Hello from Kansas!

[Kharel]

Recently finished building my first-ever 3D printer, the Rostock Max V2 (just before the V3 was released, of course--though I'm not unhappy I got the V2; the extended build process was a lot of fun!). I've done a few basic prints (the PEEK fan shroud, 3 layer fan shrouds, and a benchy, all in ABS), and so far I'm loving what I've seen of 3D printing!

I'm a web developer by trade with a bit of background in robotics, but I do a lot with music as well--specifically, I'm a trumpet player. Once the two extra layer blower fans I've ordered arrive, I'm looking forward to switching from my current ABS filament to PLA and trying to print a few trumpet mouthpieces as my first project! I've seen several different mouthpiece designs on Thingiverse, and had a few questions I wouldn't mind getting answered by someone with more experience (or answering myself through experimentation, if required!).

• What material would you recommend for a trumpet mouthpiece? I've heard ABS isn't the healthiest stuff, and I've certainly experienced some respiratory and eye irritation when I'm in the room while it's printing. While obviously my ABS printing temperature of 228C is a bit warmer than what you generate while playing the trumpet, trumpet mouthpieces do get very warm while playing, and it is literally pressed up against your mouth and very near your nose. There's a lot of friction involved in playing the trumpet, and I could see ABS causing some irritation with prolonged use. All that said, I've also heard PLA isn't the best material to sand down, and the inside of the mouthpiece will definitely have to be sanded until perfectly smooth in order to be comfortable and remove as much air resistance as possible. Whatever material I end up using will need to be able to stand up to a fair amount of heat, pressure, vibration, and moisture, but I'm guessing most of the normal materials (PLA, ABS, potentially PETG) will be easily able to stand up to normal circumstances.
• On the Thingiverse page, I noticed there's a couple "parametric" mouthpiece designs. If I'm interpreting that correctly, that means the designs are adjustable via input parameters--are these parameters adjustable in slicer programs (MatterControl, Cura, etc), or will I need third-party CAD software to do so?
• What CAD software would people recommend for a guy on a budget? I have some basic CAD experience, but that was back in 2005 or so and most of it was with polygon-based modelers rather than solid modelers, so my experience is very nearly irrelevant to modern CAD software. The computer I'm running the printer from has moderately beefy specs, so that shouldn't be too much of a concern, but I'm honestly not sure where to start looking for reasonably-decent CAD programs for personal use.

[IMBoring25]

I think I'd be more inclined to try making a BERP or a complete horn than a mouthpiece that's intended to be played more than once as a curiosity. PETG is a modified form of the plastic used for plastic water bottles, but it would take a lot of work to get the lip smooth enough to be comfortable. Further, bacteria love nooks and crannies, which the printing process generally leaves and can't be effectively sanitized.

I think most of the configurable Things are openscad scripts if I remember correctly.

I've seen some people recommend DesignSpark Mechanical. I haven't tried it myself yet.

[Kharel]

Thanks for your feedback! Bacteria and other nasties are definitely a concern I hadn't thought about. That being the case, I'm guessing my endgame would be to 3D print several designs, find one I really like, then have it machined properly and silver- or brass-plated. I do prefer an asymmetric mouthpiece, but to my knowledge there are only 2 models of them available anywhere. Being able to iterate on the design a bit and come up with something personalized might be a worthwhile experiment.