Objet 3d’art: 3D printed guitar

In issue 55 of HackSpace mag, we printed a ¾ size guitar. It failed utterly; we assumed that the neck was mostly under compression, and so printed it so that the layer lines were perpendicular to the strings, rather than parallel. It broke within minutes.

With that recent failure still burning, we could only look on with envy at Mikoláš Zuza’s amazing Prusacaster. It’s a full-sized guitar that uses the cannibalised parts of a Telecaster-style guitar kit (available for a bargain £79/€89), as well as a 3D-printed body and pick guard.

The section of the body that the bridge and the neck attach to has to be strong enough to cope with approximately 50 kg of force running through the strings. The default PrusaSlicer settings use just two parameters, but this wasn’t strong enough to stop the body deforming under stress; Mikoláš increased this value to seven parameters, and reprinted the part with 25% cubic infill, and it’s been fine since. The joins between each part have large flat surfaces, ideal for sticking together with superglue.

Want to print your own and, in the process, learn about guitar construction? Go to hsmag.cc/Prusacaster and get stuck in!