If you have been following our projects, you probably already know how many industries and various areas in general have been improved and enhanced by 3D printers. With our latest addition to our lineup, we’re now enabling independent authors to produce their own 3D-printed LP records, bringing a much-needed level of democratization into the music industry.

Introducing Printables Bands

Brands quickly became a hit – presented as a dedicated section on Printables.com, it allows companies worldwide to publish printable additions for their products. From iFixit accessories to printable parts for a Cooler Master case, you can find all sorts of awesome things here. Now it’s time to expand Printables once more.

Our Prusacaster guitar project inspired many makers to print their own guitars and start playing, discovering the wonders of music. This is exactly the story of the frontman of a Czech group called the ThermoPLAstic People. They approached us last Tuesday with their music album about 3D printing and needless to say, we instantly fell in love with it.

You can listen to their songs in the player below or at Bandcamp. The tracklist includes such hits as Calibration, My 3D Printer Sucks, Printer’s Paradise, Mám ucpanou trysku (My Nozzle’s Clogged – performed in the band’s native Czech language) and also the Xmas classic: Phase Stepping into the Silent Night.

They wished to work with us on something new and we happily agreed. Together, we’re excited to announce the launch of a new section on Printables simply called Printables Bands! Here, you can find artists from all over the world who write and record their own music. However, this is no streaming service because music deserves much higher quality than MP3 files. Besides, nothing beats the beautiful crackling sound you hear when a vinyl stops playing. This is why Printables Bands is the first-ever VOD, or Vinyl on Demand, service.

You would download an LP record

Nearly anything can be 3D-printed, now including LP records! Simply download an STL file containing a recorded vinyl from Printables, slice it and print it! It’s the digital and physical distribution of music combined into one! This way, every single musician in the world can produce their own vinyl records without spending major amounts of money on manufacturing, and DJs can simply print a new record any time they want. Many of the existing Printables features can be easily used with music records, too – Remixes, for example.

The upcoming PrusaSlicer 2.7.5 release will feature a tool to drag and drop a WAV file into the scene, turning it into a modifier – the program will then automatically embed the audio file into the model by generating the grooves. Adding the code wasn’t difficult, it’s not rocket surgery. By precisely controlling the amount of extruded filament, it’s possible to create the groove with the same precision as with regular vinyl manufacturing, so most of the driving logic was already there.

PrusaSlicer’s new Audio Tool is also compatible with the MMU3 and XL’s toolchanger, allowing you to print music with up to five different colors and/or materials. You can, e.g., try printing a brown note or combine multiple materials in one song – e.g., TPU for “softer” sections and Tungsten for heavier ones.

 

Now, before you start printing the album you just downloaded, there are a couple of things to keep in mind: first of all, different nozzles have different levels of quality. For more detailed compositions, you’ll want to switch to a 0.25mm nozzle to bring out the finer details in the track. However, for epic Hans Zimmer soundtracks, you’ll be better off with a massive 0.8mm nozzle to really emphasize the mighty sounds of the Inception OST.

 

For genres such as rock, punk, and especially grindcore, you should switch to a hardened nozzle (check the nozzle replacement tool for ultra-fast nozzle swapping). To play music tracks that feature instruments such as a tuba, trombone, trumpet or bugle, consider a brass nozzle. There are, of course, some limitations. Currently, only one side of the record can be printed – if you use a textured print sheet, please exercise caution: the other side of the LP record will always feature brutal death metal songs.

Last, but not least, please keep in mind that the Original Prusa MINI can only print 6’’ records, so it’s best suited for singles. If you want to print progressive metal songs, you should consider the Original Prusa XL.

Oh, how the turntables!

All internet audiophiles agree that a turntable is the only way to listen to music. Its analog beauty is timeless. However, a turntable can be expensive and it requires additional space, so if you already have a 3D printer, another device may be a bit too much.

This is why we’re releasing a new firmware update for the Original Prusa XL adding a turntable mode. Simply print a needle adapter for the Nextruder and start the Turntable Mode. Instead of using a standard setup with a rotating record and a moving tonearm, the XL keeps the record stationary while it moves the needle around using precise CoreXY kinematics.

 

The built-in LED strips can be programmed to change color according to the mood of the music track and you can control the speed of the playback with the control knob next to the screen.

Happy listening!