Ajay Ummadi › Projects › Open-Ear Wired Earbuds: A 3D-Printed Parametric Build
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Open-Ear Wired Earbuds: A 3D-Printed Build
I designed and 3D-printed wired open-ear earphones around a driver salvaged from a pair of wired earphones, plus a pocket case with a cable reel to stop cords tangling. The pod sits in front of the ear canal and an arm hooks over the ear. Nothing goes into the canal.
Interactive
Explore the design in 3D
A 3D preview of my compact earbud and the slim reel case, built from the CAD my scripts generate. Drag to rotate, slide to pull it apart, and hover a part to see what it does.
- 1Shell and armThe compact pod with its front grille, and the arm that hooks over the ear.
- 2Salvaged driverThe 14.4 mm driver from a pair of wired earphones, sound side toward the grille. Shown as a simple model.
- 3Back capSnaps in behind the driver, clamps its foam rim, and has a cable slot and a rear vent.
- 1BaseArm-shaped pockets for each earbud, plus the well for the reel.
- 2Reel drumThe drum the cable winds around, with two pinch slots to hold the cable ends.
- 3Turning knobA disc with two finger holes that locks onto the drum and sits flush in the lid.
- 4LidCovers the earbuds and holds the arms down, with MAKERWORKSLAB engraved on top.
Drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
Preview meshes are simplified for the web. The case shown is the slim 116 × 56 mm design.
The problem
Sealed earbuds block traffic and alarms, get sweaty and tiring, fail within weeks to months when cheap, and tangle in a pocket.
The solution
A wired, passive open-ear design: no battery, pairing, audio delay or radio. Repairable by reprinting one part, and it reuses a driver that would otherwise be thrown away.
Parametric design
One Blender script builds the shell and cap with exact booleans. Shell depth is derived from the driver (14.4 mm across, 7.4 mm thick), and one setting mirrors the arm for the other ear. Parts snap together with no glue.
Case with cable reel
An oblong clamshell (about 116 × 56 mm) that holds both earbuds and winds both cables onto a reel with one turn of a knob. Printed, with both earbuds seated in their grooves and the cables wound onto the orange reel. See the photos above.
Iterations
1 · Driver wouldn't fit
Widened the cavity from 13.6 to 15 mm.
2 · A 3 mm PLA arm snapped
Raised the rise to 14 mm, thickened to 3.5 mm, moved to PETG or TPU.
3 · Low volume from leakage
Added a mesh front wall and a clamp ring that presses the foam rim to seal front from back.
4–5 · Cap popping out, then sitting proud
Added a snap groove and ridge, then measured the can (6.6 mm) and made shell depth a formula of driver thickness.
6–7 · Wrong pointing, bulky look
Regenerated the right ear as a true mirror, then replaced the flat disc with an egg-shaped pod, with slim and compact variants.
Status
Printed
Flat pod (left ear), egg pod (right ear) and the pocket case with its cable reel. The open-ear fit works.
Generated, not printed
Egg pod (left), and the slim and compact versions.
Sound test: it works
The earphones play sound with the cap sealed. I have not measured loudness or frequency response yet.
Known issues
Glasses temple near the arm, rough support residue at the arm top, and the cable pulls the pod slightly forward.
Limits: open-ear sound is quieter with less bass than in-ear, so it suits quiet to moderate places. The fit is tuned to my ears. Next: measure the foam, print the left egg shell, test sound with a louder driver, and pick a final design.
FAQ
Questions
What are these earphones?
Wired, passive open-ear earphones: a pod sits in front of the ear canal and a printed arm hooks over the ear, so nothing enters the canal. They use a driver salvaged from a pair of wired earphones.
How are they designed?
In a single parametric Blender Python script that builds the shell and cap with exact booleans. Changing the driver size rebuilds the parts, and one setting mirrors the arm for the other ear.
What is tested and what is not?
Both ears were printed and worn and the open-ear fit works. The sound test worked. Loudness and frequency response have not been measured, and the slim and compact shells have not been tested yet.
What are the limits?
Open-ear sound is quieter with less bass than in-ear, so it suits quiet to moderate places. The fit is tuned to the maker's ears and the design is not tested for sweat or water.