Little Beast: 3D Printed Ukulele
3D Printed Ukulele, half ABS - half wood.
The Finished Ukulele
Date: 2014
Location: Stanford, CA
Team: Alexandre Jais
Role: CMF, 3D Printing
I had always wanted to use my 3D Printer to build a musical instrument and when I came accross this model on Thingiverse (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:162309) I knew I had to make it. Fortunately for me Alessandro Ranellucci had sliced it into several parts to make it 3D printable on a Rep Rap machine (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:199298). After some subtle modifications, I was ready to proceed.
The ukulele was printed on my Rostock Max (it was literally made in my living room) using ABS for the body, table, neck and tuning peg, and decided to use Laywoo D3 for the touchboard. The printing itself and the assembly of those multiple materials revealed to be a challenge. The print is a little rough but sounds surpsingly well (see sound sample below). I will continue my experimentation with materials and use the Rabbit Prototyping extruder to embed a touch sensor in the body of the Ukulele!
Experimentations with materials, here Laywoo-D3 for the table. I ended up choosing ABS for the body of the first version, but PLA, Laywoo and Laybrick are still potential candidates for V2.
The finished body with its wooden saddle. Gives the instriment a very cool look. I am also very curious about the impact on the acoustics of instrument the fiber-like structure of 3D printed ABS.
Printing the neck, the honeycomb structure genables a faster print time. The blue tape prevents the laywoo to stick to the glass tape, lessons learned from previous prints.
The finished instrument right after stringing.
Detailed view of the tuning pegs, also 3D printed.