Okay this is pretty cool. Apparently there is this new technology called '3d Printing' and it can let you make stuff from your own printer (Actual physical stuff). I would love to make one of these.
https://pinshape.com/items/22238-3d-printed-laser-cut-folding-ukulele-soprano-size
Does anyone here have any knowledge on this? I hope it's not expensive.
Actually that uke is made from a flat board of wood, with it's pieces cut by a computer guided laser beam, not unlike a CNC machine or Plasma Cutter which are both similar.
OTOH- 3-D printing, has a similar carriage assembly to a large-format INKJET printer, but instead of the 'print head' being fed with ink, it is fed with various kinds of 'plastic' string, that is fed from a spool into a heated nozzle that monetarily liquifies the plastic as it exits the nozzle (similar to a hot-melt glue gun used in crafting). the actual 'printing' is done in layers, like a sandwich and is controlled from computer programs to create something out of your 3-D computer designs.
About a year ago I was looking at getting a 3-D printer and IIRC you can get a decent one for about $500 USD, but some assembly is required and then you have to learn how to use all the software, and the 'filament' which is the media on the spool that it prints from comes in all different compositions, densities and colors
Also, I remember seeing a few different soprano ukes on ThingVerse, which is a site that lets you download the actual CAD documents to print the 3-D things from, and the authors of said 'things' said that it took something like 28 hrs to 3-D print the different parts of a soprano uke, and that by the time you spent for the electricity to run this 500 watt MakerBot or similar, and the cost of the ABS media, you are not gaining anything versus just buying a Makala Waterman, Woodi or Bugsgear for $50, other than the 'cool' factor with a 3-D printed PLASTIC uke, which might end up costing your OVER $100 USD depending upon how much media you waste during your possible 100 hours of trial and error while learning on and trying to figure out how to fine tune your OWN 3-D printer.
They are temperamental and each one needs a slight bit of tuning and fiddling to get optimal performance from it.
For more info about 3-D Printing, you might want to look at the following web sites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing
http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/
http://explainingthefuture.com/3dprinting.html
https://3dprint.com/82272/what-3d-printing-works/
http://www.shapeways.com/
http://thingiverse.com
http://hackaday.com
http://makezine.com
http://makerbot.com
http://adafruit.com
http://sparkfun.com
If you want info on how that wood uke from your link was created and what kind of machines are used, there's info on the maker's own web site (linked in the description) or you can just search google for
laser cutter
or
plasma cutter
or
CNC machine
and you will find plenty of info
Hope this helps....