Author: Pereira3D
Date: 2018-08-08 04:41
I’m founder of the company making the 3D printed barrels, bells, and ligatures. I’d like to shed some light on some of the points brought up.
To answer the OP’s question, it’s absolutely possible, but most likely not for the entirety of the instrument. For instance, the key work poses a major issue because the material will begin to melt if exposed to a flame, making repairs/pad installation a problem. However, it’s certainly a possibility for manufacturing an instrument’s body.
From my 4 years with the company, I’ve only had one report of a broken barrel from a reviewer (the curious clarinetist) that did a write-up on two old models (the one that broke was a skinny hourglass model), well before 3D Wood was even introduced. Since then, the infill was changed to make them more dense and the introduction of 3D Wood has been a game-changer. I’ve even tossed products from the last 2 years off a 3-story building onto tarmac and never had anything more than a scuff.
With printing, you have to keep track of a couple factors. Warping can be an issue with certain materials as it exits a very hot nozzle and enters a significantly cooler atmosphere, but it is virtually nonexistent with other materials. If you’ve been using ABS or ABS-based materials, among some others, maybe you ought to try PLA-based filaments instead. If your nozzle height/first layer extrusion settings aren’t quite “zoned in,” you can also create warping issues with that alone. Also, you need to document the shrinkage factor with different materials and account for this in the 3D model. Once you account for this, the printer reliably prints accurate and repeatable models. In regards to toxicity of materials, there are FDA approved filaments available. Again, I don’t recommend ABS for this either. However, there are certain types of PLA (which is plant- and corn-derived, by the way) and PETG materials that are certainly more suitable.
Ryan Pereira
Pereira 3D Clarinet Services
www.Pereira3D.com
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The Clarinet BBoard
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