3D Printed Guitar Nut - Anyone Tried It?

[BlackMastodon]

(Sorry if this has been covered before; just merge/necrobump the old thread if that's the case)

So I'm buying my first 3D printer off of a coworker (Monoprice Mini) and am bored at work, looking into what this thing can do, and thinking about what the hell I'll actually make. Naturally, I'm thinking about guitar stuff, so I just thought if anyone has successfully/effectively 3D printed a guitar nut before.

I don't think PLA would be well suited for it because of how brittle it is, but maybe ABS or other materials that are compatible with better 3D printers that I'm not as familiar with. So has anyone given it a try?

 

[ElysianGuitars]

Lots of cheap guitars have ABS nuts, so I'm sure that would work. After post processing though, you'd probably be just as well off buying a blank. I do a ton of 3d printing, my machines basically run non-stop. Ideally would want a slipper material, and I'm not sure there are any filaments that really fit that bill.

 

[odibrom]

There was a fellow SSorger that have been printing neck shims... not the exact same application, but could be a starting point. I'm sure that neck shims must be hard enough to fit the needs of a nut.

Here it is: http://www.sevenstring.org/threads/3d-printed-neck-shims.323360/

 

[Soya]

Could start making 3d printed fixtures and jigs for routing and drilling. And sell them. To me.

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

I've often thought a 3d printer would be nice for pickup bobbins.

 

[ElysianGuitars]

I've often thought a 3d printer would be nice for pickup bobbins.

Sort of. Lots of post processing when you print them but with ABS you can get very good results.

 

[odibrom]

I've often thought a 3d printer would be nice for pickup bobbins.

Sort of. Lots of post processing when you print them but with ABS you can get very good results.

About a year ago when I order custom pickups, I talked to the builder and suggested him to get a 3D printer to further customize clients pickups and options. He, by then, was just buying pickup parts for his builds...

 

[ElysianGuitars]

That's how I do multiscale pickups. It allows a LOT of flexibility.

 

[Hollowway]

This is genius. I’m not sure about the feasibility, but it sounds like elysian has that info. But how about 3D printing with metal sintering? We could get some pretty damn cool metal parts from that. The machines ain’t cheap, but it would be easy enough to prototype and print stuff for trem parts, metal nuts, etc. Anyone know anything about it? (Sorry for taking this OT!)

 

[KnightBrolaire]

This is genius. I’m not sure about the feasibility, but it sounds like elysian has that info. But how about 3D printing with metal sintering? We could get some pretty damn cool metal parts from that. The machines ain’t cheap, but it would be easy enough to prototype and print stuff for trem parts, metal nuts, etc. Anyone know anything about it? (Sorry for taking this OT!)

i guess it's possible, if you have a spare 10k+ lying around for the machine

 

[777timesgod]

i guess it's possible, if you have a spare 10k+ lying around for the machine

3-D machines are expensive but only because it is new technology, as years go by and the demand goes up while the difficulties for making one go down, we will surely see accessible options in the market.

Waiting for the end result by the OP, intrigued to see it actually. I feel that 3-D printing will take over the manufacturing process of many industries (more than now) down the line. Kind of like CNC machines are so useful for many luthiers and give such great results (if you know how to use/program them).

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

This is genius. I’m not sure about the feasibility, but it sounds like elysian has that info. But how about 3D printing with metal sintering? We could get some pretty damn cool metal parts from that. The machines ain’t cheap, but it would be easy enough to prototype and print stuff for trem parts, metal nuts, etc. Anyone know anything about it? (Sorry for taking this OT!)

Probably better off machining solid metal to shape.

BUT you could probably cast metal parts by first 3d printing them and then using a "lost form" (or whatever it's called) casting style on it.

 

[ElysianGuitars]

Probably better off machining solid metal to shape.

BUT you could probably cast metal parts by first 3d printing them and then using a "lost form" (or whatever it's called) casting style on it.

Lost PLA casting, and I was thinking about that yesterday but decided not to post. There's also resin printers that can print in a castable resin, similar process to lost PLA.

Again though, the amount of effort put in versus just cutting a nut from a blank isn't really worth it. That's why pre-made nuts are typically injection molded instead.

 

[StevenC]

(Sorry if this has been covered before; just merge/necrobump the old thread if that's the case)

So I'm buying my first 3D printer off of a coworker (Monoprice Mini) and am bored at work, looking into what this thing can do, and thinking about what the hell I'll actually make. Naturally, I'm thinking about guitar stuff, so I just thought if anyone has successfully/effectively 3D printed a guitar nut before.

I don't think PLA would be well suited for it because of how brittle it is, but maybe ABS or other materials that are compatible with better 3D printers that I'm not as familiar with. So has anyone given it a try?

Strandberg use 3D printed nuts. Not sure if it comes on the guitars as new, but they sell printed replacements on their site.

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

Fwiw I plan on milling a nut on my cnc machine for my next build. Seems like the best choice since nuts are roughly rectangular anyway.

 

[ElysianGuitars]

Strandberg use 3D printed nuts. Not sure if it comes on the guitars as new, but they sell printed replacements on their site.

The ones I see on their site are injection molded, it's the only way to get that matte texture on all sides, would guess Graphtech is the OEM for them. Looks like they experimented with 3d printed nuts in the past, but didn't have good success.

 

[Soya]

They also experimented with ebony nuts on the OS line in the past, which also was unsuccessful since mine broke in less than a week.

 

[Xk6m6m5X]

You could start 3d printing 12 gauge shell knobs‍ ill be a customer