I am using an Ikea Fornuftig air filter as part of my Ikea LACK enclosure. But the tweed filter cloth is a bit much to look at. So I decided to do what I have done with speakers for years and make a grill cloth out of a fun t-shirt.
This frame fits my enclosure frame and sandwiches between the frame and the panels used for the enclosure. This will add about 3mm to the length of the bolts required, but otherwise shouldn't change the overall structure of the frame.
I typically choose a thin cotton or cotton blend t-shirt for this sort of a frame. Something that air passes through easily, and that has a breathable print (if possible). In this case, this will act as the pre-filter for the real filter, in other cases, this will have to move air though it as a speaker is doing it's thing.
For this frame, you will need a small t-shirt, or a medium with a small image to show off. The risk with a small, or extra small, is that often the screen print is close to the collar, not leaving you with much material, and causing the screen print to sit high in the frame (like mine, here).
The frame assembles with a few short M3 nuts and bolts. Once assembled, apply a thin coat of fabric adhesive to ONLY the filter frame. Do not use this on the shirt, and depending on the adhesive you are using, you may not want to use this on the honeycomb grid, either.
Stretch the fabric over the surface of the frame and clamp it until the adhesive has fully set. Once set, carefully puncture the shirt to allow for the bolts to pass through. I used a very sharp leather punch for the purpose. At this point, you can use a razor knife to trim the excess material back to the edge of the frame (or add a little more adhesive and wrap around the edge to hide the edge of the frame), then re-assemble the whole frame on the panel. The pieces should all interlock. And now instead of a deep recess to a beige tweed background, the back of your enclosure can have a rotating collage of fun t-shirts, right on the surface.
If there is interest, I may make a version that replaces the stock screen on the Fornuftig, just let me know.
Enjoy!
The author marked this model as their own original creation.