#HTE

3D Print Your Own Record-Playing Turntable

As an Industrial and Product Design student at the UK’s Sheffield Hallam University, Charlie Ransford’s final project was designed to teach others to 3D print. For the task, Ransford developed a 3D-printable turntable called The Songbird:

“The Songbird is an educational, 3D printable turntable kit designed to be printed on almost any home 3D printer. Each instructional step in the build explains not only what the user is doing, but why in a hands-on learning experience for the user.”

After gaining his degree last year, Ransford teamed up with photographer and former schoolmate Kiran Pearce to commercialize the design. Together they started Frame Theory, a company that designs 3D printable kits. For their inaugural project,The Songbird went live on Kickstarter this month, and reached full funding on the first day.

The $188 Maker kit comes with all of the hardware required–the turntable’s brass bearing, a CNC-cut aluminum frame, the motor, the counterweight for the tonearm, etc.–and the user prints the rest, assuming they’ve got a minimum build area of 220mm x 220mm x 50mm. For those who want the entire thing and just want to put it together without printing, the Printed Kit runs $295.

Buyers of that latter option, though, would miss the point. “We not only create products and designs that are intended to last a long time, we teach you how to make them,” Ransford writes. “Should you need to replace any part of any of our kits, you can repair it with ease by simply re-printing the file.

"You will gain an intimate understanding of not only the Songbird, but how all turntables work, whilst learning the skills of 3D printing. Our goal is to give people a starting point into this exciting field.”

At press time there was still 27 days left to pledge.