Evaluation of 3D printed mouthpieces for musical instruments

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is the evaluation of advantages and criticalities related to the application of addtive manufacturing (AM) to the production of parts for musical instruments. A comparison between traditional manufacturing and AM based on different aspects is carried out. Design/methodology/approach A set of mouthpieces produced through different AM techniques has been designed, manufactured and evaluated using an end-user satisfaction-oriented approach. A musician has been tasked to play the same classical music piece with different mouthpieces, and the sound has been recorded in a recording studio. The mouthpiece and sound characteristics have been evaluated in a structured methodology. Findings The quality of the sound and comfort of 3D printed mouthpieces can be similar to the traditional ones provided that an accurate design and proper materials and technologies are adopted. When personalization and economic issues are considered, AM is superior to mouthpieces produced by traditional techniques. Research limitations/implications In this research, a mouthpiece for trombone has been investigated. However, a wider analysis where several musical instruments and related parts are evaluated could provide more data. Practical implications The production of mouthpieces with AM techniques is suggested owing to the advantages which can be tackled in terms of customization, manufacturing cost and time reduction. Originality/value This research is carried out using a multidisciplinary approach where several data have been considered to evaluate the end user satisfaction of 3D printed mouthpieces.

An overview of additive manufacturing technologies for musical wind instruments

“…In another study, trombone mouth pieces were designed, manufactured and statistically evaluated based on various end user requirements like sound quality, buying cost, customization and personal symbol, mouth and lips comfort, ease of storing the mouthpiece, loudness, etc. [17]. They have found that in comparison with a metallic mouthpiece, SLA-printed mouthpieces fared better design solutions.…”

“…A trombone mouthpiece reported in [17] was developed using SLA. They focussed on the different AM technologies to investigate the change in geometry, material on the sound characteristics of the instrument.…”

“…Additionally, AM is complementary with the reverse engineering tools and assists in the restoration or repair of instrument parts. Furthermore, AM technologies are suitable for low volume batch production and could meet ever-changing needs of the customer [17].…”

Process monitoring for material extrusion additive manufacturing: a state-of-the-art review

“…Additive manufacturing can further be used in the jewelry [5] and construction industries [6]. Niche applications include mouthpieces for musical instruments [7] or textiles for clothing [8].…”

A design of experiment approach to 3D-printed mouthpieces sound analysis

“…Several contributions in the literature focus on the design and manufacturing of woodwind mouthpieces for saxophone or clarinet [4,5,8,14]. The source [15] focuses on the production of brass instruments such as the trombone's mouthpiece through AM. Indeed, this work can be seen as a continuation of the research carried out in [15].…”