3D printing a Ukulele

bugjuiceyup

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Hello everyone! I am an intern at a 3D printing company in Marietta, GA and I have a couple of questions about the Ukulele I am designing.

I am using 123d design, an easy to use free software, if anyone is interested.

Here are my questions:

How exactly is the saddle attached to a typical ukulele?

How tall, in mm, are the nut and saddle on a sopranissimo ukulele, or does the type of ukulele even matter?

How tall are the frets of a ukulele in mm?

Does the sound hole size matter much? My ukulele is in the shape of an animal, and the soundhole is the eye and mouth, with an iris and eyelids on the eye. Does the fact that I have an irregular shaped soundhole affect the sound?

I will have more questions as my project continues, so I thank yall in advance for helping me.

If anyone has questions about 3D printing don't be afraid to ask, and when I eventually print her out I'll post pics. I might even sell the file for like....$5 or less. If she turns out well, that is.

Again, thank you for your responses!
 
Do a search of these forum pages - all you need to know has already been published MANY times here. Having said this you'll get lots of conflicting advice and if you are like most who ask these questions, you'll ignore it anyway and do your own thing... sigh :(
 
Look up the Ukulele plans here for your dimensions.... http://www.grellier.fr/plans.php?lang=en Bridge height and string spacing is the same for any size.
Fret sizes can be found here.... http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Fretting/Stewart-MacDonald_Fretwire/ Most ukes use narrow or medium size wire
The saddle is typically just placed in a slot on the bridge. Maybe a drop of glue to hold it
Sound hole size usually depends on the volume inside the body. Bigger body...bigger hole. Changing the shape, position, or number of holes will affect the sound, but its impossible to predict from your description. I would use the Grellier plans to estimate the ratio of body volume to sound hole area. Then try to keep a similar ratio in your design (add up your multiple sounds to get one total area)

Let's see it when you get done!!
 
@bugjuiceyup


Have you ever seen an ukulele in person? Do you own an ukulele, or can you borrow one from someone for a while?

If not, why don't you go on Musicians Friend's web site and buy a $30 Mahalo Soprano, and then when you have it in hand, you can take measurements of all the relevant parts, and after your 3d-printed uke is done, you have something to compare it to?

You might get all the info from plans for the specs, but unless you have a physical instrument in front of you, you will not have a hands-on point of reference.

At least, that is what I might do, in addition to getting some plans like ksquine has said above.

Good Luck with your project!
 
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