Formlabs had an interesting idea to celebrate their new white resin – they designed and 3D printed a functional acoustic violin. You can download the files and 3D print it yourself. 

Formlabs engineer Brian Chan challenged himself to design and print a violin. To showcase the results, the company partnered with violinist Rhett Price.

“It was an amazing opportunity to work with Brian and Formlabs on this project, and have the chance to perform on such a modern spin of an instrument I’ve been playing for 23 years,” Rhett said. “The sound quality of the violin Brian engineered was unbelievable, and the technology is absolutely incredible.”

The musician debuts the violin in the video below. He plays an original song composed and recorded on the 3D printed violin.

The Process of 3D Printing a Violin

Chan found that the difficulty of designing an acoustic instrument is the need for an authentic sound. With no amps or filters to help out, this is a difficult task.

Another issue he faced was the initial drawing of the design. He said: “A violin is hard to draw on paper and even harder to draw on a computer.” However, after modeling the design in CAD, he was able to print his first draft.

Originally, Chan wanted to create one 3D printed violin, simply to prove that it worked. But in the end, five 3D printed violins were made to tweak and improve the quality before the video with Rhett was filmed.

The instrument was printed using the Form 2 and Formlabs’ White, Black, and Tough Resins. Stereolithography (SLA) was chosen to make sure the violin was strong enough to withstand different directional forces. 

Inspired by this 3D printed violin? Make sure to download the files from Pinshape, along with the original Onshape design.

Chan said on his Formlabs post: “When it comes to a project like this one, created with the help of cutting-edge design tools and 3D printing, the most important “object” is not the physical violin, but the design itself, which can (and will) continue to evolve. Now that the groundwork has been laid, we can experiment endlessly with different dimensions, materials, and other parameters to see how they affect the sound and playability.” We’re really looking forward what they’ll come up with.

(Source: Formlabs)