Hand Pumped Single Octave Pipe Organ

thingiverse

This is a working pipe organ. The 'wind' (airflow in organ language) is supplied by rocking the pump back and forth, the wind is then channeled to the pipes where the sound is created, the wind passes by a set of valves attached to keys as well as a perforated disc allowing for two modes of play. When the keys are locked in the depressed position all channels are open and pipes will sound wherever there is a hole in the disc, the pattern of holes dictates the tune. However when the keys are unlocked and the disc replaced by the disc space filler all channels are closed unless a key is pressed allowing for playing of the organ. Unfortunately I am yet to design any discs, if you are musically minded please feel free to make some, let me know and I'll add them to the thing files. Please print, enjoy, and comment with feedback. How I Designed This Every aspect of the pipe organ has gone through many iterations. The pump was originally meant to be a set of bellows however I soon found this to be impractical as the required flexibility could not be achieved with PLA (I can make the files available if anyone would like to attempt printing in a flexible material). Designing the air channels was originally straight forward as I only intended the organ to play the disc, then I had the idea to add a set of keys and it suddenly got a lot more complicated. The keys took a lot of fine tuning to get them to spring back to the closed position. The pipes proved particularly difficult to get right, after many failed attempts at designing my own (I thought it would be relatively simple) I did a bit of research and found it's quite an art, using the equations found at www.rwgiangiulio.com I was finally able to produce a working set. Instructions You will need to print: Wind Supply: 1x Mouth Piece or 1x Pump (either in 1 or 3 pieces) 1x Pump Base 4x Valve Part A 2x Valve Part B 1x Linker 8x Key 1x Key Base 1x Organ Base 1x Pipes 1x Disc Turner 1x Disc (tunes to come!) 1x Disc space filler Printing and Post-Printing Notes: I have only printed this in PLA and that works just fine but please feel free to experiment and report back - for example, I can imagine that the pump may be more efficient if printed slightly over sized and in a flexible filament. The objects are all orientated how I found it best to print, some parts (eg the pump) are best printed with supports even though it requires some patience to later get the support material out of the hard to reach areas. The windsheets (small slit where air escapes from the pipes) have to be very thin for functionality, they are within the tolerance of most consumer 3D printers but may require cleaning out for proper function. Some parts may require filing to fit comfortably - it's better to print too big than too small! Assembly: Insert 2 of the valve part A's into 2 of the valve part B's these fit into the pump base with the valve facing down (best fixed with superglue), insert the other 2 valve part A's into the pump, and slot the pump into the pump base. Align the 8 keys with the key base and push a length of 1.75 mm filament through to secure. The pump and pipe bases and the are joined with the linker, and the key base is slotted into the pipe base ensuring that all keys align with their respective holes. Finally add the pipes and you're ready to go.