Based on an original idea by Odile Bourin, a cellist by profession, 3D PROD accompanied the virtuoso on the 3D creation of a particularly atypical object to improve the bow grip: the Celizy® Solution. The French company also took care of the printing.
The Celizy® Solution for an easier bow grip
The Celizy® Solution is the result of 30 years of careful observation of cellists byOdile Bourin, who initiated this beautiful project.
The design of this solution responds to two observations:
- Children spend less and less time on each of their activities because they are over-solicited by the world around them.
- Teachers in group lessons spend little time placing beginners on the instrument, which means neglecting the quality of the sound.
The objective was to find a solution to this lack of time to allow the student to quickly find his or her bearings in terms of the correct bow grip. The arm had to be encouraged to adopt a basic position without the brain perceiving the constraint. Thus, the brain memorizes the position and the shape of the right hand; the muscular chain being mobilized, the beginner is not aware of producing an effort.
The use of this small object is very simple. You just have to slide it on the stick, from the button to the tip, or to clip it on the frog if the stick is a bit thick. Moreover, it is not necessary to dismantle the bow to install it, nor to remove it at each use because it can remain in place in the cover between two sessions.
After only a few months of using the Celizy® Solution, the body schema is unconsciously memorized, which makes it possible to remove the solution little by little.
The evidence of 3D technology to realize the Celizy® Solution
Once the idea was conceptualized, it had to be produced, but the constraints were strong. On the one hand, for obvious reasons, the solution had to be small and light. On the other hand, it was important to find a volume that would favor a natural grip of the bow. To satisfy these two criteria, 3D printing technology was the obvious choice.
3D PROD accompanied Odile Bourin from the very beginning of the project by advising her, creating different prototypes, until finding the "right melody". In order to make the object as light as possible, the best thing to do was to hollow it out and create a mesh in order to keep a good rigidity. Once printed, the object weighs less than 6 grams!
3D technology was also a strategic choice for Odile. In addition to having allowed the creation of the prototype, 3D printing and 3D PROD provide her with great flexibility: the production ramp-up can be done gradually, i.e. produce little for the launch and increase production volumes little by little.
" I really appreciated working with the 3D PROD teams. Their advice and support were essential in the construction and completion of this project, which was close to my heart. 3D technology really makes it possible to achieve incredible things," adds Odile Bourin.
3D printing is more and more used for unexpected sectors and 3D PROD is always ready to answer these challenges. The Celizy® Solution was successfully realized and it is likely that Odile Bourin will use 3D printing again for her future projects.
