WILLIAMSBURG — The M3loDy Makers Initiative, a Williamsburg Regional Library and Williamsburg Youth Orchestra collaboration to provide 3D-printed violins for student use, is marking its first year
Ben Strohm, Williamsburg Regional Library’s Program Services Director, first 3D printed a violin at another library where he worked. The request was for a mother and daughter who both wanted to play, but only owned one violin. After some research, Strohm found a print online and made one for the daughter to use. Strohm recalled while the print may not have sounded great, it worked well enough for the purpose.
A year and a half ago, Strohm was sent a story about a 3D-printed violin. Having already made one and knowing he would be happy to do so again, he connected with the Williamsburg Youth Orchestra. The orchestra took on the fundraising for the instructional time, the library received a donation for supplies, and the program was launched.
The WYO had wanted to start an after-school program for students who didn’t have access to private lessons like most of its orchestra students do, and decided to begin with a pilot program at Waller Mill Elementary School. It was decided that 25 students would be the maximum number of students that the program could handle, and most of the seats ended up filled by students interested in the program.
The violins are made by printing the neck and fingerboard in one piece, followed by the one piece that forms the body of the violin. A sturdy rod is placed to inside the hollow part of the neck and body in order to give the instrument more rigidity. The only pieces not printed are the string, the tuning pegs, and the bow. Everything else, including the bridge, is printed at the library for the students to use. The file was used from an existing free-use non-commercial design called the Hovalin, before altering it slightly to fit the library’s use and improve the sound quality.
“What you want for a violin is something that’s reasonably sturdy, because obviously, kids are going to be banging on them, but you don’t just want a plastic that’s tough, you want one that’s stiff,” Strohm explained about the material used for the violins. “A lot of the 3D printing filament that they’re like, ‘oh it’s indistructable,’ has got a little flex to it, which is great if you’re going to make something that’s just going to take a beating but if it’s not really stiff it won’t resonate the same way.”
WYO instructors helped Strohm experiment with different fillaments and versions until they found one that sounded acceptable to the instructors. Strohm estimates they went through ten different prototypes before they settled on the one the students are currently using.
Currently, each child has two violins, one for at home and one at school, so they don’t have to worry about transporting them. Looking ahead to next year, Strohm hopes to continue improving the design to mass produce violins that are an upgrade over the previous batch.
Strohm said that the most satisfying moment for him was when he saw a video of the kids plucking out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on their violins. He said that was the moment it clicked for him that this was something people were enjoying.
In May, the students in the program will be holding a concert for their parents to show what they have been working on. The program is also currently in the works to expand next year with the support of its donors.
The program also recently won the Unique Outreach award from the Virginia Public Library Directors Association.
For more information about the Williamsburg Regional Library and the Williamsburg Youth Orchestra, visit their official websites.
