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Another Audio Build: 2019 Ford Explorer

Well, plasma shenanigans.

The perimeter of the baffle for the 24s had to be cut on the handheld plasma.

I'm using a Titanium 45 from Harbor Freight. I bought it when my OLD Miller unit took a shit while working on the Audi. Finished the Audi with the Titanium 45 without issue.

So I come out and start trying to cut the perimeter of the baffle with this Ti 45. It cut for about three seconds, would stop cutting, and start gouging.

I tried over and over. Verified that air pressure was correct and that I was on air off the air drier.

So...no moisture in the air, correct pressure (regulated down to 90psi, not tank pressure) and it still gouged after three seconds.

Put a new tip on. Same shit.

Put a new electrode in. Same shit.

Cutting like absolute shit.
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Ended up with flames shooting out the side of the retainer cup. That's interesting.
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Of course Harbor Freight doesn't have retainer cups and guides in the store so I ordered some from Amazon.
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For some-odd reason a new retainer cup and guide fixed the problem. I'm still baffled as to what went wrong, bit if you look at the guide it's like the thing was arcing through the guide/retainer cup instead of solely through the plasma stream.

Anyway, that mess is fixed.

Now it's time to work on the subwoofer cutouts in the baffle. This will be done on the CNC plasma table so I have to learn the process/workflow of drawing in Fusion 360 and setting up the parts in Fusion to be made on the plasma instead of CNC or 3D printing.

Before I started research on that I punched in some straight cuts in the software and messed around at 10ipm. Way slow on the feed rate, but this worked to get me through the IHS calibration on the Langmuir.


I have the sub cutout program in the plasma and did a dry run (not firing the torch) that works perfectly. Tomorrow I'll lay out the exact locations for the sub cutouts and get those cut. Fusion says it's 1:33 for each sub cutout.
 
I'm exhausted.

Since I'm working alone I made a full-size wood template of the baffle to check for fitment issues when getting the baffle in/out of the vehicle for fab work. Despite the wood template going into place with a little finagling, the actual steel baffle was a completely different situation. Had that thing in/out of the vehicle four times - each time making small cuts to get it to drop into place. I sometimes screw myself looking for perfect fit. This is one of those instances where I made the tolerances too tight.

All that aside, this is a great progress point because I can see where - exactly - I need to cut the unibody. Honestly it's MUCH less than I was expecting when this was all in the design/mock-up phases.

While having the baffle in place is nice, I know it has to come back out again. At least two more times.

But hey, it fits like a glove. So I've got that goin' for me, which is nice. :homer:

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Aw shit, I thought that was going to be a back wall not a floor. So much for the roll cage/passenger abuse.
 
bdkw1 said:
Aw shit, I thought that was going to be a back wall not a floor. So much for the roll cage/passenger abuse.
Click to expand...

No, the Edge got a single 24 in a wall.

This is getting two 24s under a false floor like the Audi.
 
Another update...

Had an appointment today. While I was out I grabbed lunch and went on a parts/materials run.

I planned on coming back and cutting metal but decided NOT to get nasty with metal work after I got back because I'm pretty sure the wife and I will end up at the local margarita restaurant tonight for Taco Tuesday. Fortunately a little something I needed for the install arrived this morning. So I started working with a part.

The great thing about working on this vehicle is that pretty much ANY idea is fair game.

"Would it be possible to..."

"What's the likelihood of..."

"Is there a way to..."

"How difficult would it be to..."

Any of you that know me know that I won't say "Yeah...not happening." I typically find a way to accomplish whatever it is that most people say can't be done. One of those "Not with THAT attitude" situtations.

If I DO say no to something there's usually a very good reason. Usually.

So...considering I'm putting two 24s in a vehicle in a stealth build this ask from the owner wasn't such a big deal. Here's how it went...

"Is there a way to say...build a SPL meter into the vehicle? I want to be able to sit there and show people real-time SPL numbers when I give them a demo."

I laughed. We were already committed to stuffing two 24s in this thing in a stealth build so adding something like a real-time SPL setup should be easy. :homer:


So the SPL sensor arrived this morning. I came back home and got to work looking at how to get it installed.

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This is the microphone side of the circuit board. There are eight legs on the mic, but it's covered in potting compound. The biggest component here is the cable jack and that needs to be at the top of the piece as it's installed so I can cleanly route the cable.
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The opposite side of the board.

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I cut a small notch in the factory plastic for the jack...
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...then I cut a couple of small pieces of ABS to go on the left/right sides of the circuit board to keep it located laterally. The factory part is made from PC-ABS so acetone was used as an adhesive. For those that don't know, acetone melts ABS. If you brush it on (I use these) the mating surfaces and press the two parts together, it will bond the two pieces. Acetone - more than just a cleaner.

I also used some hot glue to secure the circuit board to the housing.
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Small hole on the visible side for the mic.

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Installed in the vehicle.

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Since the mic won't be facing the windshield and won't be in the stock housing I know some SPL heads will argue that the readings won't be accurate. The sensor also isn't located where the orgs would place the meter for competition.

We don't care about that. It's a fun thing that the owner can use to say "So if you're interested, here's a readout of dB level in the vehicle while you're listening."
 
The anal people might argue about placement and such, but I would be interested in seeing it's numbers compared to a mic placed as it would be for comp. I bet the numbers will be relatively close.
 
Cuts are pretty much done to get the baskets in. I can close up the sections I cut out tomorrow then lay out the mounting points for the subs on the baffle, get them drilled, and then start welding the baffle to the vehicle.

24s are easy. Especially with a plasma cutter. :homer:

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A pic for the car audio guys. A lot of them would freak about taking a plasma to a perfectly good vehicle.
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Like they belong there.
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Wild to see that little metal trim out of the stock body to make the pair fit. Initially it looked like there would've been more cut out :smokin:
 
Provience said:
Wild to see that little metal trim out of the stock body to make the pair fit. Initially it looked like there would've been more cut out :smokin:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was saying that there’s much less to be cut than I initially expected. I could’ve cut less out of each side, but the owner didn’t want me to have the subs touching one another in the center. So…that little spacing required just a hair more to be removed per side.

There’s also two cuts per side for basket spokes. Then the well under the sub location will have to be cut as well to allow for motor clearance and for the subs to breathe.

I decided to clock the subs this way to avoid mounting points at 3 and 9. Clocking them also minimized the depth of cut to fit the basket spokes. With spokes at 3 and 9 the cuts into the “frame rails” on the unibody would’ve been much larger.

So clocking the subs 22 1/2 degrees was all around the better move.
 
Eman Resu said:
2 24s and a functional backseat, when compared to the Siclone the Explorer must seem like a Suburban.
Click to expand...

:laughing:

Here's an image of the head unit. Alpine ILX-F511. Titan Motorsports is doing the work to get HVAC, hazards (the CD eject button will function as hazards), and the trim bezel among other things.

This image was of the initial plan. It will stay pretty much the same, but the air vents above the radio will get changed slightly when it goes back to them to eliminate a having a "shelf" where the top of the display protrudes from the dash.

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Alright...SPL stuff...

This is the SPL Lab LCD Bass Meter.
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It can be powered by battery or by USB. We'll be using USB to power it.
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The actual circuit board is small. Battery footprint takes up most of the real estate.
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I desoldered the battery contacts and removed the board so I could more easily size up placement options in the vehicle.
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I also powered it up on the bench via USB. This is all that's needed for the onboard SPL meter to function.
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There are still more electronic gizmos for this thing.

I joked with the owner tonight that the 24s were simpler to package. :laughing:
 
bigun said:
One way to get them legs tanned
Click to expand...

Thought about that but there’s not a lot of welding here. Tack, move, tack, move, tack…

Not running beads here. Even with amperage as low as I can set it I’m still having moments where I blow through this thin shit if I try to do more than tack. A stitch blows through.
 
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