Hi,
My name is Luis Pablo Gasparotto and I’m starting a new business which consists of printing saxophone mouthpieces using 3D resins. Here a few considerations about the pieces use:
The mouthpiece is intended to be used inside the mouth.
The usual exposition time could be from 1hr to 8hrs (not the most usual) for a day.
While the mouthpiece is in use it will not be inside the mouth for more than 10 minutes without interruptions, getting the piece outside the mouth.
As far as I know this could require type I Biocompatibility, please correct me if I’m wrong.
The most popular material used for saxophone mouthpieces is hard rubber despite it’s known for being not very safe (can release sulfuric acid).
Other common materials are brass and then gold/silver plated. The makers don’t release information about their alloys so when the plating rip off the mouth is in contact with an unknown material. Other materials are stainless steel (surgical grade or no) which seems to be safer than brass. Other plastics used for producing saxophone mouthpieces are Delrin (FDA approved material), PC (Bisphenol A???), PS, PMMA, PLA, ABS, etc.
You can easily realize this is a market which is not too afraid of the mouthpiece related health risks.
I fully understand that biocompatibility is not only related to the raw material, it also depends on the printing process (including printing, cleaning and postcuring) and the printer used and its condition.
I want to use a resin which allows me to produce safe products if I use the right process. Here my questions:
Which resins would meet my requirements in a cost effective way? I do prefer clear resins because that allows a best post curing process.
Are BIO/PLA/Plant based resins which are “certified” EN71-3? I know and agree with what you think about the certified resins.
There are different levels of “biocompatibility” depending on skin contact, blood contact, exposure time (temporary or permanent), etc.
i think you would be best to contact a dental materials biocompatibility testing lab to pursue materials selection with them. There are also specialty 3D printing materials suppliers that cater directly to dental labs. They should also be able to assist you.
From an industrial design perspective I think there is a question that precedes material choice: why 3D print individual (or at most small batches of) mouthpieces which then have to be cured and extensively cleaned up when traditional moulding techniques currently produce perfect inexpensive mouthpieces in great quantities?
As others have said, you are also on the wrong forum: it’s true that we talk about making things on this thread but the main topic here is RFID technology and it’s application in biohacking. Your question has strayed a little far from the core discussion. Unlike others I would not now seek out a forum to solve your materials issue. I would find a saxophone forum and find out if your mouthpieces have something unusual to offer that would make going to all the trouble to 3D print them worth it.
The speakers on my Fiance’s car were starting to rattle at higher volumes, turns out the seal around the cone had dried up, cracked, and come loose. So she got some new speakers that were supposed to be compatible, but lo and behold, the mounting points were different.
I know I could buy adapter plates for not too much, but I’ve been enjoying challenging myself on new CAD projects lately. So I decided to take some measurements and design an adapter plate of my own.
Tested it out on one side of the car, the holes weren’t perfect, but worked. I adjusted them slightly for the second print and they lined up perfectly that time. The screws that came with the speakers were also a tad too long, so I had to cut them to length, that’s why you may see Dremel marks on the back of the part. But other than that, they turned out great, they look almost stock from a distance. They sound great too!
Speaking of Enders, the Sovol SV06 snd SV06 Plus are probably the best options when it comes to chinise bed slingers. Guess that answers my question regarding the Ender 3S1 and linear rail mod.
The older Enders have belt paths that are not straight so the movement of the bed and toolhead is not linear. And I’m not sure if the Ender 3 v3 variants are open source or not. Although they are significantly better than the older versions.
So I might get a Sovol SV06 Plus or build a RatRig, eventually…
Im constantly on Aliexpress when im on late night feeds and i decided to try a new Bed Plate for my ender 3. I already had a magnetic plate but i ended up going with a PEI textured bed and i feel like i should have done this ages ago.
This bed plate is great, still magnetic so i didnt have to remove the old magnet. its ridgid and not at all flexible like my old plate. Also i got it for 6$ vs the 20$ i spent on amazon for the flexy one. But what makes it awesome is when the part is cooled off it just pops off the plate. I can actually hear it cracking as it cools while it comes unattached.
Couldnt reccomend one of these more if you can get them for 10$ or less. also threw on one of those magnetic temp gauges sinc ehte wife had a ton for her little sourdough micro bakery shes now setup but i need to get one that goes to higher temps.
PEI beds are amazing! I would also recommend getting a bed leveling sensor and upgrading the extruder if you haven’t already. A BMG clone should be good enough for E3 printers, there’s no need for anything fancier IMHO.
Or at least I’m regretting all the different parts that I’ve tried that failed to make a difference.
I’ve been using OnShape to great success. The free version has all the same features as paid, just have to make your models public, which may be a no-go for some people. Otherwise, I’ve been really happy with it. It’s very full-featured and performant for a web app. They even have a mobile app on Android, I’ve actually been doing a lot of modeling on my tablet with an S-Pen, great for modeling on-the-go.
