3D printer bass

[klyph]

Apparently one thing 3D printing is really good for, though, is generating hype.

Well, it keeps the 3D printing machine companies in business...

Using CNC machines...

To make 3D printers...

 

[two fingers]

I'm actually a little surprised that the technology hasn't yet been fully embraced by musical instrument manufacturers. Maybe because it's tough to print in sunburst and tort.

Honestly, a lot of kids really don't care for guitars and basses. In fact, they are used less and less in modern music anyway. The guitar market is still largely driven by people over 30.... most WAY over 30. So traditional guitars outsell everything else combined exponentially.

There's not much market for what would likely be a very expensive printed guitar or bass.

 

[Hundred proof]

I'm less surprised. This technology is great for prototyping, and for being able to produce rare parts without having to keep a warehouse's worth of stuff in stock "just in case," but it doesn't scale to mass-production the way CNC does.

THIS ... I’ve built several thousand of them, the picture is completed printers stacked up across from my work desk

 

[JohnArnson]

11D printers are the future!

 

[LowRick]

Material wise i'm curious as well.

Carbon fiber etc all very well, but just the normal standard PLA has a higher yield strength than say ABS which Lego is made from. What kind of printing process was it i wonder? i use an extruder printer myself, but seeing this picture it might be laser in powder kind of thing right?

Awesome stuff though...

 

[DWBass]

I agree with warrplayer, headless design would balance better, they should have used a little more thought at the design stage.

<start rant>

Got to say, I'm tired of all these attempts to make 3D printing seem like the second coming. The only places I see it actually being useful is physical shape prototyping (for testing fit and proportion, etc), medical use (one-off custom components designed per patient where the material choices don't suit CNC), and where the material itself cannot be formed by other means. Even then, a lot of these cases will be better served by CNC, depending on cost (for instance, a prosthetic attachment can have a number of prototypes 3D printed to test the fit and then once it is decided, the actual device is CNC machined). All other cases are better served by CNC, since the material strength is not compromised, you have a greater choice of materials and the precision is orders of magnitude better.

Apparently one thing 3D printing is really good for, though, is generating hype. Nobody really cares about a CNC machined bass, but an impractical, unbalanced, instrument made of inappropriate materials is suddenly "cool" because it was 3D printed.

And it's mostly because it's become affordable to have your own 3D printer. 3D printing itself is as old as the hills, there were laser-hardened resin printers in the 80's. They didn't make any world-changing items from the technology then and I don't foresee anyone doing it now, either. The only real benefit of a printer at home is printing simple shapes from shared designs for parts that don't need strength. Small convenience gained over having to order online.

</end rant>

Gotta agree. Interesting concept but I'd never want a 3D printed bass. I find them horrid looking.

 

[Basswgn]

As cool as this is, in the end it's really just another plastic body (one that is obviously too light at that). To top it off the OP stated that it doesn't even play well.

I liked this story the first time I heard it back in the 1980 when Ned Steinberger made a (all) non traditional material bass that really worked... All done without a 3d printer.

We've come so far.

 

[equill]

This technology ... doesn't scale to mass-production the way CNC does. Yet, anyway.

About the "yet" part: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Ric5]

3D printer bass

you can't 3d print the pickups, pots, straploks, wires, jacks, tuners, frets, neck, trussrod, and many other bass parts

 

[ardgedee]

you can't 3d print the pickups, pots, straploks, wires, jacks, tuners, frets, neck, trussrod, and many other bass parts

For the most part no, but a wood bass doesn't have wood strings either.

 

[electrichead]

Olaf Deigel had a lot of hype generated back around 2012 with his 3d printed guitars. IIRC, he had later decided to experiment with a solid wood core to combat resonance issues. His hollow 3d prints never really caught on despite a lot of people drooling over them. They were really cool looking though.

 

[ardgedee]

What would be interesting and possibly more viable is an SLS/SLM printed bass. SLM uses a laser to spot-melt powder into place. A hollow aluminum or stainless steel bass could be made this way (or titanium or even gold), the technology is designed for production volumes as well as prototyping. The only real impediment to fast production would be the need for very smooth surfaces, since that would mean either more time spent on post-print finishing or very high precision. I guess another problem is I'm not sure whether there are SLM printers large enough, but I imagine one of the printer companies would be happy to design something if the right client has enough money to burn.

 

[Scarey Larry]

Kool. Experiments are good. I don't think this is a printing vs CNC argument, strictly informational. And ya, tort is important. The real benchmark is if the Chinese steal the design. Then you know it has arrived.

 

[equill]

What would be interesting and possibly more viable is an SLS/SLM printed bass. SLM uses a laser to spot-melt powder into place. A hollow aluminum or stainless steel bass could be made this way (or titanium or even gold), the technology is designed for production volumes as well as prototyping. The only real impediment to fast production would be the need for very smooth surfaces, since that would mean either more time spent on post-print finishing or very high precision. I guess another problem is I'm not sure whether there are SLM printers large enough, but I imagine one of the printer companies would be happy to design something if the right client has enough money to burn.

Mass-produced Spalt frames, you say? Don't mind if I do

 

[dalkowski]

It’s plastic, folks. If people wanted plastic basses you could blow-mold (in halves) and assemble dozens in the time it takes to print ONE. It’s amazing how powerful and cheap machine control circuits have become, and I’m sure someone will develop a guitar plastic that is better than “luthite”, but I haven’t played one yet...

Ovation UKII 1291

 

[chris_b]

Printed bass that weighs less than 4lbs? I'm interested.

If it sounds better than my current bass then I'm definitely interested.

 

[nickpc]

For the most part no, but a wood bass doesn't have wood strings either.

You could possibly make a "natural material" string that would hold up with tensions in play with a bass, but it would take some doing. Of course your magnetic pickups wouldn't work with them, and they would be a poor choice for metal.

 

[dhagopian]

3D printer bass

you can't 3d print the pickups, pots, straploks, wires, jacks, tuners, frets, neck, trussrod, and many other bass parts

The G string isn't even on the fingerboard!

 

[Ric5]

 

[klyph]

Ovation UKII 1291

Foams like Urelite are molded in a form. Not sure if this is meant to be some sort of rebuttal. Even with chemical/thermal curing, which can be affected by the presence of a frame or core, the cycle time is much faster than building 1/16th at a time (if that is even the capability of a small 3D printer). Of course this does add Ovation to the discussion- probably the most successful (maybe 2nd to NS at this point) purveyor of plastic stringed instruments. All of which I believe were also formed/molded.

When you are trying to make money out of plastic, cycle time is king. I make large scale thermoformers for a living...