About the Original 3D Printed Trombone
In March 2014 LulzBot ran a musical-instrument challenge on Reddit, and this trombone was the result. The designer believes it was the first 3D-printed trombone. It was first hosted on a site that has since closed, and is re-posted here 'for historical / hysterical purposes'. The designer says there are better-looking and more functional printed trombones now. He also jokes that it means band members in sub-arctic places can play outdoors without a brass trombone freezing to their face.
Everything except the slides and backbone is printed, without supports, on a 20 cm printer. The slides use plumbing tube. The outer slide tubes are PEX (about 16.25 mm inner diameter) and the inner tubes are CPVC (about 15.95 mm outer), which slide freely inside. They're cut with a rotary tube cutter and set into printed mounting blocks and a hand grip, with a PVC union as the slide disconnect. Test-fit everything before gluing. As the designer warns, glue the outer slide to the inner one and you'll be printing new parts.
The page has a long, detailed build with exact tube specs. In the video the designer plays it, and he says the bad playing is down to him being out of practice.
What you'll need
Printed parts
- Slide parts: lower slide round, hand grip, inner slide mounting block
- Bell sections, braces and other fittings
Bought parts
- SDR9 PEX tube (outer slides), 2 × 27 in
- CPVC tube (inner slides), 2 × 25.5 in, plus a 1 in wear piece
- 1/2 in schedule 40 PVC pipe and a 1/2 in PVC union
- M3 heat-set insert, cap screw and rubber washer
- PVC glue and plastic epoxy
- A trombone mouthpiece
Tools
- Rotary tube cutter
- Soldering iron (for the insert)
- Flush cutter or razor saw
Build overview
Print settings
- Supports: None
- Adhesion: 3–5 mm brim for tall parts
Video
Play video: Introducing the first 3D-printed trombone (loads YouTube)
Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. Video thumbnails are © their creators.
Photos
All photos: Piercet, from the design page on Printables, licensed CC BY. We resized them and converted them to WebP.
30 more photos on Printables ↗