Wood or plastic? NEXO's decisions.
The French sound systems brand waited three decades since its founding in 1979 to launch an injection molded cabinet: the modular linear array STM . Over the last decade, the company has switched between wood and injection-molded polyurethane cabinets, resulting in fundamental questions between technological possibilities and the need to strike a balance, affecting the creative design process, but ultimately resulting in in better products for the user.
It is a fact that the volume of work that NEXO has is intellectual property of the brand (such as acoustic and mechanical patents, for example) and is continually growing. However, the implementation of these theoretical ideas (with the physical components) is also an ever-changing landscape.
In the 1990s, NEXO used a hand-molding technique for the large polyester parts of its Alpha system, and later used injected polyurethane techniques for the GEO loudspeaker waveguide, but freely used molding techniques. to the ces de e intangible"high pressure injection for series speakers P + . And this continues to evolve in the
today, since thanks to continuous 3D printing of carbon fiber or copper, new horizons are opening, allowing the limitations of molding techniques to be eliminated, and this profoundly changes the way in which pieces are thought of.
The firm is already thinking about the next generation of products, but it is also necessary to consider the best way to use its industrial resources, since while the technological processes of injection molding were available since the appearance of the Alpha Series, the company acquired its own facility for these processes in Saint Pierre de Côle, near Limoges, France, which supplies the main factory in Plailly, near Paris.
For the first models of the GEO series, the cabinet was mainly made of wood and the plastic element was very small, so the brand combined its knowledge with the optimization of its factory resources and built injected cabinets. Thus, products since 2011, such as the STM series of modular linear array and then the systems GEO M6, M10 and M12 used injection molded casings.
However, NEXO returned to its wood supplier for the P+ series of point source cabinets and monitors for several reasons, as these equipment are used in close proximity to musicians, who prefer wood cabinets, as well as the size and weight limitations of this
range are very different from the GEO M line, as you do not need to install hanging hardware on them, but because they must be small and lightweight, there is no room inside for honeycomb structures such as those that can be used in GEO systems. In this case, the use of bent wood was the best solution.
New techniques for better results.
The truth is that it is more difficult to work with wood, since being a natural material, its behavior with humidity, rain and sunlight weakens it, compared to plastic. NEXO has developed some techniques to handle this, such as the special paint used on the P+ Series, which is very resistant to environmental conditions. Woodworking techniques continue to evolve, but for acoustic parts, such as the speaker or waveguides, there is much that can be achieved, using new techniques such as nanotechnology, which will open the doors to new and better products.
This discussion brings up another topic, such as the brand's patented device: the V-shaped port, developed for cabinets STM M46 and M28 and of which a second improved version can be found in the modules GEO M10 and M12 . Vented enclosures are used to broaden the low frequency response; thus, with the tuning frequency of the cabinet, the ventilation radiates all the acoustic energy. However, a conventional vent also radiates higher-order harmonics that are detrimental to on-axis frequency response and directivity consistency, so creating a slot in the vent, whose depth and shape have been carefully modeled , allows these harmonics to be absorbed.
NEXO probably couldn't have made the port shape with a standard wood process; However, if it is made of plastic, a very simple port will cost the same as a complex V-shaped one. Thanks to this, the brand can apply its experience and knowledge to achieve better performance without charging additional costs on the product.
In addition to innovating manufacturing techniques, the company also has to overcome limitations related to the design of its products. Even if the skill and intuition of an experienced engineer is the most valuable input to creating a system, problem solving is limited by mathematical, logical, or scientific approaches. Squares, circles, hexagons or other regular shapes are needed to solve criteria
mechanical, but if the computer is asked to calculate the best solution, the “organic” nature of the computer's solution may be surprising, which may not be imaginable by the human brain, but it is fun to observe that by “simulating the nature”, a computer can give birth to very organic forms.
In audio, technology will always be an ally of those who dedicate themselves to designing all types of systems. The materials to be used must be used to create high-quality, durable and affordable products. NEXO is an example of this.
