Discover the Different Sounds Produced by 3D Printed Instruments

Every year on June 21st, we celebrate the Fête de la Musique, otherwise known as World Music Day. And what better way to do it this year than to discover videos of some of the latest applications mixing 3D printing and music. In the past, we’ve shown you how 3D technologies can be used to design more efficient, customized or even lighter instruments: from pianos to violins to saxophones, 3D printing is at the heart of music! And this year, we wanted you to listen to the melodies produced by different musical instruments integrating 3D printed elements. Maracas, flute, piano, guitar, open your ears and let yourself be carried away by these beautiful sounds! Have a great World Music Day!

Olaf Diegel Shows Off His Wooden 3D Printed Guitar

If you have been keeping up to date with 3D printed instruments, you have almost definitely heard of Olaf Diegel. The Australian professor is well known for his 3D printing projects on YouTube and social media, including various instruments such as guitars and saxophones, ventilators and more. In order to celebrate World Music Day, we wanted to highlight a recent project of his that is particularly unique. As you can see in the video below, Olaf has 3D printed a wooden guitar. He used binder jetting, specifically the technology from Forust, now a part of Desktop Metal, which uses an inkjet that print a bioepxy made out of lignin onto sawdust. Thus, making the end project both beautiful and sustainable thanks to its innovative use of waste products. The design is incredibly unique, as might be expected from something made from 3D printing and as you can hear, the sound is fantastic as well.

Maracas Made From Failed Prints

While it is becoming more and more common to see 3D printed musical instruments, it is still uncommon to see maracas designed using additive manufacturing. That’s mainly why we decided to include this video in our ranking. In it, discover how 3D printing can allow you to make maracas from… failed prints! Avel, the maker in the video, explains the advantages that the technology offers him for this type of application. During the modeling stage, he explains for example that it is possible to modify the dimension of the maracas and thus to adapt them perfectly to the hands of the children!