In recent years, 3D printing has developed enormously, thanks above all to the introduction of new technologies that have enabled the use of a wide range of materials with diverse physical and chemical properties. Among the many — potentially limitless — applications of 3D printers, one has recently emerged in the world of sound design.

Studio Van Broekhoven has developed a 3D printer capable of producing ceramic sculptures with a very distinctive surface: the printer captures the vibrations of sound waves and transfers them to the ceramic, creating what its inventors call sonic ceramics.

The project takes the name Solid Vibration and is the result of a collaboration between two Dutch artists with a passion for new digital fabrication technologies: sound designer Ricky van Broekhven and industrial designer Olivier van Herpt. The two placed a speaker beneath the printing platform; the vibrations of the sounds then altered the preset print model, giving the ceramic objects a new texture.

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The new "sound printer" has been used to build new solid physical representations of "noisescapes": so far, only abstract sounds have been used, but there is no reason why, in the future, objects could not be made starting from one's favourite songs.

As Olivie van Herpt explains on his website:

A moment, a song, a sound can now become objects that encapsulate that moment forever.

Since 2012, Studio van Broekhoven has specialised in projects where sound and music go beyond purely auditory perception: it is a laboratory for exploring natural forces and processes with the aim of creating unique immersive environments.

Cover photo: ®Dirk van den Heuvel