Blockflöten aus dem 3D-Drucker

High-quality woodwind instruments from the 3D printer? Yes, if the triad is right. The harmony of: Skills, machines and materials.
Kunath Instrumentenbau has been researching new materials and processes for musical instrument making on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research since 1 June 2019. The aim is to develop climate-neutral and environmentally friendly materials that can stand up to comparison with natural types of wood.

It is not (yet) quite as easy as in the picture to create a recorder in a 3D printer.

There are many reasons for this. Because the triad has to be right.
In this case too, as always in craftsmanship, it consists of three pillars:

- Skills
- machines
- material

Expertise means knowing how an instrument needs to be shaped - what dimensions are important? Who will play the instrument and where will it be used?
Once these fundamental questions have been answered, the experienced instrument maker can select the model on which the instrument will be based. Only then can he plan the individual work steps and their sequence that are needed to make the instrument.

The machines and tools help to create the instruments from the raw wood. Pure manual labour is required for some work steps, but even a lathe is indispensable. Machines reduce the production time without necessarily reducing the quality of the end product. In many cases, this is the only way to make (larger) recorders affordable for the customer. Without a drill, lathe and carving knife, little is possible in conventional instrument making. In larger workshops, there are also milling machines and other precision mechanical machines. The more modern a workshop is equipped, the more high-quality and precise tools can be financed and used.

The material - in addition to the model design - determines to a very large extent the sound and durability of the instrument.
The pride of good instrument making workshops is therefore a large warehouse filled with a more or less wide selection of suitable and well-seasoned types of wood.
This enables the instrument maker to select the right material for the instrument - or the customer's wishes.
Is the instrument to be used as a solo instrument or to blend into an ensemble? A well-chosen and sensibly selected material is the perfect match for the instrument design.

Since 2015, Kunath Instrumentenbau has been experimenting with the rapidly developing possibilities of 3D printing. The material RESONA is the first in-house development of a material that is used to make the bodies of large recorders. The material has a density comparable to rosewood, but many musicians compare its sound characteristics to the warmth and softness of cherry wood. This is due to the special way in which the material is processed.

However, one material cannot provide the answer to all questions in instrument making. As the development of such materials is very time-consuming and costly, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding this work. With research programmes.
Kunath Instrumentenbau has qualified for the development and research of new materials thanks to the wealth of experience gained in recent years.
The two-year research programme NAWAMU - Development of sustainable, acoustically high-quality materials for additive manufacturing processes for use in musical instrument making to replace protected wood species - was launched on 1 June 2019 .

The aim is to develop printing materials that are sustainable, climate-neutral, harmless to health and at least equal, if not superior, to normal materials (types of wood) in terms of sound.
The project leader, Sibo Kunath, explains that another aim of the working group is to ensure that the new materials are also superior to those used to date in terms of dimensional stability (swelling caused by breathing moisture) and insensitivity to strong temperature fluctuations.

Of course, recorders made from grown wood will remain the first choice for many players. However, especially for large instruments or endangered wood species, the initial results show that the new materials are gaining a rapidly growing circle of friends.