Wooden mechanical metamaterials: Towards tunable wood plates

One of the biggest challenges in guitar-making is consistency: even though two guitars are made of the same tree, with the same geometry and manufactured with exactly the same techniques, small material variations intrinsic to the wood will make them sound different. We want to address this variability through the structural design of wooden plates used in the manufacture of guitar tops, developing wood-based mechanical metamaterials. By means of simulations, we study the effect of different geometric patterns of holes on the mechanical parameters of a piece of Engelman Spruce, with special emphasis on the density, the radial and longitudinal stiffness, and derived quantities. We show how one can control the elastic properties of perforated wood boards used for mechanical, acoustic and/or aesthetic purposes in general, and not only guitar making. These results could open a new era of rationally designed woodbased panels, for instrument making and beyond. (c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

One of the biggest challenges in guitar-making is ensuring consistency in sound despite material variations. This study explores the use of wood-based mechanical metamaterials in the design of guitar tops, specifically examining the effect of different hole patterns on the mechanical parameters of Engelman Spruce. The research demonstrates the potential for controlling the elastic properties of perforated wood boards, not only for guitar making but also for various other purposes.