Samsung level on wireless headstrap by Gunsmith1990

Last crawled date: 3 years, 3 months ago

Printed on a ReprapGuru prusa i3 with a direct drive extruder and PLA filament. Models were sliced using Cura.
This replacement head strap uses the original earcups, axles, screws, plastic screw plates, and head strap padding of the headphones. The original headphones can be easily disassembled by removing the 4 torx screws in the head strap (the size is T5), removing the pin holders by sliding them upward, and pressing the pin holding the earcups out with a small screwdriver or similar. The padding is held onto the head strap with clips, a prying tool can be used to disengage the clips. Be careful to not damage the fake leather on the padding, as it tears and damages easily, especially if the headset is somewhat old.
IMPORTANT: These models are by no means perfect and requires some effort to fit correctly. The issues I encountered while doing the fix using these models are listed below:
The holes for the screws are too small and the standoffs have walls that are too thin. I drilled the holes out by hand with a 1.5mm drill (this cracked the standoffs). I reinforced the outsides of the 4 standoffs with a strong 2 component glue applied relatively generously around the outsides of the standoffs. This worked well and the screws from the original headset self-tap and holds the headset together nicely.
The clip in the middle of the printed head strap that holds the padding seems to be slightly too wide. A bit of work with a file solved the issue.
The "hook" part of the clips tend to break off since the force on them are aligned to the layer lines. A fine line of strong 2 component adhesive built up an acceptable and durable lip for the head strap padding to clip on to.
The head strap sides are modeled to be parallel, but the head strap padding and pin holders taper off towards the earcups on either side. The head strap was modelled to be parallel since it is easier to model and print. I added the taper by hand using a course file, using the pin holders as a reference for the desired strap width.
The space underneath the pins in the printed head strap is too small to fit the earcups properly. I used a sharp woodworking chisel and a file to make the recess into the strap. Recess this until the earcups can be easily assembled with the pins, and the earcups can be opened until the silver ear cup surfaces are parallel with the tops of the pin holders.
The head strap held the ear cups too close to each other to fit on my head. This was fixed by slowly heating the entire head band with a heat gun, bending it by hand to the desired form, and putting it in cold water while holding it in the desired position. This causes the head strap to keep the form that it was bent into. Do not try to heat the headband while the ear cups are attached for a test fit. You may deform the pin holes in the printed part, damage the cable of the headset that has to go through the headband, or get the earcups wet. You do not have to heat the plastic very much to get it into this malleable state. In my case I heated it up to the point where I started smelling the plastic melting, and the part was still comfortable to touch. Be careful not to burn yourself. I recommend doing this to a size only slightly smaller than the position of the earcups on your head, as PLA, especially at this thickness, is not very bendable.
When assembling the completed parts, make sure not to pinch the wire of the earcups between the headband padding and the printed head strap. Try to route the cable in the recess of the headband padding while assembling the headset.
Print Settings:
3 Walls
3 Top
3 Bottom
100 % infill
0.1 mm layer height
Headband printed flat on its side with a brim and tree supports.
Pin holders printed on a raft with line supports.
Finishing:
I used a file and some fine sandpaper to make sure all parts fit correctly and and are smooth to the touch. I applied XTC3D, an epoxy used to smooth 3d prints. I sanded the parts after the epoxy was dry to a smooth finish. I used a gloss white spray paint directly on the epoxy. I buffed out the remaining rough edges and surface defects revealed by the white paint using a felt wheel for a dremel tool. I then added several thin layers of the same gloss white spray paint and allowed the items to dry between each coat.
Enjoy !