The Tikicaster: 3d printed semi-acoustic electric guitar

myminifactory

This is my take on the Telecaster Thinline, Fender's brief foray into hollow body electrics. The body stacks up three sections - back, middle and front - allowing a print of a hollow body with finish surfaces on both sides, sans support. I modeled the tele body in Cubify Design, then printed test pieces of each section, which interfaced seamlessly with hardware. With minor adjustments, I got the pickups and bridge to fit like a glove. Next, I exported the base tele body from Cubify into 3dCoat where I sculpted the Tiki faces. The print won't fit on standard printers; it required my large custom machine. Each part took about 24 hours to print. The slots in the middle section are designed for steel reinforcement to handle string tension. The whole assembly was held together with epoxy and a touch of bondo before being painted. We discussed this project on the 3D Printing Today podcast, available on iTunes or Stitcher radio; learn more at http://www.threedprintingtoday.com/