This model is one of the collection Prêt à Faire: Printable Readymade Models
The work With Hidden Noise by Marcel Duchamp was created in 1916 when he invited his friend and patron Walter Arensberg to place an object inside the ball of twine and enclose it with brass plates. This object remained unknown even to Duchamp, but it rattled enticingly when picked up to decipher Duchamp's nonsense word puzzle printed on the top and bottom. This somewhat elaborate Readymade original is found at the Philadelphia Art Museum, but the work was also re-created as an edition in the mid-1960s.
Find out more about this work at:
Sample images of originals:
 Philadelphia Art Museum, |  LACMA, |
The model differs from the original wherever necessary to optimize it for multi-material FDM 3D printing. It is created full size, and is NOT designed for scaling. The original Readymade was a collaboration; this model incorporates models from elsewhere, making it collaborative as well (and therefore a remix: see the links under remix notes). This drove a decision on licensing.
Other artists or scholars who have appropriated this work include Elliot Hundley, who incorporated an image into a painting, and a collaboration between Kurt von Meier and Tamara Blanken to discover the secret of the noise through reconstruction.
 Elliott Hundley, the lightning bride, 2011 |  Kurt von Meier and Tamara Blanke unveil the reproduction at an event, 2018 |
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Printing the model at full size can be accomplished on most multi-material printers.
For the brass plates and bumpers;
Raised lettering can be selected for painting-on material. Use white letters on a body emulating old brass.
The plates are slightly thicker than the original. A thinner plate does not stay stiff enough, even at higher infill percentages. 100% infill works well, but it can be printed at 15% without losing stiffness.
Select the options for ONE perimeter at the top and bottom, and use a Hilbert Curve infill for each. It's slower but achieves a good visual result.
The plates have a recess for a bumper (see ASSEMBLY NOTES below). That recess should receive support, or at least a helper disk in the cavity that one can pry away. It takes a bit of work to release because it's mostly a support interface, but it eventually pries away cleanly.
For the brass fasteners:
The fasteners are modifications to Ben's nut-and-bolt models. Ben's instructions recommend printing the fasteners in PETG or a harder material. However, brass is a relatively rare filament color, and in the end, I chose an aged brass silk PLA. Even though this is a terrible functional choice, the light load on these elements permits it.
Print the NUT at a non-uniform scaling of 105% in the X and Y directions. Maintain 100% for the Y direction. This allows the nut to turn without over-stressing the PLA. NOTE: I experimented with scaling at 102% through 108%. Because tolerances will change from printer to printer, you may wish to experiment.
The nut may need a brim. My prototypes were inconsistent, sometimes requiring it, sometimes not.
Yes, the bolt prints successfully following Ben's instructions and printing VERTICALLY with a robust brim and paint-on supports as seen in the illustration. Select places on the bolt that won't interfere with the travel of the nut. A well-calibrated machine and dry, dry filament is a must.
For the ball of twine:
The twine is a modification of ptira's scan, scaled and flattened at the top and bottom.
I used an aggressive fuzzy skin for the twine with remarkably lifelike results in my prototype, using a light, matte finish wood PLA.
Print assembly parts in the following quantities:
Nuts and bolts: Print 4 each
Bumpers: Print 2 each
All other parts: Print 1 each
Recommended materials I used:
Amolen aged brass silk PLA for all metallic parts
Prusament Pearl White PLA blend for the lettering
Sunlu maple color wood PLA for twine
My general settings:
Print Settings: 0.15mm Structural for a smooth perimeter finish on the metallic parts, 0.2mm Structural for the twine
Filament: Prusament PLA, Generic PLA, and Generic Silk PLA as appropriate
Printer: Prusa MK3/MMU2
Supports: Paint-on as seen in the illustration
Infill: 100% for metallic parts, 15% for twine
Brim: None, though I recommend adding a custom brim to the outside of the nuts
Advanced settings:
Layers and perimeters: all defaults
Infill: Gyroid fill pattern, Hilber Curve top and bottom fill pattern for the plates.
Support material: Organic
Stats for the print:
Total material used:
~138 grams aged brass
~0.3 grams white
~98 grams maple wood
Total time: ~17 hours 45 minutes
Total number of build plates: 4 (1 for fasteners, 1 each for plates, 1 for twine ball)
Mechanically speaking, assembly should be straightforward to understand.
There is an optional “bumper” piece that should hold the twine ball in place if you 1) can't get a tight fit and 2) don't want to use glue to hold it in. This bumper ensures the ball doesn't slip out. Super-glue each bumper into the recess provided on each plate.
Place the bolts in the top plate as seen in the images.
Place the bottom plate on the bolts as seen in the images. Be mindful of orientation.
Work the screws onto the bolts:
I successfully tested Ben's threads with his specific instructions, and they work well enough, but see PRINTING NOTES regarding non-uniform scaling of the nuts.
When first attaching the nut to the threads, there is some resistance, but I found working the nut up and back down a few times right at the beginning of the bolt threads worked well to prime the nut for its ultimate journey up the bolt.
Bring the nuts up the first inch or so of each bolt, leaving enough room for the twine ball.
The FUN part of the assembly is getting a helper to select the hidden object to make noise inside the twine! I do NOT have a model for this object for a reason:
In keeping with Duchamp's collaboration, ask someone to place an object in the twine ball cavity, place it between the brass plates, and close the container. ONLY that person will know what is placed inside.
Mention to your collaborator that the object should be small enough to bounce around, but not so small that it would make no noise!
Tighten the nuts so that the twine is secure, but not so tight that the plates visibly deflect.
There should be no need for an adhesive to secure the nuts.
Duchamp was critical of artwork that was purely “retinal” in nature, and this work in particular encourages haptic and auditory experiences by inviting the spectator to pick it up and turn it to “solve” the nonsense word puzzle on the plates.
But you can't get away with that in a museum! One of the reasons the Prêt à Faire series exists is to remedy that. I'm certain Duchamp would shudder at the thought of this work presented with a DO NOT TOUCH sign adjacent!
Place the work on a pedestal or table that invites such an interaction.
DEC 9: Artist precedents were added to the description. Added STEP files and exploded view.
27 NOV: Re-wrote the description for clarity and consistent formatting across the Prêt à Faire collection. Added images of the finished mult-material print.
2 OCT: I ran a prototype in simple white PETG for a unique instance of each piece and tested for fit. I'm happy to report that everything assembled without the need for revision. I've included some images above for the pieces printed and for my recommended orientations for the build plate. I updated the text to reflect my experience with the prototype.
The author remixed this model.
Bolts: I used Ben's headless hex screw M06 model to generate a slot-head bolt, adding a cylinder and a slotted round head at the top to emulate the
Nuts: Ben's M06 nut is used here without change but is included for convenience.
Ball of twine: Based on ptira's scan, I cut the top and bottom to create a flat area, added a cylindrical pipe shape to level out open areas, and performed a non-uniform scale to create the correct proportions for the sculpture.
