All The Parts That Are Fit To Print

The mad scientist's laboratory at Pagliere Steel Guitars has acquired a 3D printer (a Bambu Labs X1 Carbon). This will allow quick iteration of ideas for what few mechanical parts that are still part of this new-fangled pedal steel design.

What are these parts? The most interesting mechanical part is the "sensor assembly." Each pedal and knee lever affects one Hall Effect sensor, which measures a change in a magnetic field. This means that each pedal or lever needs to move a neodymium magnet a certain distance so that its corresponding sensor can send data to the Control code. This data indicates exactly how far the pedal/lever has traveled through its range.

That data is used by the Control code as part of what determines the output pitch for this or that string.

In modern aircraft, this is called "fly by wire." If this concept isn't familiar, check this website's Fly By Wire page.

As we iterate towards an optimal design for the Beta Prototype and beyond, it's nice not to have to send designs out to a service and then wait for days or weeks to see the outcome.