3D Printed Uke?

Koa Soprano

Koa Soprano

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I have seen a few examples of ukes printed on these 3D printers that have come out. One was an experiment by students, the other a strange looking thing with built in geared tuners.

My work is getting an SLS type printer in a few weeks and within a few months I will be trained on AutoCad and will be using it. I think it would be cool to print a full size soprano. The soundbox and neck would need to be printed separately, but I don't see why it's can't be done. All the bracing, bridge, frets, nut could be one piece, except for a dovetailed neck.

If I do it I'll post a thread detailing it.
 
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Cool!
You could add wicked engravings and stuff.
Maybe even dedicate it to UU!

Good luck!
 
Very true for costing and while I share the fascination for the 3D printing advances I treasure the little spaces for artisan handmade craft using natural materials that the age of mass production has kept open to us.


The Big Kahuna said:
Considering the cost of 3D printing, you might as well buy a Kanile'a.
Click to expand...
 
The AutoCad course a few of us are taking is 2 months long, I guess it's just enough to be able do what we will be doing at my work.

That guitar used $3000 worth of plastic, a uke would use much less but if it's insanely expensive I won't bother.

I've been thinking about a travel uke with a folding neck too. The neck could fold to make it compact for travel and it would be resistant to humidity and temperature swings.
 
Must be an expensive 3d printer. The hobby ones out there are very limited on what size parts they can manufacture. Something the length of a fretboard would be out of the question.
 
Got a look at the printer yesterday. It's not an SLS like I initially thought, it's an FDM type printing in an ABS+ type material. It's also Solid Works I will be learning next month, not AutoCad. I looked at some samples already printed and asked about printing my own stuff. They were okay with it as long as I pay for the material. The program for the printer calculates the cost based on the medium costing about $7 a cubic inch. They guessed a uke would be about $75.
 
At our FabLab at the college they charge $10 pci. Pretty expensive but I was thinking of making a solid back/sides like Ovation or Fluke. Could be fun.
 
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Koa Soprano said:
The AutoCad course a few of us are taking is 2 months long, I guess it's just enough to be able do what we will be doing at my work.
Click to expand...

2 months full time AutoCAD training should get you to Godlike status :) I learned AutoCAD autodidactically way back in the command line days, and even then it wasn't that hard. Solidworks should be pretty straightforward too. You learn a lot by trying to do things :)
 
SamWise said:
2 months full time AutoCAD training should get you to Godlike status :) I learned AutoCAD autodidactically way back in the command line days, and even then it wasn't that hard. Solidworks should be pretty straightforward too. You learn a lot by trying to do things :)
Click to expand...

I won't be learning AutoCad at all, just SolidWorks. I think designing a uke will also help with learning how to use it.
 
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