GEORGIA TECH — A team of graduate students at Georgia Tech has created a fully functioning acoustic violin from a 3D printer.

Georgia Tech professor, Carolyn Seepersad, says students designed the 3D printed violin to replicate both the sound and feel of a traditional wooden instrument.

“The entire body of the violin is made using 3D printing. There are some fasteners, there are strings, and I think a reinforcing rod that is not 3D printed, but for the most part, all the important parts are 3D printed.”

There were some slight differences in the way the violin sounded, but overall it was pretty good. “There are some frequencies for which the 3D printed violin does not resonate as well as the wooden violin, but across a broad spectrum of frequencies it did quite well.”

Seepersad says 3D made instruments could make them more affordable and easier to customize.

One day she says she hopes to see an entire orchestra playing 3D printed instruments.