[PinkFloyd]

hmmmmmm..... don't quite know what I was trying to achieve here:

I think the general idea was to cover the PCB with hot glue to ensure all the components and connections were encased but it appears I got a bit carried away last night and completely lost the plot! I went to fit the lid earlier on but can't get any slack from either of the end panels as they are rigidly held in place with "glue"

The picture doesn't really do it any justice either, in reality it looks like there's an alien living inside the amp and the blue glue mixed with the silver glittery glue makes it look like it's alive so maybe there was method in my madness..... I may just pour some clear resin into the case to "encase" the alien and put it down as a novelty amp

Thing is, it sounds bloody awesome with everything encased in glue and I may well apply this glue mod to all my equipment..... quite literally every part of the circuit is encased in glue meaning it is deprived of oxygen and any possible microphony is also reduced.... the hook up wire can't flex and nothing can move. It definitely sounds better "glued" but servicing or modding is definitely out, if any part fails then the amp is bin fodder, lucky I soak tested the amp before glueing it!

I'm sure It's doable getting a lid on but what do you guys think about the clear resin idea? If it looks good I may build another amp and experiment with multicoloured glues, insects, clear resin, flowers, coins etc. I can buy a litre of clear resin quite cheaply and it would be quite interesting to encase an amp in a clear resin block with maybe 10 different coloured LED's shining through, I mean no enclosure.... just the amp housed in a a block of clear resin, what do you think?

I once encased a loudspeaker crossover circuit in melted candle wax and, boy, what an improvement that made to the sound! I can understand why that was the case in a 'speaker cabinet what with all the resonance but am surprised that encasing a headphone amp circuit with glue makes "such" an audible improvement.

Mike.

 

[Sinbios]

That... DOES look vaguely like an alien o_O

 

[Jahn]

Pinkie you are insane. But I say go for it!

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd I once encased a loudspeaker crossover circuit in melted candle wax and, boy, what an improvement that made to the sound! I can understand why that was the case in a 'speaker cabinet what with all the resonance but am surprised that encasing a headphone amp circuit with glue makes "such" an audible improvement.

A lot of people say that simply removing crossovers from speakers and putting them in seperate boxes can make huge improvements.

FWIW, this is what Grado does with the RA-1, though I think it is more to hide things than for any sonic benefit. Are you having any problems with heat? I think you could encase stuff in thermal epoxy to solve that (except that it is slightly capacitive and that could cause some issues.)

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Pinkie you are insane. But I say go for it!

Get "pinkie" in the post and I'll pump her full of hot glue for you Jahn.

 

[Madcat05]

That looks awesome Pinkie. What amp is it?

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsavitsk A lot of people say that simply removing crossovers from speakers and putting them in seperate boxes can make huge improvements. Are you having any problems with heat? I think you could encase stuff in thermal epoxy to solve that (except that it is slightly capacitive and that could cause some issues.)

No probs with heat at all, The amp doesn't generate much heat and the little it does isn't enough to melt the glue.

Mike.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madcat05 That looks awesome Pinkie. What amp is it?

I can't remember and as It's encased in glue I'll never know...... it sounds good though.

Mike.

 

[Madcat05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd I can't remember and as It's encased in glue I'll never know...... it sounds good though. Mike.

Nice One!

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd I can't remember and as It's encased in glue I'll never know...... it sounds good though. Mike.

HAHA thats awsome.

there are actually 2-part urethane casting comounds you may find more suitable to yoru task of "entombing" various circuitry. they dont make much heat as they cure, hot glue could possibly dammage an opamp chip or a cap if its hot enough.... why risk it? also the urethanes are full liquid. put the circuit in a mold of some sort (even a small cardboard box with clear tape works from my experiance) and pour it in. let sit for a while DONE.

and as an added bonus, you can select the hardness of the urethanes...

 

[bryman79]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod HAHA thats awsome. there are actually 2-part urethane casting comounds you may find more suitable to yoru task of "entombing" various circuitry. they dont make much heat as they cure, hot glue could possibly dammage an opamp chip or a cap if its hot enough.... why risk it? also the urethanes are full liquid. put the circuit in a mold of some sort (even a small cardboard box with clear tape works from my experiance) and pour it in. let sit for a while DONE. and as an added bonus, you can select the hardness of the urethanes...

I'm not a fan of entombing, but if you are going that route, I second Nikongod's suggestion. We used to use something similar to make secondary operations fixtures when I worked a plastic-part manufacturing company. IIRC, we used plexiglass glued together with hotglue for the mold. Seemed to separate very nicely, and leaves a nice surface finish.

Regards,
Bryan

EDIT: FWIW, we got it at Grainger. It was right around the corner from us, but they are online: www.grainger.com. The stuff we used was not cheap though...

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd Get "pinkie" in the post and I'll pump her full of hot glue for you Jahn.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn

LOL!! Nice one Jahn

 

[rellik]

looks like a crazy alien turkey-chicken

or kermet the frog covered in blue sparkly paint...

but is it waterproof?? except for the i/o stuff and switches...

 

[mono]

Hehehe

I once toyed around with the idea of putting an amp into a mint tin and filling it with epoxy (save for a 9V cavity) but never got around to it. Picked up the shop-sized tubes of JBWeld though.

Hot glue should actually HELP cool an amp. It's conductivity has to be better than stagnant air and if the bits were to ever get hot enough to start remelting it, that's a lot of heat absorbed (taken away from components) to liquefy THAT much glue, doubt it'd ever happen in a metal case.