There are only a few days left in the Reddit /r/3Dprinting March 3D printing challenge! This month's challenge is to design a 3D printed musical instrument that actually makes music, and can be hand-assembled from printed parts, assembled-in-place on the printer, or both. Best of all? The winner gets a LulzBot TAZ 3D printer!
To inspire you, we want to share one member of the LulzBot community's submission. Tim Pearce, a.k.a. piercet on the LulzBot forum, created a (mostly) 3D printed trombone (pictured on the left)! Tim's submission does require some non-printed items, such as PVC pipe, but this is within the rules and not a problem.
As Tim said in his submission, 'This trombone was created to ensure that band members in sub artic locations can safely play their instruments outdoors without fear of having a trombone permanently stuck to their face.' We can think of no cause more noble!
For more, see Tim's uploaded STL file on Bld3r, as well as the following clip on YouTube showing his trombone in action:
Now, on to the contest rules! Below is an excerpt, but we advise heading over to Reddit to read the full contest post before beginning your submission:
Contest Rules
In this contest, we are looking to see musical instrument designs, that actually make music! The assembly can be hand-assembled from printed parts, assembled-in-place on the printer, or both.
You may create your own model, or modify an existing one, this contest is judged on design quality, aesthetic appeal, printability, and functionality.
Any submission of printed instruments may be post processed, dyed, painted, filled and sanded, powder coated, whatever. But if you do this, you must have before pictures for any printed parts.
All submissions must include your instrument in STL format, a render in JPEG format, a txt/doc file with a short description of your object. Bonus round: send images or video of the 3D printed musical instrument. (Videos to get a better look are encouraged.) Please help spread the word about this sub-reddit and the sponsor by mentioning '/r/3dprinting' and 'LulzBot' in the picture/video description.
All submissions must include a download link for the printable model you design in a standard file format. That's right. Even if you created the model, you have to upload it somewhere other people can access it, we prefer the always-open Bld3r.com, for at least the duration of the contest!
Upload to Bld3r.com (Or anywhere with public access):
- STL file,
- JPG render or photo of printed part,
- Select the required CC by SA licensing, and
- Link to your bld3r.com page.
- And, most importantly, make sure your instrument actually makes music, and tell us how!
This contest will end March 25th, 10:00AM, PST ( GMT-8:00 ). The winner will be announced shortly thereafter, no later than March 27th, 10:00 AM, PST ( GMT-8:00 ), barring extraneous circumstances.
In case you are unfamiliar with the licensing requirement, here's where to learn more about Creative Commons licenses.
We also want to take a moment to acknowledge the open source object sharing site Bld3r.com, for their active participation throughout this contest. Users have requested a variety of features when submitting files, and the Bld3r team has been eagerly responsive and a great partner throughout. There is a wide range of files available on their website for download, check them out!