Maracas (3D Printed Instrument)

One thing I really quite like to do with my 3D prints is to insert things mid print. What better way to use this than to make a maraca that you can fill with items of your choosing. That is what this instructible will cover, making maracas using 3D printing fabrication technology and some household items to make a silly noise machine.

1. A 3D printer or access to one (Check your public library, they might have one!)
2. OrcaSlicer or a 3D printing slicer that allows for layer pauses (Most do)
3. Some small objects to fill your maraca (I used an assortment of washers and nuts)
4. A sense of party, for when you are finished

Hop into your favorite design software (mine is Autodesk Fusion360), and get ready to make some maracas!

For mine, I chose to make the entire maraca in just about one sketch as it is a revolve-able object (if that is a word). Looking at regular maracas, it seems that the height is about 7-10 in, so I chose 8 as a good middle ground while still being relatively small to print. Then, I sketched the profiles I wanted. I made sure to round off the bottom with some homemade fillets; curve the grip so it is more ergonomic; give the maracas that classic arc bulbous look; and make a cavity for the noise-creating objects of our choosing. If you are feeling lost, this can all be seen in the sketch photo attached.

Now that the sketch profile is finished, I moved onto revolving it. I selected the sketch faces to revolve and then revolved them around my central axis from the earlier sketch. This almost finished the part.

I like it when my parts are easy to print, so I noticed the overhang that seemed like it might cause issues, and I filleted it. This gave me my maraca!

Now that we have our 3D file, it is time to prepare it for printing. This will be a little more hands on than just loading the file in and printing, but I will be here to guide you through the pause layer functionality so don't fret.

After you load the 3D file into your slicer of choosing, you will want to hit the slice button. For better layer adhesion, I suggest printing it with a brim or raft. In case you have supports turned on, it is best to turn them off for this print as it should be doable without supporting the model. Then, use the slider on the right of your screen (this position may differ based on slicer) in order to find a layer that looks like a good place to put your objects into. Then, you should be able to right click onto the + icon on the slider and add a layer pause at the beginning of that layer.

Then, you can hit print and wait for it to reach the pause layer!

Your print successfully reached the pause, great! Now you need to be careful not to knock it over as you put the noise making items.

You now pour the noise making items into the maraca making sure not to spill nuts and washers all over your printer (learn from my mistakes :\ be careful). I filled mine up about 1/4, but the more you fill it up the more of a resounding noise you will get as long as it is not full enough to limit movement. I reckon 1/5 - 3/5 full is probably ideal, but test it out using different amounts and let me know!

Once it finishes printing, you should have a fully functioning maraca, thank goodness! Now shake, shake, shake away to your heart's desire trying not (or trying to) annoy your close friends and family. Hopefully you learned something about pausing prints to insert parts in this Instructable.

Mine ended up looking pretty neat (except for the big crack from my printer :( [bad printer, bad!]), and it sounded just like the maracas I had played with in elementary school much to my music teacher's misfortune. Here is a video of the finished product, noise and everything.