How to mount subwoofers on plexiglass?

[Eric111e 10+ year member]

If 3/4inch plexiglass isnt going to be enough i could always get thicker like 1inch thick or even put 2 piece together for extra strength.

My main concern is how much the subs weight. The magnet will just be hanging in the air and i am worried that over a long period of time with all the pressure the plexiglass will start getting very tiny cracks then eventually make a noticeable crack.

Forget the fiberglass idea. I am now going to make the box out of MDF, and lets say 1inch thick plexiglass or thicker if it must be. Then plexi mirror on the inside.

 

[Eric111e 10+ year member]

Then infront of the box i am going to make a amp rack (i guess you can call it that) out of MDF. Its going to hold my 2 amps (laying parallel) and im going to put fiberglass over the amps and put the fiberglass on hinges so you can open and close it. Then the other side of the amp rack is going to be a "door" but im going to make it so its not as noticable as the amp rack. That side is going to hold my crossovers,distro block, ground block, and all that type of stuff. Then everything is going to wrapped in black suede.

If i can pull this box off i think it would amazingly nice.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Fiberglass can be reinforced to be made as stiff as wood. But why go to all the trouble and expense to do it ? Wood is so much cheaper, easier , and flat to begin with. Wouldn't make sense to go to all that trouble . //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Kinda what I was getting at. By the time you built up and reinforced the fiberglass, you would have also far surpassed the weight of the wood that it should have been built of in the first place.

To the OP, as long as you don't have any sharp inside corners in the plexi, you would be amazed at how strong it is. If you are really worried about it and you have the ability to work metal, build a frame for the front section out of metal with rings for the subs to mount and inset the plexi and clamp it in. Seal around it with a gasket or silicone. The plexi won't bear any weight and won't have any stressed holes drilled in it. Done right with the W7s, there would be no fasteners showing and it would be strong and stiff as hell.

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

If i can pull this box off i think it would amazingly nice.

Yes it would but if not done properly it will sound amazingly bad and expensive. 3/4- 1 inch plexi isn't cheap.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

indeed, that would be QUITE an expensive screw up

Ya d@mn skippy . 3/4" 1" acrylic is ridiculous price wise //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Eric111e 10+ year member]

Do you guys think it would be a better idea to make a port in the middle of to two subs? Then a 1" piece of plexiglass would only have to support one W7.

This is kinda like what i want to make the box look like but with plexiglass as the front panel

Would it be alright to make the Port out of Plexiglass instead of MDF? I dont see why not.

 

[Cam 10+ year member]

I'm making a sealed box with a plexi front right now, with an IDMAX... and here's what I've learned/know from my research so far:

1) Plexi is stiffer than MDF by a good multiple, so don't worry about it wobbling.

2) Putting the steel ring around the back of the speaker to sandwich the plastic instead of just bolting through the plastic will be 1000% better.

3) Plexiglas can be had cheap off ebay. I got my 28x18x3/4 front panel for $28

round and flame polish all corners, especially inside corners and holes.

4) I would suggest a rear support for those phat motors to add some structural integrity to the whole assembly and reduce the stress on the glas.