A Bluetooth speaker in a piston casing

I am excited to present my newest creation: a rugged Bluetooth speaker housed within a motorcycle engine piston. This innovative design is perfect for enthusiasts of both mechanics and music, This speaker not only delivers good sound but also adds a touch of mechanical artistry to any space.

This is the state in which I found the discarded piston taken from the workshop’s waste bin. Its battered surface and worn-out appearance captured my attention, urging me to salvage it and breathe new life into its creative form.

Speaker Housing

I restored the piston by first soaking it in soapy water and then in a thinner solution to remove accumulated grease and burn marks. Afterward, I meticulously polished it using a wire brush attached to a drill.

I trimmed away the unnecessary section of the piston. Note: Aluminum silicon alloys, the material used for the pistons, are easily cut and drilled.

I have two sections of the casing: the upper section will accommodate the speakers, while the lower section will house the battery, module, switch, and power socket.

Switch and power socket

I chose the piston wrist pinhole to house the switch and power socket. To ensure a snug fit, I crafted a 5mm-thick acrylic washer to sit securely within the wrist pinhole.

Parts and assembling

I started by creating a base to mount the battery, modules, and speakers. The battery holder is constructed from a piece of acrylic sheet bent into a semicircle around the battery and fixed to the base. The other side of the base serves as a platform for mounting the Bluetooth module.

In this structure, the circular section will serve as the speaker holder, while two pillars will facilitate joining the two piston enclosures face-to-face.

Next I joined both the battery/module base and the speaker holder and applied black paint to the structure for a finishing touch.

Installing all the components on the piston enclosure was a challenging task due to its unconventional inner space configuration. Thus, a customized structure must be crafted to snugly fit within the enclosure, maximizing the utilization of the available space.

Coloring

To enhance its appearance, I chose to apply matte black paint. To achieve a designer look, I decided to paint black color at the piston ring gap, pin area groove, and piston crown area. So masked rest of the area and applied black color.

I carefully removed the masking tape from the ring gap using a surgical blade and spayed black paint.

These are the components used in this rugged Bluetooth speaker.

Testing

After wiring and assembling, I tested the speaker’s functionality. Since I used a 2W+2W audio output module, the sound output is slightly lower, but the overall sound quality remains satisfactory. Due to the limited space inside, I’m using one 2W speaker and one 0.5W speaker for stereo output.