[dhruvmeena96]

Absolutely. If you can fit the tubes through, everything will be fine. If you have two distinct holes it is a bit easier to get a nice looking finish, but functionality wise you can use one oval bore and fit both tubes. You will fill up the ear canal with resin anyways.

See my pics above on how to cover the outside with resin, that way you will also cover any remaining gaps. Sometimes when filling up the ear canal the resin does not fill all gaps between the tubes.

I will try this and report back. Thanks for your advice!

Btw, can the two hole drilled in the shell for the tubes be connected (top circles)? Or do they have to be distinct circles and separated (bottom circles)?

Get a 5mm ID tube, stretch it bit and fit these two 2mm ID(3mm OD) tubes.

Extend the 5mm ID by a bit(2mm length extension from the two tubes to the end of CIEM nozzle end)

 

[zekester]

Here they are.

I cut the tubes with a scalpel, and I make sure to remove a layer of the shell with the cut. Since we will be adding material we have to remove some so the ear canal does not get too deep.

Then I insert something into the tubes, my syringes habe needles that fit exactly but I recently found out I have dremel drill bits that fit too. It needs to be a tight fit so that nothing can enter the tubes.

After that I just drip some resin with a syringe around the nozzle and cure with a UV flashlight.

Spoiler: Pics

Thanks a lot for showing this. I just tried boring out the canal, running the sound tubes through, and then back-filling from the inside using a syringe. That works great for getting the tubes into position. I think the next step to get them looking more finished the way I want would be to take your approach for cutting and filling the ends with a metal dam of some sort. Ideally, I would like to have something plugging the tube about 1 mm down so that I could finish the end with a ball shaped cutter and then pull the plug out to keep the tube clean and wind up with a feathered end where the pvc and acrylic meet.

 

[eunice]

I just tried boring out the canal, running the sound tubes through, and then back-filling from the inside using a syringe.

That’s what I do too, the I close the face plate and then I work on the outside to not get any dirt inside.

Ideally, I would like to have something plugging the tube about 1 mm down so that I could finish the end with a ball shaped cutter and then pull the plug out to keep the tube clean and wind up with a feathered end where the pvc and acrylic meet.

You could insert dampers and pull them out using the damper tool. Maybe solder a broken damper shut.

But I don’t quite get your idea of a feathered end, do you mean like a v shape ?

 

[zekester]

That’s what I do too, the I close the face plate and then I work on the outside to not get any dirt inside.




You could insert dampers and pull them out using the damper tool. Maybe solder a broken damper shut.

But I don’t quite get your idea of a feathered end, do you mean like a v shape ?

Yeah, I guess something like these sketches. Either where the tube can be cut down so there isn’t a lip, or like in the second one, where the acrylic is built up to form the last section of sound tube. I’m just trying to make that part cleaner, partially because the edge catches wax easily, and partially to just look more pro.

 

[eunice]

Yeah, I guess something like these sketches. Either where the tube can be cut down so there isn’t a lip, or like in the second one, where the acrylic is built up to form the last section of sound tube. I’m just trying to make that part cleaner, partially because the edge catches wax easily, and partially to just look more pro.

Sounds like a good idea.

Maybe some hints, don’t know if they are helpful: before you fill up the ear canal, still use some super glue to fix the tubes at the tips. Even if you fill up the ear canal, the tubes can easily stretch/compress to be about 2mm longer or shorter. I learned I need to do that to easier insert/remove dampers and not have tubes move around.

Otherwise, use a tube for training before building a CIEM. Tubes do react weird to grinding and drilling (they twist, move around, melt from grinding). Maybe a sharp knife is the better tool to cut out the tubes.

As I said, I like your idea and never tried myself, so I have no idea if I‘m actually helping, but I thought I share some experience anyways.

I would love to see you succeed.

 

[ForceMajeure]

I will try this and report back. Thanks for your advice!

Btw, can the two hole drilled in the shell for the tubes be connected (top circles)? Or do they have to be distinct circles and separated (bottom circles)?

Don't drill 2 separate holes it's a waste of time and very difficult to slide the tube through.

Just drill a big hole, as big as you'll need. Start with a pointy small diamond burr and slowly enlarge the tip with bigger ones. keep rotating around with the big one until you get the hole as big as you need.

don't worry about having thin walls (just make sure you don't crack them trying to go too thin. the limit I was able to go was about 0.4mm thickness) since you will be filling the canal with resin and cure it.

 

[Xymordos]

Don't drill 2 separate holes it's a waste of time and very difficult to slide the tube through.

Just drill a big hole, as big as you'll need. Start with a pointy small diamond burr and slowly enlarge the tip with bigger ones. keep rotating around with the big one until you get the hole as big as you need.

don't worry about having thin walls (just make sure you don't crack them trying to go too thin. the limit I was able to go was about 0.4mm thickness) since you will be filling the canal with resin and cure it.

This is the method i use too.

 

[ninjadoc]

Well 25 is a lot. Anyone in for a group order? Also can you make like a dhruvmeena96 wiki or somehing all the information you drop here is so great but sometimes a bit hard to follow or find again when you need it. By the time i finished my MASM build you already made 40 improvements

I would go in for a few - 4 or so.

 

[ChrisJensen]

Hey guys, I've a question regarding the sticking the faceplate to the shell and connector.

I plan to create a rather opaque shell and the faceplate is definitely an opaque layer of acrylic.

My question is, how do I cure the uv glue if it is used between two opaque layers? Wouldn't the UV light not reach the glue?

Is it better instead to use a more transparent acrylic?

 

[ChrisJensen]

Also, how do you guys ensure that the connector is strongly adhered to the shell? Isn't the force of plugging in the wires rather strong?

 

[Kulgrinda]

Also, how do you guys ensure that the connector is strongly adhered to the shell? Isn't the force of plugging in the wires rather strong?

Acrylic is strong material. I use 2 pin connectors with the groove in the middle, grind shell to barely fit this groove and slide the connector so it is already supported by the shell. Then I apply small amount of acrylic around the perimeter on both sides of the plug and cure it. Never had any issues with this.

However I have doubts mmcx or deep insert (without the groove) 2 pin plugs would be that reliable, but manufacturers use those so I might be wrong. I would walk away from mmcx since connecting/clamping is very strong and possibility to break it is greater.

 

[ChrisJensen]

Acrylic is strong material. I use 2 pin connectors with the groove in the middle, grind shell to barely fit this groove and slide the connector so it is already supported by the shell. Then I apply small amount of acrylic around the perimeter on both sides of the plug and cure it. Never had any issues with this.

However I have doubts mmcx or deep insert (without the groove) 2 pin plugs would be that reliable, but manufacturers use those so I might be wrong. I would walk away from mmcx since connecting/clamping is very strong and possibility to break it is greater.

Ah, just what I suspected about the MMCX. Unfortunately I already bought some of those and some new wires. Maybe I'll ship some new 2 pin connectors in the near future. Thanks for your input, greatly appreciated!

 

[eunice]

Also, how do you guys ensure that the connector is strongly adhered to the shell? Isn't the force of plugging in the wires rather strong?

That is a big factor and I have lost a lot of ciems by pushing the connector into the CIEM. If that happens, there is no way to repair. There is also another breaking point with mmcx: I lost a fire CIEM where the walls of the mmcx got bent outwards. The connector still works but the plugs would keep falling out. This happens if you apply a force on the connector during inserting/removing the clems in your ears or if you accidentally pull the cable.

What I do to prevent it:

1) Drill a hole almost exactly the size of the mmcx (I angle it a little so the plug is angled away from the head), just a little bigger.

2) after drilling the hole for the connector I scratch the area around the hole on the inside of the CIEM with a scalpel, creating deep grooves for the resin to stick to.

3) I put some blue tack on the outside of the CIEM and put the mmcx connector in, just so that it sticks out for half a mm on the outside. The more it sticks out, the easier you bend the walls later. The less it sticks out, the more support for the wall of the mmcx by the resin.

4) I cover the inside of the mmcx with resin, multiple layers if needed. It needs to be a thick layer of resin.

Still I do not trust the mmcx and I am really careful to not break it. I should probably switch to 2pin too, but I have lots of mmcx equipment already (cables, connectors but also Bluetooth and lightning adapters)

 

[eunice]

My question is, how do I cure the uv glue if it is used between two opaque layers? Wouldn't the UV light not reach the glue?

Use super glue. Most of them emit a white fine while curing, but with opaque shells that is not a problem.

There is also 2 component epoxy glue, that works very nice too.

I bought special UV curing faceplate glue but I never got it to make a strong connection even with transparent shells.

 

[ChrisJensen]

That is a big factor and I have lost a lot of ciems by pushing the connector into the CIEM. If that happens, there is no way to repair. There is also another breaking point with mmcx: I lost a fire CIEM where the walls of the mmcx got bent outwards. The connector still works but the plugs would keep falling out. This happens if you apply a force on the connector during inserting/removing the clems in your ears or if you accidentally pull the cable.

What I do to prevent it:

1) Drill a hole almost exactly the size of the mmcx (I angle it a little so the plug is angled away from the head), just a little bigger.

2) after drilling the hole for the connector I scratch the area around the hole on the inside of the CIEM with a scalpel, creating deep grooves for the resin to stick to.

3) I put some blue tack on the outside of the CIEM and put the mmcx connector in, just so that it sticks out for half a mm on the outside. The more it sticks out, the easier you bend the walls later. The less it sticks out, the more support for the wall of the mmcx by the resin.

4) I cover the inside of the mmcx with resin, multiple layers if needed. It needs to be a thick layer of resin.

Still I do not trust the mmcx and I am really careful to not break it. I should probably switch to 2pin too, but I have lots of mmcx equipment already (cables, connectors but also Bluetooth and lightning adapters)

Wow, thanks for the tips! I haven't actually gotten my MMCX connectors so I didn't know how fragile the walls are. In fact, I always thought MMCX didn't have any cons at all. Thanks for opening my eyes to a whole host of problems! Cheers mate, greatly appreciated!