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You can trick a 3D printer into playing 'The Imperial March' from 'Star Wars'
When we first went hands-on with Makerbot's Replicator in our office, we said that it sounded like a washing machine with a handful of rocks thrown in. But now thanks to the internet, your 3D printer can churn out teacups or chess pieces to something a little more refined -- like "The Imperial March" by John Williams. As 3DPrint notes, just about any model can do this, you just need to hack a MIDI file and convert it to the language 3D printers read (Gcode) to get the stepper motors and other moving parts into musical sync. If you aren't up for doing that yourself, a few programs exist to help automate the process. There are a handful of other nerdy tunes available, too, including the classic Super Mario Bros. theme. But, if you'd rather stick to sci-fi, you can grab the Star Wars Gcode directly from Thingiverse or watch the video after the jump.
