Acoustic Instrument Soundboards with CNC Carved Relief Pockets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing acoustic stringed instruments face challenges in reducing the overall mass of the soundboard and backboard while maintaining structural integrity and achieving an optimal mass-to-stiffness ratio for the braces, which are crucial for acoustic quality and structural support.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a soundboard with brace channels and relief pockets, featuring a thin base with reduced thickness in channels, and a backboard with hexagonal cavities in a honeycomb pattern, allowing for adjustable mass and stiffness, along with a brace assembly that includes Y-shaped and curved braces with T-shaped cross-sections and carbon fiber reinforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the thickness of the soundboard and backboard is reduced to decrease mass, then the overall mass of the guitar is reduced, but the structural integrity and stiffness of the boards deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The soundboard and backboard incorporate relief pockets (cavities) that create a porous or honeycomb-like structure within the wood. This reduces the overall mass of the boards while maintaining structural integrity through the distributed pocket architecture, which provides stiffness comparable to solid wood at reduced weight
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite construction by combining the wooden boards with strategically placed relief pockets and braces. The composite structure of solid wood regions interspersed with voids creates an optimized mass-to-strength ratio, allowing thin boards to achieve required structural performance
2Weight of moving object
If the mass of the braces is reduced to achieve lighter overall structure, then the weight decreases, but the stiffness required to withstand string tension deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The braces are designed with varying cross-sectional dimensions along their length, with thicker sections positioned at locations requiring higher stiffness (such as near the soundhole and bridge areas) and thinner sections where less structural support is needed. This local variation optimizes the mass-to-stiffness ratio by concentrating material where it is most needed
Solution Approach 2:
The invention varies the geometric parameters of the braces (width, thickness, length) to achieve optimal performance. By adjusting these dimensions, the braces attain the necessary stiffness to withstand string tension while minimizing mass, achieving an optimal mass-to-stiffness ratio
3Weight of moving object
If the soundboard and backboard are made thinner to reduce mass, then the weight decreases, but the ability to maintain acoustic quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The relief pockets create a controlled porous structure within the soundboard and backboard that enhances acoustic performance. The pockets act as acoustic chambers that can improve resonance and sound projection, allowing thinner boards to maintain or even enhance acoustic quality while reducing mass
Solution Approach 2:
The soundboard and backboard are segmented into multiple functional zones through the relief pocket arrangement, creating distinct acoustic regions that work together to produce superior sound quality. The segmented structure allows different parts of the board to resonate at different frequencies, enriching the overall acoustic output
Data Source
AI summary
Soundboards and backboards of an acoustic stringed instrument and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the soundboard or backboard includes a base having opposed top and bottom surfaces, a plurality of channels on the bottom surface of the base, and a plurality of braces that correspond to the plurality of channels and that are received in and attached to the plurality of channels. In one embodiment, the method includes shaping a board to a uniform nominal thickness and carving a plurality of channels on the board via a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) router. The method additionally includes attaching a plurality of braces that correspond to the carved plurality of channels such that the plurality of braces is received in the plurality of channels.