (easier with thinner soles, but any can work)
• On/Off switch
• Audio amplifier - Bluetooth
• Charging board
• Breadboard
• Female jack socket
• 5V AC adapter
• 3 watt speakers
• 3.7V lipo battery
• 8 screws (fitting the holes to secure the speaker)

Solidworks File:

• Shoe holder SLDPRT file

I started creating the file for my shoe holder very first thing, so it would have time to print and it would definitely fit the shoe. The SLDPRT file I've created is fit for a size 11 men's shoe, so if you bought another size or type of shoe, you will likely need to modify the Solidworks part. To get the shoe onto the shoe holder, I had to take out the padding on the bottom of the shoe (also making it easier to drill through the sole later) and then slide the shoe down and twist it on. It is slightly hard to get the heel of the shoe onto the small ridge, but as long as you gently slide it together it should fit perfectly. The taller edge should be the one inside the shoe, and the flat edge should be the one sitting on the lower sole. The Solidworks file's link is given above in the materials section.

While I didn't use a breadboard to mock the connections and begin my speakers, this is one thing I wish I had done. This prevents the need to re-solder any parts together and have to cut/re-connect pieces. It also proves all your parts function properly before you insert everything into the shoe. I highly recommend using a breadboard until you ensure you're ready to assemble the whole shoe and until you have 100% functioning parts. (This was the wire setup I used just this image is soldered).

Next, you need to cut holes for your speakers to fit in. The speakers in my shoes were 2 inches in diameter, so I used a two inch hole saw. You need to attach the hole saw to the drill head and drill into the sole of the shoe at a preplanned mark on each shoe. Ensure you have the center the same on both shoes so they're even and aesthetically pleasing. To prepare to enter your speakers into the shoe, you first need to solder a red wire to the positive part on the back of your speaker, and the black wire to the negative part on the back of your speaker (these connections need to be long enough to stick out of your shoe). Then after drilling through the whole sole, I threaded the speakers through on the outside. I found trying to attach these on the inside would be very difficult to secure and ensure that they'd stay. I then drilled the screws into the sole through the speakers to secure them. I pulled the wiring through the shoe down to the heel, so they could connect on the outside. One of the shoes should have majority of the wiring while the other only has a speaker. The only two wires on the outside should be the shoe with no wires inside and the wires that connect from the audio amplifier to the speakers. (Second image is of the inside of the shoe).

To fit the switch for turning the speaker on and off, and the socket for charging your speaker, you need to drill in holes. I inserted my holes for these on the side of the shoe. I began with the hole for the switch. Mine was closer to the heel on the fabric, but you can put it wherever you see fit. I used a very small drill bit to just begin cutting through my shoe. I recommend drilling fast so it doesn't catch and snag the fabric of the shoe. I also recommend pulling the drill bit out quickly for a cleaner hole. I then took an exacto knife to cut a small "x" shape into the shoes from the hole. I used scissors to apply pressure to the outside of the hole and twist it until the fabric stretched just big enough to insert the switch. Make sure to tuck the frayed fabric pieces underneath the switch for a cleaner look. I repeated the same process with the jack piece, just with a smaller "x" shape and less usage of the scissors.

Using the soldering model and/or the mock up with the breadboard, solder the pieces into the shoe and hot glue or electric tape them to the sides of the shoe to secure the loose components. The way I did mine was with hot glue and I hot glued a few components into the shoe to hold the rest of the wires in place, so when stood upright on the stand it was still not visible.

It is extremely difficult to attach the shoe to the stand without breaking the stand or causing any breaks in the shoe. First, I lay the shoe on the tallest part of the stand as shown above. Then I carefully and gently slide the shoe on it's side with the thinnest part (not the heel) so it is able to get over the ridge and be held in place properly. I then slowly and carefully twist the inner part of the shoe towards the stand until the shoe is in an upright position and balances on its own. I recommend attaching the shoe with the buttons on it first then the shoe with only the speaker on it.

Take the two wires you should have left out and solder them together to connect the other speaker. Please note this step is AFTER you assemble both speakers onto the stand.

Tuck the loose wire (that's outside of your shoe connecting to the other) under the stand slightly and either tape or hot glue these into place.

Turn on your phone, plug the speaker in and flip the switch on. The speaker should say, "Bluetooth mode" once it's on. Then, "the Bluetooth device is ready to pair". Once you've found the device (it should be called bluetooth on your phone) it will say "the Bluetooth device is connected successfully".