At the end of last year, I was admiring the increasing array of 3D printed instruments, by Olag Diegel, on the vast 3D Systems stand at Euromold. The guitars were increasing in number, and had been joined by a new drum set. Chatting away with Avi Reichental, 3D Systems’ CEO, about the sights and sounds unveiled on the 3DS stand, he let me into a little secret — that he had challenged Olaf with his next instrumental 3D printed challenge. It was to be a saxophone.
And now we get to see the first iteration of a 3D printed sax — Olaf has published a sneak preview of his 3D printed alto saxophone. He heavily stresses that he is not a sax player, but gives it a go regardless to demonstrate that it works and to showcase the amazing capabilities of 3D printing.
As stated – this is just a first iteration of the instrument, which Olaf says has been designed along the lines of traditionally manufactured saxophones as a proof of concept. Excluding springs and screws, this sax is composed of 41 3D printed components. It is printed in nylon material by virtue of the selective laser sintering process from 3D Systems, and weighs less than a quarter of a traditional saxophone.
The next iteration will be designed specifically for 3D printing, which will help alleviate some of the air leakages that occurred and caused some tuning issues with this iteration, but Olaf says: “the next iterations will be perfect, I promise!”
Bearing in mind he is not a sax player, you can get a feel for the style and sounds of this instrument in the video below ….
…. with a promise of more to come.
