Henry Hanson, a self-described artist, scientist and inventor, created a fully functional trumpet out of a single block of precast concrete.
Hanson scanned a virtual model of a trumpet by removing its brass casings to retain only the basic shape. He then 3-D printed an 18-inch-cubed block of concrete with the trumpet’s form “carved out” inside. Some touch up with wood and concrete was all that was needed after that.
The finished product functions more as a bugle than a trumpet, but the sounds are similar. It also weighs 26½ pounds.
While trumpets traditionally are made from brass or similar metals, the sound is the result of vibrating air, not necessarily the metal-as-vehicle itself. Mouth position and valve adjustment create the higher and lower pitches, all of which is replicable within concrete.
Watch how here.