Making LPs with a 3D Printer

[benb]

I was so tempted to post this in "Analog Source" but the audio is digitized and then printed. And no, it's not on a (relatively cheap) reprap or Makerbot, these are printed on a high-end, high-resolution printer. The video is a must-see (and maybe hear):
3D Printed Record

What's truly dissapointing is how the sampling rate and resolution are compared to MP3 instead of CD. <facepalm>

 

[DUG]

Neat

Perfect for Old Time Radio broadcast

I have some at 24K...sounds just like old AM tube radios.

 

[benb]

I went through all the pages and made a longish comment (probably my second one ever on Instructables) with all my thoughts. People who much with digital audio should know their DSP!

 

[jlsem]

With a signal to noise ratio of zero dB, he is farther away than two orders of magnitude from a playable record.

John

 

[Melo theory]

That takes some serious resolution and precision for the 3d printer to accomplish that.
Very cool!

 

[jcx]

some people don't understand that phono groove resolution challenges even the optical reading schemes like ELP or the IRENE scanner
The ELP Laser Turntable - The Laser Turntable Advantage
http://irene.lbl.gov/Harvard-April-2012-public.pdf

 

[DUG]

jcx

Shouldn't you warn people that the pdf is 137MB.

 

[Pano]

Very cool stuff! Although the audio isn't great, it's an amazing effort and fascinating to see how he got this to work, step by step. It will be interesting to see how far this can be pushed.

 

[tvrgeek]

Even though this seems like a fruitless experiment, it is a model that is most useful to push the technology. IBM did not build Watson to play Jeopardy, they used that as a way to get people excited. We did not go to the moon for science, we went to win the cold war.

 

[Pano]

I got a chance to meet Watson a few months ago. He was asleep.......

 

[Speedskater]

Can we make multi-layer PC boards with it?

 

[Xoc1]

I have used 3D printers recently to produce replica parts for making flight simulators but have never used anything 3d printed to such a high resolution.
One possible DIYAudio application I have considered is 3D printing wave guides for line array HF drivers.

 

[tvrgeek]

Can we make multi-layer PC boards with it?

If you come up with a way to print copper.

 

[tvrgeek]

Just thinking here. There are several dozen totally different technologies for 3D printing. Mostly either making solid from a liquid or some sort of thermal deposit. What if one of these were combined with a machining tool? Mechanical, electron, laser. Then the ability to add shapes generated from other technologies, such as a metallic shapes. I was also thinking about printing a metallic power with a binder that could then be fired to produce sintered parts.

 

[jcx]

I've lost the link but recall a tube amp built on CNC grooved teflon slab with heavy (cast?) Silver conductors pressed in

 

[tvrgeek]

I ran across the original clip that started this thread. Yes, they did try to print an LP. It said it needed to be more than 30 times finer resolution to work at all. In other words, they made a disk with a rough surface.