[Pjotter]

Hello everyone,

I've already posted the start of this project in the starting block but i think it's better to have this thread here. I tried to ask a moderator to move that thread into this section but i haven't heard anything.
That's why i start a new thread here. I'll just post the posts that I've made there and a new post of the progress that i made today will be added.

Happy reading, i hope it's a joy for everyone to read and see

[Pjotter]

Hello everybody!

I'm Peter, live in the Netherlands and i'm in the process of making/upgrading a ChipAmp.
This integrated amp has 4 inputs, and 68W into 4 Ohms and 38W into 8 Ohms (LM3886).

I've spend quite a lot of time to get the best possible sound out of these chips, I've had help from others and read and tested so many ideas and configurations. it's definitely not according the datasheets provided by Texas Instruments but the sound is trully amazing.

The bass is so deep, so pure. The voices are so real and vivid. The guitars and drums are really standing in front of you.
It's just amazing. People owning 10k+ systems told me this simply sounds at least as good.
So that's pretty cool, and i'm pretty proud of the result.

But this is just the electrical part of the whole story.

I need a case around this amplifier... I'm a CNC machinist and therefore i'm not going to buy a $90,- case. I rather get a $90,- chunk of aluminum to start with and mill my whole case out of it.

I hope you guys (and girls for that matter) like to see the progress of this. I didn't came to brag here, just want to inspire others and hopefully you'll enjoy watching me make this thing

Wires! Ticking time bomb! This is what it looked like during my tests. How it still looks actually...


This is how it's going to look (hopefully)






Not so long ago something landed on my workbench:



Yup, a bit more than 300x400x100 MM



Need to be able to come wires and cables somewhere:



Let's make some chips:



The material is just 3MM deep in these vices. It's amazing how rigid and strong it is! Thanks to the teeth we push into the material first.



First setup:



M3 thread inside, no tapping here, only thread milling! I really prefer that over tapping, much more reliable and very smooth thread.



Quickly had it on the 4th axis to make the threaded holes on the side







Final result:















Now i also need some brackets for two PCB's inside the case:
















Well, That's it for now. In a few days i'll move along with other parts!

Hope you like to see this coming alive.

- Peter

[Pjotter]

Hi all!

Thanks for the kind replies!

I've made/finished a few more parts, the PCB brackets are now completely finished and i've made the cover plate

I've drilled the holes in the PCB brackets so they can actually be used 



And the cover plate, it's not really going well this week, it's been late pretty much every night and i've been working on my car as well wich broke down on me 
I couldn't find the other spacers for the clamps so i made the front side first and than the back side:


When that was done i've put 4 clamps around the plate to press it down:



eventually it came out like this:



It's made of tooling plate, it's aluminum plate that's been milled from both sides and perfectly straight and flat.

For now the planning is that i'll make a start of the big block on saturday, i don't think i'll be able to get it completely finished. I'd be surprised if i did.
But here's an impression of how it's going to be:





You'll hear more soon!

[Pjotter]

Here they are: PHOTOGRAPHS!

Today i had the pleasure of using this machine, it's a Haas VM3, my regular machine was occupied so i moved to this one:


Fixed the base plate on the machine bed so the vice can be attached:


And there it is, a little more than 30KG of aluminum:


On the left and right a jackscrew to eliminate any vibration


First setup, facing the top and roughing the corners. Facing was done identical as the front plate, they really match




Milled the outside and roughed the inside:










Finished the sides of the pockets:








Unfortunately i couldn't finish the whole setup, i still need to put some threaded holes and fillets on the edges of the grooves. But asides that it's all finished nicely and i've put a nice subtle chamfer on every edge.














































Well, these where the pic's of today..
I'm quite impressed  by the result, eventhough i see pretty products every day, this is really something special. Not because i designed it or i made it, but it was made to be eye candy.
But the best is ahead of us, the top side.

Later i'll post some high-res pictures! Thanks for watching, i hope you enjoyed it!

[Pjotter]

Some extra photo's, they're shot with a proper camera instead of my smartphone..

[Pjotter]

It took a while today to finally upload the pictures, but here they are.

I started this morning by putting the block in the 4th axis



It barely fit




And started milling the backside of the amplifier











Also deburring on the inside, it's a great little tool, safe's me a lot of work


Testing if it fits




And of course, engraving! Need to have some text every here and there 




And i milled the front, this didn't really went as expected. During machining it pushed the block through the brake of the 4th axis.
This made the block rotate slightly, but enough to make the pocket too big.

I put some jackscrews under the vice to prevent this from happening again. Now i've made the pocket a big bigger on purpose to make it straight again.
Of course it's too big for the front to fit nicely. So i'll have to make a new front, this is O.K. because i don't really like the name i put there.

So please don't mind the gap between the case and the front, it will be fixed 



And a few more pictures post machining





Pictures after i switched to a proper camera:








Yes, Yes, i know, something's not right there, the bracket of the PCB is in front of the hole for the RCA socket. I'll adjust the bracket later so it'll fit properly....











Yup, indeed, there will be a new front later.


























This bracket is causing the trouble









Well, that's it for now, i'm pretty happy with the result 

[Vapor Audio]

Man that's slick looking, are you planning on finishing up a top plate to match your Solidworks model?

[Pjotter]

Man that's slick looking, are you planning on finishing up a top plate to match your Solidworks model?

Thanks for the compliment! Nice to hear that people appreciate my blood sweat and tears 

The big block will have that shape, what we're basically looking at is the bottom. The plate (still covered in blue plastic) is the bottom plate.
It's still upside down, and i'll have to finish the top. Haha.

[Don_S]

Peter,

Fantastic work.     The case looks totally awesome and the amount of labor involved explains why the vast majority of equipment is not made that way. 

Best DIY thread since the Abby and Bob speaker show. (Notice who got top billing)

[motosapien]

Holy Smokes!!!   We truly do have the means of production at our finger tips.  If it can be imagined it can be made.  Must have been somewhat stressful near the end when a boo boo could have ruined the piece.

[Mike Nomad]

Thank you for the latest round of pics. I've run out of superlatives...

@ Don: That's funny. The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was Bob's documentation of the goings on at Abbie Audio Werks. Bob better keep Abbie away from this thread: She might get ideas...

Best DIY thread since the Abby and Bob speaker show. (Notice who got top billing)

[Bob in St. Louis]

Best DIY thread since the Abby and Bob speaker show. (Notice who got top billing)

The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was Bob's documentation of the goings on at Abby Audio Werks. Bob better keep Abby away from this thread: She might get ideas...

Wow.   
I've read this thread to this point looking at the awesome pictures of this amp, and could hardly wait to get to the bottom of the thread so I could spill my accolades.
Imagine my surprise.   

Ok then. Thanks fellas. Very much appreciated, and "yes', I'll show Abbie the thread.   

This is a piece of art. I loved machined metal. The detail put into the "cubby holes". The caps have their very own "nest". That's just fantastic.
I love the photos, thank you very much. I'm enjoying them. Please keep them coming.

The rendering you showed early on had some of the components darker in color. Are you going to anodize some of them?

Thanks again!
Bob (and Abbie)

[dburna]

Fantastic job -- such workmanship.  Are you taking orders?   

-dB

[Folsom]

I'm curious about a BOM and schematic.

That thing is ludicrous! You've made everyone on here wish they had a CNC machine.... and the will for autocad.

[kp93300]

This is a masterpiece !! Leonardo of the diy amp building community

[Rocket]

Hi,

I'd be interest to know how much metal you used and the cost?  It is a wonderful looking amplifier and I hope it sound as good as it looks.

Cheers Rod

[Pjotter]

Fantastic job -- such workmanship.  Are you taking orders?   

-dB

`

Thanks for the compliment! Really appriciate it!
I'm definitely thinking about taking orders, I'm not sure how i can arrange some things, but i'd be a very happy person if i could make more people happy with my amplifier.
That would be a dream come true 

I'm just not sure about the commercial/marketing side of it. I just know how to make great products 

[Pjotter]

Peter,

Fantastic work.     The case looks totally awesome and the amount of labor involved explains why the vast majority of equipment is not made that way. 

Best DIY thread since the Abby and Bob speaker show. (Notice who got top billing)

Thanks! It does take quite a few hours to build one, even if it would ever come to series production 
But then again, the result is a stunning device

Bob and Abby? I'm getting curious! Tell me more!

[Pjotter]

Holy Smokes!!!   We truly do have the means of production at our finger tips.  If it can be imagined it can be made.  Must have been somewhat stressful near the end when a boo boo could have ruined the piece.

If it can be drawn, it can be made. Wasn't it Napoleon Hill who said something like "what the mind can conceive it can achieve" ? Definitely trying to prove that! Haha.

You're right, it was quite a bit stressful, but luckily i can fix it by making a new front which was already planned anyway 

[Pjotter]

Thank you for the latest round of pics. I've run out of superlatives...

@ Don: That's funny. The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was Bob's documentation of the goings on at Abby Audio Werks. Bob better keep Abby away from this thread: She might get ideas...

Happy to hear you like them Mike

Bob and Abby again? Who are they? Where's a link to that thread? So curious now! Haha.