A revolution in lutherie?

It will never replace the way we make ukes now. Unless we totally run out of wood....
 
Fascinating stuff!
 
It will never replace the way we make ukes now. Unless we totally run out of wood....

Maybe this will be the next wave of polymer ukes? Bakelite, styrolyte, whatever Flukes are made of, and now, powdered nylon!

I wonder how long it will be until someone "prints" an instrument using the powdered metal options.
 
I just finished a book by Cory Doctrow titled "Makers". This story on self manufacturing printers and 3D printing could have been one of the chapters. You can download it for free (the author is promoting this) from http://craphound.com/makers/download/ . There are both UK and USA accessible versions in many different formats.

Here is the WikiP entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makers_(Cory_Doctorow_novel)

Just imagine how you could experiment with bracing etc. if all you needed to do was grab a Sketchup Plan for a design and alter it. It is a fascinating thing to ponder. It would augment the market since there would still be need for traditional makers of wooden instruments. Maybe there will develop a line of excellent starter ukuleles for short money. One downside that I see is the chemicals needed to provide the printers and how recyclable and toxic they are.

I say this as a person who has earned money as a glassblower, blacksmith, and maker of edged tools. They all are arts that have contemporary analogs that will provide a cheaper functional product, but people are still there that want finely wrought items. I can forge weld, or make mortise and tenon joinery, but only if the client wants that added cost. Otherwise, out comes the squirt welder.

I look forward to seeing how this tech develops.
 
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Sounds like its still a wood guitar core with a plastic shell around it. Looks like a regular wood neck and fingerboard too.
Article quote... "The bodies are formed with a cavity in the back, into which a block of wood is fitted for attaching the neck and pickups. The wooden core was added to Diegel’s original solid plastic design to make the sound brighter."
Photos of it here.. http://www.gizmag.com/olaf-diegel-3d-printed-guitars/21787/

I guess this is cool....maybe a bit of a gimmick. I was hoping to see something more impressive than a wooden stick guitar with a gothic Stienberger copy plastic body around it.
 
"Digital photography will never replace film." Remember when so many people (mostly film photographers) were saying that?

3D printing has come an awful long way in a very short time. It certainly does open up a lot of design testing possibilities. I for one would sure like to get my hands on a 3D printer.
 
There is a material called Richlite that I work with, I think it might make nice fingerboards. It is phenolic bonded compressed paper. Actually, pretty sure it will make nice fingerboards....
 
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