When most of us think of a musical wind instrument, we generally picture what is essentially a tube with a mouthpiece at one end – something like a flute, recorder or saxophone. And while that’s a tried and trusted design, the fact is that wind instruments can take almost any form. Weirdly-shaped instruments are more difficult to design, however, which is where a new computer program called Printone comes in.
Developed by a team from Autodesk and Dartmouth College, Printone starts with a user-supplied three-dimensional shape, along with the target notes that the user wants the instrument to be able to play. Based on that information, the software creates a hollow acoustic resonance cavity within the shape.
via Gizmag
