Making music from 3D-printed instruments (pictures)
A band playing gorgeous-looking 3D-printed drums, guitars, and keyboards will take the stage at the upcoming EuroMold design festival in Germany.
Hive B guitar
Olaf Diegel, a design engineer and professor of mechatronics at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand, 3D prints gorgeously intricate electric guitars. Here's his $3,500 Hive B Les Paul-inspired bass guitar. Look closely, and you can see bees inside.
Inside the Hive B
A closer look at the bees inside the Hive B 3D-printed guitar. Four of Olaf Diegel's 3D-printed guitars will be played together live onstage at the EuroMold design fair in Frankfurt, Germany on December 3-6.
Buzz-worthy bass
Another view of the Hive B bass guitar's body. You could say the instrument is worthy of buzz.
Steampunk style
Olaf Diegel's company, ODD Designs, uses Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) printing to craft the bodies of custom guitars, then adds a mahogany or maple wood core, a wooden neck, tuning pegs, a bridge, pickups, and controls for a fully playable instrument. The entire body of the Steampunk guitar, including all the moving parts, is printed as a single component, with no further assembly required.
Multicolored music
The Steampunk, which has moving gears and a piston, is a tribute to one of Olaf Diegel's all-time favorite guitars, the Telecaster. New Zealand airbrush artist Ron van Dam took care of the paint job.
Lucky keyboard
The Ladybug keyboard will be part of the 3D-printed band performing in Germany next month. It consists of a Yamaha P35 keyboard inside a 3D-printed chassis.
Drums with flair
For the Atom drum kit, Olaf Diegel replaced the shells of a Sonor Smart Force kit with 3D-printed ones. The "3D-printed Band" (band name subject to change) will play these drums and other 3D-printed instruments at the EuroMold design fair in Frankfurt, Germany next month.
Sounds of spook
The Spider LP 3D-printed guitar from ODD Guitars features a spiderweb motif and spiders on the inside. Introductory price: $3,500, including hard case but excluding shipping.
Hidden inside
Little spiders live inside the Spider LP 3D-printed guitar from ODD Guitars, but apparently they don't affect the sound.
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