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Yes, but only in a narrow, historical sense. Amanda Ghassaei documented a 33 rpm audio record that she 3D printed and that played on an ordinary turntable. The sound is low fidelity but recognizable. The project used a specialized UV-cured resin printer, so it does not show that a typical home printer will reliably produce a usable record.
How the disc was made
Ghassaei’s method is a software pipeline that turns an audio file into a 3D model of a spiral groove. The steps, as she documented them, run in this order:
- Import the audio. The software starts from a raw audio file.
- Apply a low-pass filter. The experiment’s sampling rate is below the usual digital recording rate, so high-frequency content has to be filtered before it is encoded.
- Apply RIAA equalization. This compensates for the response of a phono preamp, so the played-back signal comes out with the expected tonal balance.
- Generate the record geometry. The software builds the geometry of a 12-inch record with a spiral groove.
- Modulate the groove depth. The processed waveform sets how deep the groove is at each point along the spiral. This is the encoding method, and it is specific to this technique.
- Export an STL mesh. The model is exported as a printable mesh file.
- Print, clean, and play. The UV-cured printer builds the disc in layers. After cleaning, the record is played on an ordinary turntable.
Why the groove moves only up and down
Stereo vinyl typically encodes two channels in one groove by using both vertical and lateral stylus motion. Ghassaei’s method moves the stylus only vertically. She chose that approach because the printer’s precision on its vertical axis was the strongest of its three axes, with a stated 16 microns in Z. The result is a single audio channel. It should not be described as stereo vinyl reproduction.
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Equipment and reported measurements
The figures below come from the project itself and from one secondary account. None is a general performance benchmark for 3D printing or for vinyl.
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| Item | Reported value | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Printer | Objet Connex 500, UV-cured resin | High-end, specialized equipment used in this project |
| Printer resolution | 600 dpi in X/Y; 16 microns in Z | Stated on Ghassaei’s project page |
| Sampling rate | 11 kHz | Reported by Ghassaei after experimentation and parameter tuning; specific to this project, not a universal limit |
| Bits per sample | 5 to 6 bits | Same qualification as the sampling rate |
| Groove size | About ten times deeper and about ten times wider than pressed-vinyl grooves | Described by Raspberry Pi Official Magazine; this size difference limits how much audio a disc can hold |
| Project date | 2012 | Date shown on Ghassaei’s project page |
What the sound and capacity are like
Ghassaei describes her own result this way: “Though the audio quality is low, the songs encoded on these records are still easily recognizable.” That is her assessment of her own experiment, not an independent listening test. Because the grooves are much larger than pressed-vinyl grooves, a printed disc holds far less audio than an LP. Expect short programs, not album-length playing time.
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What this example does not establish
- Consumer printers: the demonstration used a specialized resin printer. No verified, current workflow for a consumer machine is documented.
- Stereo playback: only one channel is encoded through vertical groove motion.
- Vinyl-equivalent quality or repeatable production: the one documented example reports low fidelity and limited capacity.
- The Prusa Printables Bands post: Prusa Research published a post dated April 1, 2024 describing a vinyl-on-demand service and a WAV-to-groove feature in PrusaSlicer. The date and reader replies identify it as an April Fools joke. It is not evidence that either exists.
If you want to try it
- A UV-cured resin printer. This is a different class of machine from common filament printers. Fine vertical resolution matters here, because groove depth carries the audio.
- Audio-to-geometry software. You need software that performs the filtering, RIAA equalization, and groove-depth modulation described above. The project’s own software is the missing piece, and no widely documented ready-made equivalent is established.
- A turntable set to 33 rpm for test playback.
- Realistic expectations. Plan for low fidelity, a single channel, and short programs, and test with short clips before printing anything longer.
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