3D Printed Music: 3D Printer Plays Music & Prints What It Looks Like

There have been many printers over the years that have been hacked to play music. Lately, there have even been 3D printers that have joined the ranks of technology-created music. But this is the first time we’ve seen one that not only plays music, but it also 3D prints it. This hacked 3D printer (which wasn’t harmed in the process) creates 3D printed music. If you ever wondered what a song looks like after it is 3D printed, now you’ll know. The results are impressive.

This printer hack was created by Rickard Dahlstrand for Music Hack Day 2013 in Stockholm. He wanted to find a way to use a 3D printer to make custom art by creating printed music, while at the same time functioning as an instrument playing the music it was printing. The printed music is fascinating, and the fact the printer plays it while it prints it is just the icing on the cake.

According to Vimeo, “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 pick up the sound and amplify it.”

Rickard chose 6 songs for this project, and you can click over to Vimeo to see the list. If this is something you would like to try for yourself, you can check out his code which is here on GitHub. He used a Lulzbot 3D printer. This is just one of many alternate uses for a 3D printer. As this technology continues to become more popular, I’m sure we’ll see more genius hacks like this!