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The piano repair business may be about to undergo a major revolution in the not so distant future. 3D printing is rapidly becoming commonplace. 3D printing is also becoming quite affordable. WalMart is now selling 3D printers printing in recyclable ABS and compostable PLA http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cube-3D-Printer-2nd-Generation-Silver/29201056http://www.walmart.com/ip/AFINIA-H-Series-3D-Printer-with-1-Year-Limited-Warranty/31342761The applications to piano repair should be obvious. No more waiting for certain parts to arrive in the mail. Just duplicate an existing part, or, perhaps pay some sort of royalty to use particular specs. A 3D printer will become one of the most important tools that the piano tech has. And, this seems to be coming... soon.
Last edited by daniokeeper; 01/17/14 04:41 AM.
Joe Gumbosky Piano Tuning & Repair www.morethanpianos.com (semi-retired) "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -Marcus Aurelius
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Is there a webcam app that tells the printer how to print the part?
Ian Russell Schiedmayer & Soehne, 1925 Model 14, 140cm Ibach, 1905 F-IV, 235cm
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There are 3D scanners available to digitize parts for replication.
Mark Dierauf, RPT NH Pianos Piano technician & rebuilder since 1978 www.nhpianos.com
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http://slic3r.org/A G-Code generator like above is needed to create the instructional code for the machines. These can be taken from scans or from CAD drawings. Most commmonly, a part is drawn up in CAD and then post processed for the G-Codes with a CAM package. How useful these will be for our profession depends on the available materials they will print with and the accuracy level of rendering. ABS plastic (for ex.)is not an easy material to attach wood/cloth or porous parts to, or to find compatable glues for all the variations. It is of different density than wood and will expand/contract at different rates also. The cheaper machines (under 5K) that are hitting the market are not capable of super high accuracy rendering of parts...they are more for rapid prototyping of simple designs that are not sized for critical fits.
Piano Technician George Brown College /85 Niagara Region
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Yup. I have already had discussions with a firm that does 3D printing design & production. This may be sooner rather than later. It is cheaper than having a mold made. But the other posters are correct -- the low-end printers and materials are not yet very suitable for our needs.
Keith Akins, RPT Piano Technologist USA Distributor for Isaac Cadenza hammers and Profundo Bass Strings Supporting Piano Owners D-I-Y piano tuning and repair editor emeritus of Piano Technicians Journal
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Oh goodie! Now I can make me some of that expensive WNG stuff!
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Yes! This.
The technology is already viable to scan and reproduce with only minimal machining and cleanup. This is absolutely revolutionary for all designers and prototypers out there!
Get ready for custom-touch action redesigns, old part reproduction, low cost and fast turnaround. Multiple plastics with different energy absorption characteristics are available (PLA/ABS). Structures can be internally microstructured to create controlled variations of rigidity and flexibility.
Here in Boston, some of the leading innovators are competing for the marketplace and it's exciting to see their work. This is going to change our world as much as the internet itself.
In the next 10 years, this could even eliminate our powerlessness against corporate interest in foreign manufacturing by bringing diverse small scale operations back on US soil. I look forward to this kind of change.
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Yes, Tunewerk. Everything is changing.
Now that this technology is available to the general public, the piano repair business is bound to change radically. The ability to fabricate parts using 3D printing will become as necessary to the job as woodworking skills are today. Any piano tech in the business will want to be at least as technically capable as his/her client.... for the sake of credibility.
Keith, they may not yet be suitable. But, it's not going to take much longer.
Emmery, you'll be able to create custom jacks and other parts... maybe in your own van parked outside the client's home.
Surely a reliable adhesive can be found to glue felt and wood to these parts.
Joe Gumbosky Piano Tuning & Repair www.morethanpianos.com (semi-retired) "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -Marcus Aurelius
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We've been running a large 3D printer that I built myself from a kit for over a year now, we just made it bigger, it makes parts that can be up to 24 inches long. It came from the same place that our 6 x 12 foot CNC router/carver came from. www.buildyourcnc.com . Considering we didn't have to lay out the average 60 grand for that size machine from a tool source it has paid for itself the first week we used it. There are 3D printers that use a liquid binder and stainless steel powder to make metal parts but the curing oven you need is way out of the ballpark of affordability at this time
J. Christie Nashville Piano Rescue www.NashvillePianoRescue.comEast Nashville Bowling Green, KY Scottsville KY. Chamber of Commerce Member/Sponsor Putting inspiration in the hands of area musicians Through restoration/renovation
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My word, you are a man of many talents. Mr. Christie.
>our 6 x 12 foot CNC router/carver
That's big! You can carve out a single-piece solid grand piano rim out of a big tree!
(What do you really use it for?)
Best regards-
phacke
Steinway YM (1933) ...Working on: J. S. Bach, Toccata (G minor) BWV 915 (and trying not to forget the other stuff I know)
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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