3D Printer - any mandolin usefulness?

[Tobin]

I know we've had threads in the past about 3D printers. The technology is moving pretty quickly, even though it's still in its infancy.

I just got a 3D printer here at work (Ultimaker 2 Extended), which I'll be using for rapid-prototyping scale models of construction equipment, producing training 'toys' for visualization purposes, etc. But *obviously* I'm going to need to play with this thing and go through some learning curves to figure out how to model and create things efficiently.

Which is to say, I'll be playing with it and experimenting with what kinds of things I can produce. With that in mind, what do you think would be a fun or challenging mandolin-related doo-dad to create? My max print volume would be 8.75"x8.75"x12".

The idea of 3D printing an instrument on this thing is just silly. Although it's been done by someone already, that's not really what I'm after. And unlike a lot of newbies, I do realize there are real limitations on what this thing can do, or the quality I'll get. I'm talking about little accessories, tools, or trinkets that would be fun or useful. I know there's already a peg-winder design out there (not that I use peg-winders anyway). Maybe a pick box that's custom designed to fit in a case pocket? A new custom strap-lock? Any ideas for experimentation?

[allowishish]

How about picks.

Or a cool quick release for the strap on an A style... Something that goes under the strings behind the nut so that the trap could be attached to it then quickly removed when not needed.

A cool engraved or embossed looking pick guard.

[sunburst]

What materials will you be capable of printing?

[sblock]

I think the Ultimaker can only handle ABS plastic and PLA (polylactic acid, which is a biodegradable plastic) for the present.

What about making an armrest? A pickguard? A harmonic suppressor? A truss rod cover? Some kind of Tone-Gard-like contraption?

[Rodney Riley]

Molds for carbon fiber instruments. Your size limitation may call for 4-piece molds that come apart.
Or preform binding for F slots and F-style mandos. Easier to fit and glue on.

[Jackgaryk]

Truss rod cover comes to mind with your own design or initials. This technology is fascinating to say the least. have fun with your new toy. oh I didn't mean toy I meant tool of the trade.

[JeffD]

What about using it to make 3D plans of the great mandolins. If you scan a signed Loar and "print" out a 3D copy in plastic, could one use that copy to make a great mandolin based on the Loar? Plastic, 3 dimensional, 1:1 scale plans.

[Tobin]

What materials will you be capable of printing?

As far as I know, it will do a whole bunch of materials. It has a heated bed, and the hot end goes up to 260C. So ABS and PLA are no problem, of course. I'll be experimenting with HIPS, but it should also be able to do Laybrick, Laywood, Ninjaflex, nylon, PCTPE, and some of the newer exotic stuff. There's a lot of options out there.

[Beanzy]

Moulds for laying up carbon fibre instrument cases ( especially bowl-backs). Or even just in ABS you could run up a cool line in customised instrument cases, sunglasses cases with Bluegrass and old-time images maybe even owners names embossed too.
You could do the same for Celtic fiddlers and mandolin players.

Or how about hat boxes for those cowboy hats that only ever get worn on stage?

[mandroid]

molded metals from 3D printed plastic investments.

so tuners and tailpieces are do able.

[Ivan Kelsall]

If you can 3D print some 'talent' - i'll be first in line !,
Ivan

[darrylicshon]

I know you said no instruments but a solidbody mando would be nice, of course lots of holes to save on abs you could build it in two pieces and glue them together, also for some guitars they use one piece of wood for the neck which goes all the way to the bottom of guitar and they glue the sides of the body on. Would like to see how it would sound. Maybe later you might try one

[derbex]

Scrolls.

[nickster60]

The unit we have uses the same material as weed wacker line. So maybe a high speed rotating mandolin. On the serious side picks were the first thing that came to mind.

[JeffD]

If you can 3D print some 'talent' - i'll be first in line !,
Ivan

Me too, but I think talent is four dimensional.

[Steve Ostrander]

How about an inexpensive, mandolin-sized peg winder? There are dozens of them for guitar but I've yet to find one for mandolin.

[Tommcgtx]

Tuner buttons?

[sunburst]

I do have a mandolin string winder design in progress that I have hoped to have printed. Tuner buttons are another good idea.
It is tempting to think of ways to use new technologies for all sorts of things that can be done easier, cheaper, and better in the "usual" ways, so to some extent, 3D printing is a solution in search of problems for some people.
I'm hoping the price of 3D printing in metal will be low enough soon for some of my ideas to become feasible...

[MikeEdgerton]

As the technology and the raw materials progress bridges and nuts come to mind. Multilayer pickguards. Tuner buttons as mentioned. When you've got one that will do some real metal work the Pickguard clamp on the early Gibsons, bridge wheels, tailpieces, tuning machines. I haven't seen a whole lot of this stuff in Industrial use but it's obviously out there and progressing rapidly. I look at the "toy" units available at retail and think about how much I could have done with one when I used to build scale models of things. I'm old enough to remember when people first said every house would have a computer at some point. People laughed but now it's pretty much there. People said nobody needed a printer at home at one time but you can pretty much see that has happened as well. I'll predict that these things will find a place in a whole lot of homes and the uses will expand well beyond what we think it can do now.

[sunburst]

Lego
And any number of over-priced plastic things currently for sale. 3D printing will change some markets.
...and yes, eventually I might be able to get those light-weight mandolin tuners I've been wanting.

[Marty Jacobson]

Hi Tobin, we have several Ultimaker 2's. They are nice, much nicer than *****bot, in that they are actually reliable and sturdy. A failed print just means removing the failed print and starting a new one, rather than the rebuild-the-carburetor approach of fixing a failed print on a *****bot.
Have yet to have good results with Ninjaflex on them. ABS is meh on them, you really need a heated build environment. You could build a hotbox around it and keep it at 100C for better results. Or just stick with PLA. They do PLA wonderfully. I wouldn't even mess with ABS on it, no point. By the time you really want structural parts, it's worth the cost to get them done on something like a Dimension or Objet. PLA is more brittle than ABS, but it performs quite similarly in most applications. Holds threads (tapped after the fact) quite nicely. Have fun.

Oh, don't forget that you can use the thing to make molds. This opens up a wide range of possibilities - silicones, urethanes ranging in durometer from gummy bear to acrylic. PLA purges with a sodium hydroxide heated bath. So you don't even have to make a sophisticated mold. Just print your mold, pour in resin, and purge off the mold in the lye bath. Easy.

[foldedpath]

Affordable metal printing would be where I'd start to get interested.

I've got a broken "strap" style tailpiece for a vintage 1930's Dobro, and I've been trying to find a local welder (or jeweler?) who wants to take on the repair, but no luck so far. It would be so cool to just scan the original, print it in brass, and then get it nickel plated. Or do the plating all in one shot.

This would make lots of these little one-off repair jobs easy, instead of a real headache when you're dealing with vintage instruments and no market for replacement parts.

[Tobin]

Interesting thoughts! Some of them are probably "pie in the sky" thinking with current technology (or at least with my current printer). Anything larger than the size I mentioned in my first post would have to be done in pieces and glued together. And anything with complex curvature, which doesn't have a flat base, requires a lot of extra stuff to print using the FFF (fused filament fabrication) method.

Basically, it squirts out melted plastic and builds up layers of the stuff to create an object. It's like trying to build an item by squeezing the material out of a toothpaste tube, in thin layers, and building up those layers. But the layers are incredibly thin. The print I'm making right now takes 8 passes to get 1mm of thickness. The prints take forever, and they'll still have small ridges and imperfections on the surface. So anything that needs to be high-quality or super smooth probably isn't ideal for a 3D printer unless you want to do a bunch of sanding and post-processing (finishing) when it's done to pretty it up.

But yeah, I do see the technology improving with new materials. The cost is coming down too. These will be everyday items in the household within the next decade. They're incredibly useful for making things like broken knobs on a radio, or random bits and bobs around the house or office. As more designs are created, you'll be able to print out nearly anything you want, within reason.

Mandolin picks probably wouldn't work well on a 3D printer. The material probably isn't suitable, and you'd have to polish the heck out of it to even make it worth using. Might be a fun and quick experiment, though.

Tuner buttons would be a neat experiment too. Don't know how long they'd last, but it would be easy enough to make spares.

A truss rod cover is a neat idea. Heck, you could make a 3D bias-relief type design in the top, or something cool like that. Embossed lettering, etc.

[mandroid]

I've made metal castings with a ' Lost Plastic' investment, it just takes more heat and time to burn out than Wax .

which is why I suggested it ..

Used the Community College Metal arts/Jewelry making shop's gear.. .

[sunburst]

Casting wax can be printed.