walterharp
1040 posts
Feb 19, 2013
1:06 PM
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Wonder if anybody has considered making harp combs with 3d printing? It seems like you could make some pretty innovative stuff with that method... harmonica of tomorrow!
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florida-trader
246 posts
Feb 19, 2013
2:26 PM
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You mean like this?
And this?
or this?
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Feb 19, 2013 2:28 PM
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ReedSqueal
367 posts
Feb 19, 2013
3:51 PM
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My guess s that those combs are NOT 3d printed. They appear to be machined from a solid block (corian, acrylic etc)
As for 3d printing a comb, I've wondered the same thing!
Info on 3d printing if anyone is interested:
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
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nacoran
6509 posts
Feb 19, 2013
4:23 PM
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Some of the 10K+ machines can print metal to incredibly tight tolerances (as in microchip scale). It won't be real soon, but someday I suspect high end reeds will be printed.
Tom, is that additive printing or precision cutting? I remember your video about the milling of the aluminum combs. The future is now. :)
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Nate
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Sherwin
27 posts
Feb 19, 2013
4:56 PM
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Why not print entire "one piece" harmonicas? Plates, reeds, comb, covers: all one piece. No fasteners, certain drawbacks for sure.
Possibilities are amazing, even if printed in conventional "parts form".
Nanobots for maintenance and repair. That's a little further down the road I guess, the nanobot thing I mean.
Coming soon?
Mathius Hohner would love this stuff.
Sherwin
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Greg Heumann
2018 posts
Feb 19, 2013
5:46 PM
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You could easily 3D print a comb - but because a comb is a simple solid object, all you're doing is using an inferior material to make something much more slowly and at higher expense. A comb can be cut from any material you want fairly easily manually, even easier with CNC, or, like the big boys do it, in one fell swoop with a gang saw.
At least for now, 3D printing is best for complicated shapes that are difficult or impossible to machine. It is getting better all the time though.
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/Greg
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walterharp
1042 posts
Feb 19, 2013
7:19 PM
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well, lets say you could finely control the shape of the chamber in the comb to alter aerodynamics in ways you cannot do with simple cutting. or perhaps you could micromachine valves into the comb..what about splitting the chamber in half with one way valves in the middle? basically any fine control of the shape you wanted to test out.. and you can go rent a printed version of this for say $25 a pop... I also suspect the materials will improve over time,, just spit balling here,
you also can get 3d scanning pretty cheap, so if you wanted to knock off a comb from somewhere else it would be pretty easy
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nacoran
6512 posts
Feb 19, 2013
9:44 PM
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I've wondered about the possibility of a partially divided chamber using a diagonal divider. One of the complaints I've heard about the discrete comb was it's width. If you divided it with an angled piece, taking advantage of the fact that the swinging end of each reed is near the rivet end of the other to maximize the space you might be able to make it thinner. I've also wondered if you could make the reeds more responsive by making a curved cut at the end of the chamber instead of a regular cut, so the tip of the reed swinging into the chamber would have a tighter gap through the whole length of it's swing. A 3D printer would make testing that fairly simple for someone who already had the setup. As for really fine manipulation of the chamber, while a printer might be able to do some of that better than a CNC, the equipment you'd need to analyze the results, could be the breaking point.
Most home 3D printers use pretty basic plastic, but that's starting to change. It still is slower than just cutting them. Another thing to try would be a comb that you mounted reeds directly too, eliminating the reed plates.
As for making 1 piece harps, let's look at the typical harp-
3+ screws holding on the reed plate.
2+ screws holding on the covers.
20 rivets.
20 reeds.
2 covers
1 comb
2 reed plates.
Unless it's a custom with threaded holes, at least a couple nuts.
50+ parts.
The Magnus plastic harmonicas were 5 pieces. 2 Cover plates, two reed plates with reeds molded in the same casting, and a comb. They are a bit on the quiet side and the lack of cover screws means it's glued together, which isn't very maintenance friendly. :)
There are futurists who predict that someday everything will be printed. I wouldn't bet against them, but it will still be a while.
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Nate
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Greg Heumann
2020 posts
Feb 20, 2013
7:49 AM
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@Walter, Nate - I hadn't thought about actually doing things that hadn't been done - only about recreating existing combs. You're right - 3D would make ideas like that easy to test and potentially possible to produce.
"I'm a peripheral visionary. I can see into the future, just way off to the side......"
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/Greg
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nacoran
6515 posts
Feb 20, 2013
8:24 AM
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Tooka, they are already experimenting with printing organs. The first tries where with off the shelf printers that they modified in the lab. They are supposed to be pretty close on some less differentiated
organs. It turns out cells will organize themselves a bit if you put them together in the right chemicals.
If you think about it, a soft ice cream machine is a printing machine in it's most basic form. You pull one lever, and a flavor of ice cream fills the bowl. The next lever is a different flavor. Some places have got to have buttons to dispense toppings. It may not be high def printing, but it's additive. :)
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Nate
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florida-trader
247 posts
Feb 20, 2013
8:26 AM
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Readsqueal. You are correct. Those are partially milled acrylic Special 20 combs. The OP's question about 3D printing did not register in my brain. I've seen 3D printing before (not up close and personal) but I failed to connect the dots between 3D printing and harmonica combs. I guess I'm just old fashioned. I still think in terms of CNC milling. The world is passing me by.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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harpwrench
641 posts
Feb 20, 2013
9:24 AM
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Brad showed me a prototype B-Radical comb that was 3-D printed.
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Custom Harmonicas
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walterharp
1043 posts
Feb 20, 2013
11:42 AM
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brad was a few years ahead of the curve.. unfortunately for him..but i was thinking about those harmonicas and 3d printing just this morning!
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florida-trader
248 posts
Feb 20, 2013
1:01 PM
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Just for kicks, I contacted a local 3D printing company this afternoon. I sent them the designs for a Hohner MS-Series comb. They were very quick to respond and I had a very nice conversation with a "Sales Engineer" named Chris. To make a prototype would cost $100. If I got 100 parts made then my cost would drop to $25 each. That is considerably more than it costs to have a comb CNC machined. So the only reason I would venture into this territory would be strictly as a novelty item. That said, with a more involved design like a recessed Special 20 comb or a chromatic comb the gap between the cost of CNC milling and 3D printing would be reduced and it is possible that 3D printing could become a viable option at some point.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Feb 20, 2013 2:23 PM
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STME58
361 posts
Feb 20, 2013
10:34 PM
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I attempted to print a Golden Melody comb. I tried to include the cover screw bosses and it was too unstable and warped all over the place. A flat comb would probably come out ok.Or supports could be designed in for later removal after the part is cool.
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Brendan Power
336 posts
Feb 21, 2013
2:42 AM
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Tom and Greg are on the money when it comes to 3D printing combs. Zombor and I at X-Reed have got a couple of prototype designs made this way. It's great for seeing how they will look, but the materials and fine resolution available, plus the cost, make them less attractive than CNC right now. I'm sure that will change in time.
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