The Micro : a sopranissimo sized ukulele that's only 11 inches tall with a 6.8 inch scale length. Super small and fun to play, with a surprisingly full sound!
- Wide fretboard for playability.
- Print the body flat, rather than upright like my original Soprano uke design.
- Easy assembly.
- .3mf files with support for multi-color prints with AMS and without.
- Full color body top.
- A template for easily integrating Hueforge prints onto the body top.
How's it sound? Check out my new song, "Family of Ukes" below for a sound demo of the Micro uke along with all my other 3D printed ukuleles.
Building the Uke
For details on building the uke, see the video below. Although I made the video to document the build of my [Mini 2 ukulele](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7268049), the build process is the same for the Micro uke.
The saddle is a compensated saddle. When placing it in the slot in the bridge, pay attention to the orientation. The peaks in the middle part of the bridge should be further from the top of the uke, and peaks on the edges of the bridge should be nearer the top. I like Gorilla brand super glue gel for parts that need to be glued.
Filament
I use PLA or PETG. I recommend avoiding filaments with additives, such as PLA silk, matte, or wood as these often have much lower strength. Bambu PLA basic has a bending strength of 76 MPa and tensile strength of 35 MPa according to Bambu Lab's Technical Data Sheets. I have found that filaments with similar or greater values work well.
Print Settings
- Rafts: No
- Supports: None of the parts require supports
- Resolution: 0.12 mm
- Wall loops: 5
- Infill: 50%
- I use variable layer height on the fretboard, so that the bottom prints with large layer height, but the frets print with 0.08 mm layer height for the smoothest feeling fret.
No supports, rafts, or brims required for any part.
Parts needed
- Body
- Body top
- Braces
- Top glue aide
- Neck and Headstock
- Inlay, if using
- Fretboard
- Saddle
- Strap pin, if you want to use a strap
If you are using a smaller printer like the A1 mini and the neck and headstock is too tall to print, you can use the split neck and headstock, so you will need to print:
- Neck
- Headstock
- Headstock screw hole cover
In addition to the printed parts, you'll need
- Eight, #2, 3/8'' wood screws for installing the [tuners](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7267324). Metric equivalent is M2x8mm.
- Ukulele strings - I like [D'Addario Nyltech](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006MB992Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1).
- If you use the split neck and headstock, you will also need one #2, 3/8'' wood screw is to screw the headstock to the neck. In addition, use superglue in between neck and headstock.
The Body Top
The body top can be printed in different ways:
- With center ring and bridge in different colors using the AMS. Bridge and center ring are attached to the body. A .step file is included for making full-color tops.
- With the bridge and center ring attached to the body top, and printed in different colors by pausing the print and switching filaments.
- With the bridge printed separately from the body. In this case the body top can be printed upside down and different build plates used for effects such as a flat shiny top or a top with rainbow textures from a holographic build plate, for example.
The Fretboard
The fretboard can be printed in different ways
- With the frets, fret markers, nut in different colors using the AMS
- With the frets and nut in different colors by pausing the print and switching filaments. In this case, 5 fret markers should printed and glued in during assembly.
Tuners
You'll need four of my all new [Mini ukulele tuners](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7267324). The video on the mini tuner page provides instructions on installation.
Stringing and Tuning the Uke
For the strings, I use regular soprano uke strings. I like D'Addario Nyltech. There are many instructions on Youtube available for stringing a uke. Search for how to string a slotted bridge uke.
The Micro ukulele should tuned to GCEA, an octave higher than a regular Soprano, so that the string tension is the same as a Soprano tuned to GCEA.
Using the HueForge template
HueForge template .step and .3mf files are provided to make it easy to integrate a Hueforge print onto the ukulele body top. To use this template follow the instructions below.
- Load the “Micro Body Top HueForge Template.step” file into Bambu Studio. Print settings should be set to 0.08 mm layer height, 0.16 mm initial layer height, 5 wall loops, 100 % sparse infill density, and Rectilinear sparse infill pattern.
- In the left pane in the Objects view in Bambu Studio right click on the Assembly and select split to objects. This has already been done in the Mini 2 Hueforge Template.3mf file.
- Drag your HueForge .stl into Bambu Studio.
- Position the HueForge with respect to the top as desired. It helps to turn off visibility of the Body Top and Bridge in the Objects pane to position the HueForge. Make sure not to move the top with respect to the bridge accidentally.
- If you adjust the size of the HueForge .stl for a better fit on the top, make sure that the vertical dimension (thickness) remains unchanged. Only change the horizontal dimensions. Changing the vertical dimensions will change the number of layers, and the Hueforge design will be off.
- Select both the Body Top and the HueForge (I use CTRL click for this).
- Click on Mesh Boolean in the Bambu Studio tool bar, select Intersection and click Execute. This can take a while so wait for a bit.
- Select both the bridge and the Top/HueForge Boolean in the Objects pane, right click, and select merge.
- Slice the plate.
- In the preview pane, add color filaments changes at the layer heights indicated by the Hueforge describe.txt.
- Reslice, print, and enjoy.
Notes on Designing the HueForge for the Ukulele Top
For the best sound, the top of the body shouldn't be too thick. However, it also can't be too thin or the top will become too weak to hold the string tension. I use these general rules of thumb when designing a HueForge for the ukulele top.
- I use a Layer Height of 0.08 mm.
- Base Layer of 0.16 mm.
- Base Thickness of 1.2 mm
- I target a thickness for the first color (including Base Thickness) of around 1.4 mm, which is the thickness of the top of the uke without a HueForge.
- I try to keep the maximum height of the HueForge at 2.5 mm or less so it doesn't get too thick.
jwnicholson
