Xun (埙)

V3:
So, when I designed the dual-chamber part of it, all I had to go on was a grainy picture from a low quality xun on Amazon. I didn't even really know what it was supposed to do exactly. That picture made it look like the narrowed part occurred between the top two holes and the rest. Now I think I understand it a bit better; it acts as a sort of baffle, so my design didn't make any sense. I've moved the narrowed part above all the holes. I've also made the way that it narrows much more organic in shape, and better for printing. I had to move the tone holes lower to do all of that.

I made the labium much wider with a more gradual curve. In V1 and V2, you had to direct your airstream almost perfect to hit any of the higher notes, it was very tricky. This will hopefully fix that.

I added a flattened portion to the back of the embouchure hole, to hopefully get your lip closer.

Finally, I added a ring of narrowed wall about halfway up the inside of the bottom chamber.

Most of these changes came from a comment on this post here.

This version, I'm going to try printing in a stone/PLA composite. These have a much higher ratio of stone to PLA (50%) than the ratio of wood to PLA (20%) in the last one. I figure this gets it closer to the traditional stone/clay of a traditional xun. It probably won't accept varnish very well I'm guessing, but the varnish wasn't all that useful anyway.

V2: I Slanted the tone holes to make them print nicer. I know this definitely effects the sound but I don't really know how. Also increased the resolution on some parts.

Using a wood/PLA composite allowed the varnish to soak in more. Still not as well as wood, but enough to get 4 coats on it. I think it made a difference, but not enough of one to matter.

A Xun flute! There aren't many on here, so I figured why not take a crack at it myself.

So, first of all, don't expect this thing to be in tune at all. Exactly zero calculations were done with respect to volume, hole size, etc. That said, all the dimensions were very loosely eyeballed to match Caran's design for a 10-hole xun in C Major, so it might be approximately that.

Another thing I got from Caran's design, and the design of any real professional xun, is to give the embouchure hole a fine blowing edge. If you just make the hole a plain cylinder then it'll be like blowing on a jug. Way way harder.

Second, I added some texture to the tone holes à la Klowsen's design, to make them easier to find by feel. Mine are raised however, rather than undercut.

Third, I've read in H. H. Lee's book that xuns with a sort of faux secondary chamber have improved acoustics in the higher notes. I've also seen a few for sale this way. I tried to incorporate one of these chambers into my design.

Everything should hopefully print just fine without any support, but I haven't tested it yet. If you try it before I do, let me know how it worked for you! Also, thanks to all the other xun designers on here, whose work mine is based on.

I tried to coat it with an all natural non-toxic varnish. I figured the smoothness of the inner walls was integral to getting a good sound, and that varnish might work. It didn't stick very well to the PLA though, and certainly didn't soak in.

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Ultimaker

Printer:

S5

Rafts:

No

Supports:

No

Resolution:

0.1 mm

Infill:

100%

Filament: FormFutura Stonefil Granite
Notes:

I think there is a bit of a trade-off you have to decide upon when 3d printing woodwinds. On the one hand, you want it to print at engineering level specifications, because the measurements of everything determine the note produced. On the other hand, you also want the inside surface to be as smooth as possible, because that effects the timbre and playability. Sometimes the settings for these two goals do not coincide. Luckily, this model is not in tune anyway lol.

Post-Printing

Even at 0.06mm and surface-oriented settings, I have found that the interior surface of 3d printed woodwinds is still not smooth enough to get a really good timbre. To fix it, you could use a solvent meant for that purpose, like acetone for ABS or Gloop for PLA. I don't have that stuff though, so my solution is to use a wood/PLA blend and then varnish the heck out of it.

How I Designed This

Designed in TinkerCAD! If you want to improve upon my design, feel free to message me, and I'll share the TinkerCAD link with you. It's much easier to edit if you have that.

Category: Music