Investigation of Material Properties and Acoustic Response in 3D-Printed Violins

Violins are an acoustically complex instrument, traditionally hand crafted from wood. The process of making a violin is as much an art form as playing one, requiring significant time, labor, and cost. With the increasing availability of 3D-printing, instruments can now be made at home for a fraction of the cost of traditionally made versions, improving accessibility. Once a suitable design is found, it can be consistently replicated on nearly any 3D-printer. This allows makers to design and manufacture their own instruments for playing or as quick prototypes before committing to more labor intensive materials. Despite these advancements, 3D-printing has limitations when it comes to musical instruments, particularly violins. One major drawback is the difference in material properties compared to wood. Wood is often harder, denser, and, depending on the species, generally stiffer than 3D-printed plastics. These differences affect the structural stability, but also significantly impact the acoustic performance. This thesis seeks to explore the feasibility of 3D-printed violins by analyzing their material properties and acoustic response. It focuses on the violin design and construction, material testing, and an evaluation of sound quality and tone. One of the main objectives of this project was to investigate geometry and print settings to approximate wood. For practical and comparison purposes, this project considers bending stiffness and density as the primary material factors influencing the tone of a violin. The goal was to construct two 3D-printed violins, varying the stiffness and density for comparison, and to construct an impact hammer testing rig to assess and compare the 3D-printed violins to each other and to a traditional wooden violin.