MakerBot 3D Printed Violin (Design Inspiration from David Perry of Openfab PDX)

thingiverse

The 3D printing team led by Dr. Venkateswaran PS recently designed and fabricated a 3D printed violin from scratch. Dr. David Perry's original design for Openfab PDX was heavily modified to fit the available strings, pegs, and bridge in India. The team remade the neck, fingerboard, and pegbox to match Indian specifications. A MakerBot Z18 3D Printer was used to print the violin, which was then assembled with a Wittner tailpiece, guitar tuning pegs, Pirastro Chromcor strings, and a wooden bridge. Renowned violinist Sankaran, who has won multiple awards including the Vidhwan Isai Kalamani award (1973), Gyan Ghosh award, and G Ramanathan Award for his contributions to Indian cinema over 32 years, was asked to test-play and verify the sound quality of the instrument. Having played alongside legendary musicians like Mr. M S Viswanathan and Mr. A R Rahman, he compared the 3D printed violin to his 100+ year old German Stradivarius violin. He stated, 'The sound quality in terms of tone at various notes was impeccable, demonstrating the exceptional grade and quality of 3D printed instruments produced by MakerBot series of printers.'