Custom music box with 3D printed cylinder

[@randomprototypes4471]

Sorry for a translation error in the video, when I said "partition" all along the video, I meant "music score"

[@justinnaramor6050]

I have a pretty crazy fascination with music boxes (particularly because of how they work... it's so cool to me!), so this was very cool to listen to. Great to see some people are still fascinated by music boxes, especially when you consider the fact that the concept is hundreds of years old. It used to be that music boxes were literally the only way people listened to music in homes (unless you had a family member who could play piano or something). We don't really need music boxes anymore because of today's technology, yet we still somehow find something about them that's extremely fascinating!

[@joshua2400]

Jesus Christ the good lord loves you my friend :" )

[@justinnaramor6050]

@@joshua2400 thanks, but how is that related to my comment? I didn't mention anything about Jesus, so that comment didn't really make sense in this context.

[@landroveraddict2457]

Wow, the things we do for love!

[@RaquelSofiaUni]

I had been looking for ages for this!!! Thank you so so much, will make my own this week. Really appreciate the time and effort you put into it

[@randomprototypes4471]

I'm happy to hear that you like it 😀

[@ashoshahaque191]

Please never take down this video I really want to work on a project later in the future and this video is all I needed thank you!

[@randomprototypes4471]

Happy that you find my video useful 😀 Don't worry, I don't plan to ever remove this video.

[@mrivera6975]

You are a saint and a scholar I was just trying to figure out how to make a custom music box and I came across this video. Thank you have saved me so much time and effort

[@randomprototypes4471]

thanks, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask 👍

[@brentrubin]

Thank you so much! I have been trying to do this myself for months but haven't been able to get it right. I will try your method and will most likely have questions haha. Great video thanks again

[@randomprototypes4471]

Glad you like it 😀 Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions

[@snietfeld]

This really is a great project, thank you for sharing your tools and results. Very well thought out and linear, and the tools for partitioning and previewing new scores are a really great idea. I'd like to use this and maybe try a few variations of it for a personal project--is there a forum for folks working on this sort of thing or a way to contact you in the future?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Hello, thanks for your comment :D Please show me your results if you try :D You can send me a message here, or on twitter @RandomPrototyp1, or on instagram/facebook @randomprototypes If you have more technical questions about the scripts, you can send a message on the github page of the project : github.com/RandomPrototypes/MusicBoxMaker

[@beauslim]

Ingenious! Thanks for sharing.

[@randomprototypes4471]

Glad you liked it 🙂

[@lukasbier5444]

How do I use the full cylinder. I always have a gap between start and end just like in your example at 1:45

[@randomprototypes4471]

you can add more columns like at 4:19 The gap at 1:45 is because there are some empty columns on the left and right part of the score

[@lukasbier5444]

@@randomprototypes4471 ahhh dumb me. thx for the support

[@Vasskoh]

Amazing video thanks for the help

[@hoctrimededebutry8655]

Merci pour ce tuto très intéressant.

[@randomprototypes4471]

content que ça plaise 😀

[@QwertyDFTBA]

Brilliant

[@jychanmusic]

this is great! will the cylinder teeth be durable enough and not break after many plays compared to the original?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Hello, glad to hear you liked it :D I tried to play the song 50 times and it was still working fine. But I guess it will start to wear out if you play too many times because plastic is less strong than metal. Make sure that the pins are long enough (there is a parameter to adjust it, and you need to check if everything printed correctly). If the pins are a little bit short, they will wear out faster.

[@veganramen6423]

Wow this is amazing may I ask what program you are using for the code?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Thanks, the program I use for the code is visual studio code with the python environment. You can find installation tutorial here : code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/python-tutorial

[@lukasbier5444]

the tool you created is great. Does it still work if i delete the 18 line exception? Will it try to fit on the cylinder or create a longer one? I'd like to play a little longer by powering down the music box to play a little slower. Edit: ok cool, the size remains the same. I guess u limited it to make the pins more stable?

[@randomprototypes4471]

the 18 lines are because there are 18 pins. To affect the speed, you can add more columns like at 4:19

[@Anj_D.]

How I wish I have a 3d printer to try this..

[@randomprototypes4471]

maybe you can search if there is a makerspace around. They generally have a few 3d printers.

[@PokeDanny10]

Great video! I’ll be following it to create a music box for my girlfriend, but I have a couple questions: 1) Why is it necessary to create the first cylinder? Couldn’t we just create the second one off the bat? 2) What is the maximum song length one of these cylinders hold? I’m guessing they wouldn’t be able to do 25 second songs, or would they?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Hello, 1) the first cylinder is necessary to know the list of notes of the comb of your music box (different music boxes have different combs with a different list of notes). 2) Maximum length is depending on the original music of the music box (without loop). Some boxes turn faster than others, but I don't think you can get any box that would be longer than 25s.

[@nomi4264]

Thank you so much for this video, I’m planning on using it to make my childhood dream music box. I am wondering, how do we convert our custom music into the score text file? Thank you! The song I am planning to use is Eternal Snow

[@randomprototypes4471]

Glad you like it 🙂 For the conversion of the music into the score file, it must be done manually. Once you recorded the notes of your music box, you can use the playing script to listen the score files. So, to create a score file, you start by an empty score file, you put an 'X' to insert a note, then listen to the score, correct if needed, then continue for the next note until you have your full song. It requires a little bit of work but I could not do better because each music box has its own set of notes.

[@ShankarSivarajan]

If you can find a .midi file for your song, it should be easy to automate.

[@milesthompson6145]

This is super cool! Do you think the plastic pins reduce sound quality? Would it be feasible to 3D print with holes to be replaced by brass pins?

[@randomprototypes4471]

It reduces a little bit the sound quality, but it's still ok. It's possible to print with holes, but I think it would be better to reduce the thickness of the plastic pins and insert your brass pins by heating them (touching the brass with solder iron during insertion will locally melt the plastic). You can look on videos about threaded inserts in 3d print, it's the same technique. Be sure to use pliers to not burn yourself while doing.

[@julianhien]

Thank you for this wonderful idea. Could you please advise how we can use the code with midi files instead of notepad? 🎉🎉

[@randomprototypes4471]

Hello, I'm sorry, but unless manufacturers sell a standardized comb with known notes, it is not possible to automatically convert midi files to music box cylinder. It has to be done manually.

[@julianhien]

@@randomprototypes4471 thanks so much 😊. Do you have Skype/WhatsApp or somewhere else that I can ask for some problems while running the code

[@TheCof6656]

Amazing :)

[@oxidonitroso88]

Music boxes are cool, but is there a way to make the songs longer?

[@randomprototypes4471]

not really, you are limited to the length of the original music box before modification.

[@ethanhelgoth2669]

I have no idea what I'm doing with the code is there any place where I can find a more in-depth explanation of what I am supposed to do?

[@StevenSeigart]

I'm a professional musician and have always been fascinated by music boxes! I'm about to have my first child, and I'd love to make a custom music box for him. I'm certain I could figure out the musical aspect of this quickly (i.e., turning a song into a music-box version with a limited scope and subset of pitches), but I honestly have no idea about the 3D printing or coding-for starters, where can I buy the right music box? And what 3D printer do you recommend?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Hello, I bought the 18 notes music boxes from Amazon and AliExpress (Amazon sellers are basically reselling from AliExpress at higher cost but faster delivery). I think the main manufacturer was Yunsheng but sometimes it was not written. It's a little bit trial and error, just be sure to avoid the gold plated ones because it's much more difficult. If you have long delivery time, it's good to buy a few ones in advance because it can easily break while you are modifying them. I think I broke 5 or 6 while experimenting.

[@randomprototypes4471]

For the 3d printer, if you have no experience, the best may be to search if there is a makerspace with 3d printers around you. The printers would probably be correctly calibrated and the owners may have the experience of using it and helping you. I personally used a creality ender 5, but I think most FDM 3d printers would work if properly calibrated. Resin printers should be usable too (and probably create higher quality cylinder) but I didn't test it and it would probably require some tuning.

[@bigboomer1013]

I have been wanting to make my own music box for myself. I'm a sonic fan and for some cryptic reason, I want to make an urn for a porcelain doll that resembles me and carry my ashes. As creepy as it is, I wish it to play Greenhill zone. I'm also thinking of making a music box version of Dreams of an Absolution. Maybe make an attempt to make a silver the hedgehog and craze the cat turn around spinning music box with my resin 3D printer and have it play that song and maybe sell it

[@randomprototypes4471]

I never tried with resin printer but theoretically, it should work too because it has higher resolution than fdm. I think the mesh generator can be used directly for a resin printer but it may be possible to improve it.

[@luisfernandogomes6324]

awesome video! thank youuu!!! how did you convert the song you wanted to the partition on notepad? also, in your file you have 48 dashes... but your music box has only 18. how does it behave?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Thanks for your message 😀 There are 18 lines for 18 notes, the horizontal axis is the time. For the horizontal axis, you can choose the length you want, the cylinder will be subdivided accordingly (if you make a longer horizontal axis, the song will be played faster because the total time is constant). To generate the partition on the notepad, you have to do it manually by trial and error : you place one note, listen to it (on the computer with the playing script), then modify again until it's correct and then go for the next note. It takes a little bit of time but still much faster than if you had to print and listen for every try. If you can identify the tone of each note, you can also directly use a score of your song and just transpose it.

[@ryanpalmer3624]

how do you convert your python file to an .stl?

[@randomprototypes4471]

hello, you need to install python on your computer (there are a lot of tutorial if you search "how to install python on " + your OS), then execute the python script that will generate gcode (cylinderGeneratorGCODE.py) or STL file (cylinderGeneratorSTL.py)

[@Alittlebitofeverythingoffical]

I wanna make a music box that makes never gonna give you up…

[@Lintblacklung26]

Hi sorry to be the dumb one in the room but could I ask for your help in scoring some music?

[@randomprototypes4471]

Hello, I'm sorry, but each music box has a specific set of notes on the comb, so you need to adjust it for your own music box. Even if I score it for one music box comb, it would not work for a different comb. If you search the scores of some musics, you can find a lot in this website : musicboxmaniacs.com/ but you still need to convert it to the comb if your music box

[@udithkumarv734]

it's funny that this video should make it into my recommends now. I have only recently completed making my custom drum for my music box, I remember feeling so defeated coz I didn't use any of the software you used. I manually figured out the notes and manually arranged pins on the drum in custom model in blender. Had to print in a commercial printer so printing cost a lot, and the prints failed coz of the overhangs in the pins. Printed twice again with different fixes for the overhang, it didn't work, and in the end had to settle for a song which barely sounded lie he original. Later figured out a few notes were wrong as well. Just makes me think that I should maybe google stuff once. But I wouldn't have been able to use the resources you have used due to the lack of time anyway. Nice job with what you've done. Impressive that you didn't get overhang problems with your drum. photos.app.goo.gl/8ThShaacFoU8JqiVA model of my drum. p.s. I made this for a girl I like too.

[@randomprototypes4471]

hello, If the commercial printer is an FDM printer (filament job), it will not be better for that. I think a resin printer would work better for the overhang problem. To prevent overhang, I designed the pins as triangle (pyramid) instead of cylinder. The height of the pins are progressively increased over multiple layers so that the lower layers can support the layers above. Also, directly controlling the printer motion helped me to fine tune the print quality.