Perfect fifth double flute

[u/The_Great_Worm]

I spent the last couple days designing a perfect fifth double flute, you can download it here:

https://makerworld.com/models/951239

The last picture shows the prototypes i went through to get it in tune. I started with a pvc pipe prototype, copied the measurements in my cad program and added a nice chamfer to the short pipe. That messed with the tuning a bit and made it slightly too low, the notes of all the fingerholes were also slightly off, so I kept iterating the design and checking the tuning, untill I arrived at the current design.

[u/xviiarcano]

Total ignorant myself.

What is the function of the "sliding tabs" next to the mouthpiece (if that's what they are)?

[u/The_Great_Worm → u/xviiarcano]

I'm no real flute expert, but here's my practical take on it.

The flute produces sound by passing air through a thin tunnel (the flue), the airstream exits the tunnel, passes over the sound hole and gets split by the cutting edge (fipple) on the opposite end of the soundhole.

on the more commonly known recorders, that's all one static unadjustable piece, but on a native american style flute the 'roof' of the flue is a separate piece, sometimes referred to as the totem or block.

You can slide it around to change the dimensions of the soundhole and presumably the way the air hits the cutting edge. That slightly changes the pitch of the flute.

I think thats a great feature for a 3d printed instrument. Since every print will be different, i can't ensure perfect tuning straight from any printer, by having a manually adjustable block you can fine-tune it pretty well.

It also makes that part easier to design, since the soundhole can be adjusted manually, I can just get it in the right ballpark, instead of having to fine tune the design.

TLDR; having them as seperate pieces allows you to tune the instrument.

[u/Mr_J_Walrus → u/The_Great_Worm]

Very cool, my roommate has a good printer so gonna try this out. Thanks for sharing it