Playable Acoustic Dulicmer

thingiverse

This is not a first dulcimer I made, actually, third, but the first printed one. It requires some non-printed parts and a lot of post-processing. All parts are fit inside 20 by 20 by 20 cm volume, so you don't need a super-huge printer to print it. It requires about 2 kg of plastic. I've designed it in FreeCAD, and printed on my Anycubic Mega X. The instrument is bulky, but plays surprisingly nice. Construction is not perfect, I'm planning to go for next version if it will be interesting for someone besides me. Instructions, printing and building notes — below. [See it on video](https://imgur.com/RgiJGos) ## First… I can not guarantee, that this thing will work well for you or fit to your needs. It is experiment. Video shows, how it MAY look and sound, but it may be a result of extreme luck and the exotic properties of no-name plastics, which I've got by chance. Please, do not blame me for any harm or damage this thing may bring to your life. If you have advice or suggestion, especially based on your experience with printing and assembling this model, please comment. Because it's ongoing experiment, any useful feedback is appreciated. If you've printed this in nicer colors, than me — post a make! I'd like to see more nice designs. Some parts of model may be updated in future, at least capo (which is too basic now) and bridge. If you know, how to improve something — you're welcome. ## Non printable parts * Four single acoustic guitar tuning pegs (better with washers, as you see on picture). * Four small blind rivets, for end piece (see photo). * Rigid tube, 10 mm diameter and 813 mm length (top inner “rail”) — carbon is best, aluminum is sufficient. * Other tube of same kind and diameter, but 758 mm in length (bottom inner “rail”). Strings, mediators. ## Materials I thought, that PLA is best for body and soundboard. Not sure for now :) End piece, pegbox, capo, fretboard — PETG ## Printing process notes Body parts best printed standing upright, longest dimension vertically with supports. Fretboard works nice with enabled ironing (all surfaces for plastic frets variant) I've printed everything with 0.6 nozzle and variable layer height (or fixed 0.3 mm for nicer look), and a lots of perimeters. It gives enough precision and reasonable speed. ## On fretboard I wanted to fit “real” frets, and there are fretboard parts with slots in the bundle. But I was not able to make it right (fretboard warps. Probably, it's possible to glue fretboard first, than fit the frets?). So I've used plastic frets variant. Anyway, you will need to file and adjust frets after building, to avoid fret ringing. It won't play like a charm right after assembly — it's normal. ## Building process Use the thick glue, epoxy is the best. I've also tested PVC glue, which works faster, but warps PLA parts. * Remove brims, clean up the surfaces (probably, you'll need no sanding), test fit all the parts. Fix shapes, when needed. * First, glue together body part with ribs (see picture), glue in end piece. Hot fit rivets to string holes. Test fit the soundboard parts. * Hot fit guitar tuner washers, attach tuners — it's much easier to do with pegbox detached. You will need to drill holes for tuner's screws. * Fit tubes. Be sure, that they fit well. * Attach and glue pegbox. * Glue soundboard bottom parts, wait until glue will set. * Glue sounboard tops, wait again. * Glue fretboard and nut. Glue nut with some weak glue — it's a replaceable part. * Fit strings and bridge. Do not glue bridge to the soundboard! ## Bridge position There are marks (drop shaped) on the soundboard, which show where the bridge should be (see attached picture). But you may need to additionally adjust bridge position using tuner. ## Nice to see you here! If you read this far, you're probably interested in such projects. If you like this one, and want to support my work, you may consider small donation here: [https://boosty.to/glebz](https://boosty.to/glebz)