Brass Mouthpiece Generator

thingiverse

A customizable parameterized mouthpiece design.. print your perfect mouthpiece. ## First step: Go research mouthpiece design a little. Here's some great sites: 1. [BestBrass](http://www.bestbrass.com/mouthpiece/titan.html) has some phenomenal comparison charts, (righthand side) cross sections, and descriptions/comparisons between measurements, standard reference mouthpieces, and usual use cases (righthand side under 'For Trumpet' etc) 2. [David Werden's guides](http://www.dwerden.com/Mouthpieces/) is a measurement database for brass mouthpieces. 3. this [buying guide](http://thevault.musicarts.com/trombone-mouthpieces-buying-guide/) is a nice blog article on what to look for. ## Second step: Choose a design! This thingiverse thing has several mouthpieces uploaded, feel free to try them or open onshape document down below and change anything you'd like. Here's the naming convention I've created: [](https://imgur.com/a/QqN6zJY) ## CAD Design Source! Designed this in OnShape. It's an online version of SolidWorks (made by the original creators of solidworks too) that's _way way_ better. It's *free to use* for hobby projects, so if you need to modify anything and don't have an account go make one of their [free accounts](https://www.onshape.com/products/free). [Custom Brass Mouthpiece document](http://b.link/onshape_mouthpiece) ## Fourth step: Print it I'd recommend printing this in PLA or PLA+ at 0.18mm high layers or finer. Finer layers equals easier time sanding in the next step ## Last step: Finish it / Sand it! You'll want to sand things down, especially the bits that touch your mouth. - Start out with 80 to 140 grit sandpaper (yes, that's coarse!) to remove the layer lines but be careful not to change the shape much. I wet-sand this by wetting the mouthpiece (not the sandpaper). - Now go with 180 to 240 grit and wet-sand things to make them smooth. - Repeat with ~400 grit, 800 grit, and ~2000 grit. - The higher grit you go the less you'll notice a difference and it'll look like you're just polishing things. You are.. - Rince, dry, check to see if it's as good as you'd hope, then: - OIL it. A recently sanded plastic part will be oleophilic meaning it really wants to soak up oils. Either rub it with your fingers for a while or get something fancy from the hardware store. ## Elliptical / Oval shape As a project with my dad we're trying out making an oval shaped mouthpiece for better playing comfort.. with promising results! Give it a shot, any mouthpiece with '+2' has an extra 2mm of width, and this can be configured with even more eccentricity.