This musical box was a treasured item belonging to my wife. It had been dropped, leaving several components cracked or missing. I realized CAD and 3D printing offered a cleaner restoration than patching the original acrylic.

The Process

I disassembled the damaged components to understand their original fabrication. Using Onshape, I measured the fragments and recreated them.

The broken parts. Notice the intact golden pedals.

I made sure to reuse the golden pedals since they were structurally sound. The goal was to replicate the original design as accurately as possible while using black PLA to match the piano body.

Finishing Touches

I also printed replacements for the missing castor wheels. Originally printed in green, I spray painted them gold to match the surviving original wheel and the pedals.

The entire process—from design to final assembly—took just over two hours. The musical box is finally whole and functional again.