Exciters (or bodyshakers as they are sometimes known) are basically loudspeakers without a membrane. By applying an audio signal to the contact pins, the oscillating mass then starts shaking with the frequency of the applied signal. This oscillation is transmitted to the mounting plate and from there on to the surface the exciter is stuck to. The surface then emits the audio signal just like a speaker!
There are some differences in how the sound is emitted compared to a speaker. The excited surface is very large and heavy (when compared to a lightweight cone membrane in a speaker), and thus unable to oscillate coherently. That means that not every point of the surface moves into the same direction with the same amplitude at the same time.
Simply attach the speaker to the surface of the plate by gluing or sticking.
At Kitronik while testing, we had great results using sandwich panels with honeycomb structures (e.g. hexagon-structure), thin particle boards (e.g. HDF / MDF) and acrylic sheets.
Here is a video we put together, demonstrating exciters in action:
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