Defining itself as a hub for audio research and innovation, challenging the current state-of-the-art in the pursuit of absolute musical purity, Node-Audio blazed a trail in the hi-fi industry with HYLIXA. Thanks to 3D printing, Node-Audio succeeded to produce HYLIXA which is both small and aesthetic and has a live-performance sound quality. Industrial designer Ashley May and Node-Audio Co-founder, industrial designer David Evans explained that they had entered the hi-fi world because they had seen an opportunity to do something that had never been done. Launched in 2019, HYLIXA was praised from hi-fi industry experts, receiving comments such as “radical”, “unusual” and “seductive”.
Node-Audio developed HELIXA benefiting from SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) technology which enables a more complex and detailed manufacturing. Node-Audio used the machinery and material of 3D Systems, one of the world’s leading 3D printing companies, in prototyping and manufacturing processes. The development process began with 3D designs from Evans and May and then these designs ran through specialized 3D audio simulation software to inform the next iteration. As the simulation output began to confirm the next-level sound the team was after, they began to prototype and develop, until finally arriving at HYLIXA.
Smooth sound quality was achieved with SLS technology
Node-Audio made use of SLS, an additive manufacturing technology that fuses powdered materials together in a self-supported build style. Because the rounded cabinet is designed and manufactured as a single piece; there are no edges to produce diffraction (a disruption to sound precision). Thus it succeeded in providing an enhanced listening experience by giving a smooth sound. Production and prototyping for the HYLIXA speakers were done on a 3D Systems sPro 60 SLS printer. The speakers were each printed separately within the printer’s 381 mm x 330 mm x 460 mm build volume. Evans said that the team had maximized each build by nesting the other components within the speaker cabinet.
The cabinet and front baffle components of HYLIXA were printed in DuraForm GF; a glass-filled engineering plastic that delivers an excellent surface finish that is machinable and paintable. Told that they had learned through the prototyping process that DuraForm GF actually had worked very well acoustically, David Evans said; “It has almost a ceramic-like quality to the touch, which helped us both structurally and sonically”. Explaining that as designers, they could freely exploit SLS production to create the internal structure; Evans stated that they had also designed something that looked as beautiful as it sounds.
“We were inspired by the capabilities of additive manufacturing”
Said that it had been like a fresh start for them as designers, David Evans told; “We’ve always known how to design things so they could be manufactured in a particular way; whereas this sort of threw everything out the window and opened up our imaginations to what was possible”. Stating that this revolutionary new speaker had not been only produced with 3D printing; Evan emphasised that it had been inspired by the capabilities additive manufacturing makes possible.