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July 6, 2015 | By Alec

While 3D printing technology is increasingly finding its way into the workshops of instrument developers, most of the musical projects involving 3D printers focus are one-off, fun projects. Remember this 3D printed beer bottle piano? Fortunately, more serious recent projects emphasize that 3D printers can genuinely be used to produce gorgeous and high quality instruments as well. And perhaps the most impressive instrument we’ve ever seen has just been unveiled in Taiwan on 25 June. At the event, well known piano manufacturers Steinway and high quality ceramic producers Franz unveiled the Steinway Sun and Moon Reflection piano, complete with 3D printed ceramic parts and screws.

This gorgeous piano by Steinway & Son – one of the pillars of the music world with a history stretching back 160 years – is the first of its kind to feature 3D printed ceramic components. It is also the first time that Steinway has cooperated with the Taiwanese ceramic manufacturer Franz, who are known for high quality works of art.

Accord to the piano’s designer, Li Jiewen, the Sun and Moon Reflection piano is based on the well-known Taiwanese landscape of the Sun Moon Lake. A major tourist attraction in Yuchi, Nantou, the east side of the lake resembles the sun while the west side resembles the moon. Unsurprisingly, both the sunrises and sunsets at this stunning lake draws huge crowds. This Sun and Moon theme returns on the piano’s body, the chair, the collection boxes through flowing water and waves of orange and yellow on the ceramic. Black solid porcelain was also used to symbolize the hills surrounding the lake.

The extensive design process fort his gorgeous piano took more than a year, from the concept to the final playable work of art. Li Jiewen explained that the design was especially complicated due to the heavy use of porcelain parts, which are typically delicate and hard to attach to other parts. Their solution? 3D printed ceramic technology to produce very high quality ceramic screws, which not only ensure that the beautiful appearance of ceramic is maintained, but also comes with functional characteristics that can withstand the rigors of use. Most important are high hardness, accuracy and resistance to pressure, and it was completely successful in all these fields.

To manufacture all the 3D printed ceramic parts, they employed a special kiln heated up to a far higher temperature than normally used: up to 1700 degrees, instead of the typical 1200 degrees. The resultant pieces –which were only 5 cm thick – were as hard as they possibly needed to be. Following a coating of gold, the parts went back into the kiln to ensure all the 3D printed parts seamlessly connected to each other. The final parts were not only as beautiful and high in quality as porcelain parts can be, but they were also perfect for use on the wooden piano body.

Check out the sound quality of this gorgeous piano here.

Attendants at the event in Taiwan were reportedly very impressed by the results. President of Franz, Chen Liheng, even called in an historical manufacturing moment. ‘Innovation is persistence and is quenched by returning to the classic. We are witnessing the historical integration of fine porcelain and piano,’ he said. He also revealed that further commercial plans with ceramic pianos are definitely forthcoming. ‘In the future ,we will launch the West Lake piano which will be an 'echo' model of the Sun Moon Lake piano. Aside from the significance of the connection between mainland and Taiwan, we also hope that music can express the love and feelings we hold inside of us.’ But as can be expected of a Steinway piano, these will not be cheap. This B211 model piano comes with the sharp price tag of 10 million TWD (complete with all the accessories), or approximately $325,000 USD, and it was limited to just 8 units. But then you do get some pure 3D printed quality.

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

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