VPI 3D tonearm

....this arm is DEAD.

Is burial an option? :-)

"3D Arm"?
What does this mean?
I thought all arms were 3D.......or is that just me?
Made without joints in one piece......?
Oh please....give me a break.
There are umpteen ways to create a 'one-piece arm without joints'.
Welding, brazing, casting, machining...and in the case of wood....turning.
With plastics, there are even a few more.
Continuum has had one piece hollow plastic resin arms (with no separate headshells) for over a decade.

Why is epoxy superior to aluminum or steel for an arm?

Good question.....but I can guess that Harry wouldn't know...or care?
This 3D printing for a tonearm is a cynical grab for the technologically challenged audiophile impressed by gimmicks and 'buzz-words'.
3D printing does have....and will have many valuable uses for the world in general.
I doubt that advances in tonearm design will be one of them?

So it seems that the consensus is that the 3D arm is junk without anyone here having auditioned the new VPI product.

No.....we're saying that 3D printing of a tonearm.....using the resin that is required for a 3D printer (regardless of its suitability or acoustic properties).....is a cynical exercise in marketing hype.

Could you explain why this is a 'cynical exercise in marketing hype'?

I thought I had in my first post above?
But here goes again...........

3D printing is perfect for complex shapes or one-off prototypes for testing or limited production items.
It is extraordinarily useful in the medical field whereby entire internal human organs may be re-created from CT Scans and/or MRIs to allow for EXACT replacement parts to be fabricated for surgical transplant BEFORE the patient is even admitted to the operating theatre.

At present...the range of materials able to be used in 3D printers consist of ABS plastic, PLA, polyamide (nylon), glass filled polyamide, stereolithography materials (epoxy resins), silver, titanium, steel, wax, photopolymers and polycarbonate.
This leaves out a large selection of materials such as copper, brass, bronze, wood, stone, concrete etc but this may change in the future?

The point is.....that the VPI 3D tonearm is NOT complex in any way.....and could have been produced by traditional fabrication methods used for over 100 years.....and in virtually every material available on earth.
In plastic.......this arm could be fabricated in mass quantities using Injection Moulding or Compression Moulding or Vacuum Forming or Blow Moulding or Rotational Moulding or Continuous Extrusion.
The choices for the combination and formulae of the plastic selected using these methods......is vastly greater than for those used for 3D printing and thus testing for the 'acoustic' properties of the selected material would become the important criteria instead of the resultant 'accident'?

Finally....the costs involved in 3D printing of simple multiple identical objects is vastly greater than for those produced by 'mass production'.

If this VPI 3D tonearm turns out to sound 'wonderful' as some here are eager to conclude........be aware that you could have been listening to EXACTLY the same tonearm, manufactured by 20th century methods 25 years ago!?

If that doesn't strike you as 'cynical'.......then join the queue and enjoy :-)

Sweating, brazing, threading parts do not make a one piece tonearm.

But casting, welding, machining and gluing do.

Dear Lew,
In welding......the norm is not to use 'foreign' materials but to create a homogeneous 'whole' by melting together identical materials. The strength of these welds can be designed to be identical to (or even stronger than) the two pieces being welded.
However....there is a chance that there are changes at the molecular level of the 'welded joint' which, whilst not affecting strength, performance or visuals......could possibly affect the acoustic properties or integrity of the whole?
With 'gluing'......I admit that there would be an acoustic change at the interface of the adhesive medium.
Points taken :-)

As far as material is concerned, isn't Continuum tonearm using similar type of material? I thought somebody even mentioned in the past that Copperhead arm may actually be the first 3D printing arm or at least used some earlier technology along 3D printing line?

I don't know where you appear to have obtained your 'information' as there have been numerous reviews and articles about the Cobra and Copperhead arms over the last 8 years with not one of them ever mentioning '3D Printing'?

The Cobra and Copperhead armwands are 'Reshape' Shape Optimised, Resonance Tuned Compound Curve Wands from proprietary woven fibre technology pioneered by Continuum Audio Labs.
The wands are unique monocoque construction using advanced fibre and resin technology proprietary to Continuum Audio Labs.

"Woven fibre and resin technology" is currently not able to be utilised in 3D printing.

If Continuum HAD in fact developed the first 3D printed tonearms......Harry Weisfeld would look pretty silly making such a 'song and dance' about it 10 years down the track?!

You obviously have a underlying resentment towards all things VPI/Harry Weisfeld.

So obvious is my resentment towards "...all things VPI/Harry Weisfeld" that in the thousands of my postings to 288 Threads over a 6 year period prior to this Thread.....there is not a single reference to anything VPI/Harry Weisfeld?

Au contraire mon frere...........I respect and admire the accomplishments of Harry Weisfeld (as I do a number of strong talented individuals (like Bob Graham, George Cardas, Richard Vandersteen, Ivor Tiefenbrun and Roy Gandy) who have created and maintained a high-end brand in a difficult and esoteric market such as audio.

I wouldn't care who it was who prefaced the introduction of an audio item by proclaiming its method of manufacture as the 'raison d'etre' for admiration.
My response would be the same.
Release the product.
Let the reviewers and customers hear and test the product and if it proves to be a revelation......by all means, proudly disclose the possible secrets behind its success?
Do you think anyone would care that the Continuum Cobra and Copperhead tonearms were designed by a group of engineers applying a complete suite of advanced software towards their modelling beginning with Finite Element Analysis using NASTRAN, PATRAN, and DYSTRAN before finalysing in the complex process of Gradient Shape Optimisation using Reshape software if those arms didn't sound superior to the competition?
Or do you you think anyone would care that the Schroeder tonearms are hand-made and drilled and assembled like a Swiss watch by one man in Berlin if they didn't offer a sound that some audiophiles find superior?

I have zero experience with VPI products or Harry Weisfeld and consequently have no opinion on them one way or the other.
This is a discussion Forum in case you hadn't noticed....and for those owners of VPI products with 'thin skins' (such as yourself Zenblaster)...I would recommend avoiding any Threads which threaten to contain offending negative comments and simply stick to a VPI Appreciation Forum?

And whilst you ruminate over my advice Zenblaster.....I'd really work on my comprehension skills so that a posting which in fact is stating that Harry Weisfeld is NOT a fool..........is not taken as "obvious underlying resentment"?