MATERIALS
Inspired by the work of Liza Stark and other e-textile makers, I wanted to create my own paper speaker.
You can find examples of paper speaker testing, done here:
A speaker is a coil of conductive material - often copper and a magnet. When the electrical current passes through the coil it is attracted to the magnet and causes the paper - or membrane to vibrate.
This can be easily reproduced in paper, and has been a theme throughout this blog. However, the issue has been finding how to do this - which materials work well and make large sounds. Often, paper speakers can sound pretty muffled or quiet. The other issue is the resistance, if a speaker has too little, then it risks overheating the amplifier.
During a residency at IDM in NYU, I tested many paper speaker designs which were drawn with conductive ink. However, I wanted to do this on a large scale and it seemed like it would be too tricky to get an 8ohm speaker from this material.
During lockdown, I did not have access to a plotter or similar. So I began looking at papermaking as a way of incorporating coils into the paper. I remembered during a residency in Laboratory, Spokane, I had learnt how to embed circuits into paper. This seemed like a sensible method to use. I fashioned a jig from an electric screwdriver - in order to make a sufficient amount of turns in the coil, and placed it inside two sheets of paper as it was being made.
I did not like the round shape and felt like it did not take a craft approach. Inspired by jewellery making, I created intricate pattens in the wire. The sound was quieter, but the shapes were far more satisfying and beautiful.
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