Per a discussion at the 13 August 2013 bimonthly meeting, upon completion of our first Tesla coil, our next group project — and our first line of commercial products — will be a series of violins.
The violin build was proposed by Timothy Shepherd. These violins will be designed with CAD and 3D modeling software; John Scrivener has already set up an Autodesk A360 document so that members can collaborate on the project and easily exchange and edit models as a group. Completed designs will subsequently be 3D printed. These prints will then be used to make negative molds for use in resin and metal casting. Finished violins may then be augmented with a microcontroller for additional features and aesthetics, such as controlling an array of LEDs throughout the violin.
One proposed design is an electric violin made from transparent resin, fitted with an Arduino microcontroller powering a series of blue LEDs. Another is an aluminium violin, both for its appearance and for its unique acoustic properties.
Ideally, our violins will be made available in a number of different models, colors, and materials in both acoustic and electric varieties, and will be purchasable from the Industrial Commons store. Further updates will be posted to the project page as they develop.
If you are interested in collaborating on this project, post in the comments section below or join the discussion on the associated thread on the Industrial Commons Community Facebook page!
