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Lulzbot
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Lulzbot plays Carmen
This is something I’ve wondered about ever since I first heard a 3D printer in action. Could you program a printer to print something to a tune? And what would the tune look like?
We saw 3D Nu Bracelets last month, which use the variations in a song to create individual bracelets. But what about the 3D printer acting as an instrument? Using a Lulzbot that’s exactly what Rickard Dahlstrand has done during Art Hack Day 2013 in Stockholm.
The hacker isn’t the first to create music on a 3D printer by any means but his analytical process has led him to recreate some of the greatest pieces of classical music and then display the prints as art.
“The project explores the alternative uses of 3D-printers. It's being used to create unique art by printing classical pieces of music while at the same time acting as an instrument and performing the music itself.
The stepper motors controlling the movement can be run at different speeds, the speed decides the pitch of the sound and makes it possible for the motors to make music.
Three motors each represent one of the tracks and their movement makes a unique pattern.
The two motors controlling the Z-axis move only slightly to increase the height. Microphones on the motors picks up the sound and amplifies it.”
As you can see from the video the Carmen rendition is really rather splendid. He’s managed to produce six pieces of music to play through his Lulzbot and posted the code for you to try at home on github.
The music selected for this project where:
1. Williams - Star Wars: Imperial March (Classical???)
2. Rossini - William Tell Overture
3. Beethoven - 5th Symphony Part 1
4. Mozart - Serenade No.13 in G for strings Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (K.525)
5. Strauss - Blue Danube
6. Bizet - Carmen: Habanera
