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Daphnis: a 3D-Printable Pan Flute, a 3D-printed pan pipes
Photo: DSpecter via Printables, CC BY-SA. Resized and converted to WebP.
Folk & world · Pan pipes

Daphnis: a 3D-Printable Pan Flute

Tuned pan pipes with about 28 notes to choose from, ready-made scales and several rack layouts

Designed by DSpecter, published on Printables

CC BY-SA Commercial use OK Build info 4/5

Licence verified on Printables, 20 October 2026.

Get the files on Printables ↗ Watch the video
Notes
About 28 pipes, each under about 22 cm tall
Scales
Folders of common scales based on A
Racks
Straight and angled layouts for different pipe counts
Difficulty
Easy to medium; may need fine tuning
On Printables
353 likes · 885 downloads · 13 makes · 27 comments (as of 20 Oct 2026)

About the Daphnis Pan Flute

Pan pipes are closed tubes of increasing length, and each one sounds a note when you blow across its open end. The challenge is getting the lengths right. The designer, who has a musical background, did the maths and designed about 28 pipes that all fit a hobby printer standing up. Ready-made folders combine them into common scales in A, and several rack designs (straight and angled) hold different numbers of pipes.

Two touches stand out. After studying a real pan flute in a music shop, the designer reshaped the pipes' open ends with front and back chamfers, as on good commercial instruments, to improve airflow. And a small wax tool is included for pressing wax into the pipes, which is how you fine-tune a pan flute: wax shortens the pipe and raises its note.

The racks are meant to hold the pipes firmly but still let you remove them, so fit varies between printers. Print the tiny two-pipe connector first (about ten minutes), scale it until the fit is right, then use that scale for every rack.

Who it's for. Anyone who wants a nice-looking instrument that really plays. Getting a sound out of pan pipes takes a little practice. The feature video skips to the playing at 1:32.

What you'll need

Printed parts

  • Pipes for the scale you choose
  • A rack for that number of pipes
  • Optional: the wax tool

Bought parts

  • Optional: wax for fine tuning

Tools

  • A printer with about 22 cm of height

Build overview

  1. Choose a scale. Pick a scale folder, or your own set of notes.
  2. Test the rack fit. Print the two-pipe connector and scale it until the pipes fit snugly.
  3. Print the pipes. Stand them upright, with variable layer height and a 10 mm brim.
  4. Print the rack. Use the scale from the test print.
  5. Assemble and tune. Press the pipes in and fine-tune with wax if needed.

Print settings

  • Material: PLA or PLA+
  • Layer height: Variable, for clean open ends
  • Adhesion: 10 mm brim on every pipe
  • Nice touches: Colour change at the base for the note label; fuzzy skin on the racks

Video

Play video: Daphnis feature video (sound from 1:32) (loads YouTube)
Daphnis feature video (sound from 1:32), DSpecter (the designer). Plays from youtube-nocookie.com after you click.

Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Video thumbnails are © their creators.

Photos

  • Daphnis: a 3D-Printable Pan Flute, photo 1 of 1

All photos: DSpecter, from the design page on Printables, licensed CC BY-SA. We resized them and converted them to WebP. These adapted versions are shared under the same licence.

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