3D printers for musicians

“Print me a Stradivarius violin,” this phrase sounds absurd to most of us. But this is not the invention of a science fiction writer, this is real. Now people have learned to print not only chocolate figures and plastic parts, but also entire houses, and in the future they will print full-fledged human organs. So why not use the latest technology for the benefit of musical art?

A little about the 3D printer: what is it and how does it work?

The peculiarity of a 3D printer is that it prints a three-dimensional object based on a computer model. This printer is somewhat reminiscent of a machine. The difference is that the item is not obtained by processing a blank, but is created from scratch.

Digital piano with ladybugs created on a 3D printer

Layer by layer, the print head sprays molten material that quickly hardens – this can be plastic, rubber, metal or other substrate. The thinnest layers merge and form the printed object. The printing process can take a couple of minutes or several days.

The model itself can be created in any 3D application, or you can download a ready-made sample, and its file will be in STL format.

Musical instruments: send file for printing

Guitar.STL

It wouldn’t be a shame to pay three thousand greenbacks for such a beauty. The spectacular steampunk body with spinning gears was entirely printed on a 3D printer, and in one step. The maple neck and strings were already used, which is probably why the sound of the newly printed guitar is quite pleasant. By the way, this guitar was created and printed by engineer and designer, professor at the New Zealand University, Olaf Diegel.

By the way, Olaf prints not only guitars: his collection includes drums (a printed body on a nylon base and membranes from a Sonor installation) and a digital piano with ladybugs (a body made of the same material).

3D printed drum kit

Scott Summey went even further by introducing the first printed acoustic guitar.

Violin.STL

American Alex Davis won the bow category as the first to print a violin on a 3D printer. Of course, she is still far from perfect. He sings well, but does not disturb the soul. Playing such a violin is more difficult than playing a regular instrument. Professional violinist Joanna was convinced of this by playing both violins for comparison. However, for beginning musicians, a printed instrument will do the trick. And yes – only the body is printed here too.

Flute.STL

The first sounds of a printed flute were heard in Massachusetts. It was there, at the famous technical university, that researcher Amin Zoran worked for a couple of months on a wind instrument project. Printing the three components itself took only 15 hours, and another hour was required to assemble the flute. The first samples showed that the new instrument does not handle low frequencies well, but is prone to high sounds.

Instead of a conclusion

The idea of ​​printing your favorite tool yourself, at home, with any design you like is amazing. Yes, the sound is not so beautiful, yes, it is expensive. But, I think, very soon this musical venture will become affordable for many, and the sound of the instrument will acquire pleasant colors. It is possible that thanks to 3D printing, incredible musical instruments will appear.