Have you ever wondered how some of the most talented musicians, like Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Smith, and Avril Lavigne, train their world-class voices? Surprisingly, one favorite among musicians is a small 3D printed device. The Vocal Trainer from Better Voice may look innocuous, but it’s become a game-changer for musicians like Lainey Wilson and 5 Seconds of Summer.
The story behind this unique device is just as interesting as its renowned effects. The Vocal Trainer was developed and is manufactured by Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO of Better Voice, and would not exist without Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers and BioMed Black Resin. The complex design, small components, and hollow spaces make the Vocal Trainer impossible to injection mold, so Oswald produces all the Vocal Trainers in-house on Form 4B 3D printers, giving him complete control over manufacturing processes and inventory.
“Because all the manufacturing is here and in-house, the tariffs didn't affect me at all. There's nothing we have to worry about with inventory other than just buying BioMed Black Resin, so that's huge. We don't have to rely on anyone else to get our products to our customers. Having full control, that’s obviously huge.”
Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO, Better Voice
Talk to Our Sales Team
Whether you need to prototype at speed, or are producing end-use parts, we’re here to help. The Formlabs Sales team is composed of dedicated specialists who know exactly how to support you and your company's needs.
When Injection Molding Won’t Work: Prototyping & Manufacturing With 3D Printing
“Without 3D printing, I wouldn't have been able to get off my feet with this company and wouldn't have been able to keep up with the demands. It's been amazing.”
Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO, Better Voice
In 2017, Oswald developed spasmodic dysphonia, a vocal disorder that causes breaks in the voice or a tight, strained sound. The only thing that helped was Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract exercises, a common speech therapy that is done by vocalizing into straws that are stuck in a glass of water. This forces back pressure and strengthens the vocal cords. However, Oswald says, “I couldn't carry around 10 different straws with me everywhere and a cup of water, so that's why I made the Vocal Trainer.”
The Vocal Trainer is composed of two parts: the slider and the tube. The slider has little springs that allow the user to adjust the backpressure of the trainer. Oswald started designing the Vocal Trainer in 2019, using 3D printing as “a low cost way for me to verify that my designs were good.” He tried fused deposition modeling (FDM) but found he'd "spend two days sanding them down to get them to work, for the sliders to go onto the tubes, and there were layer lines and it was awful,” says Oswald.
When it came time to think about manufacturing, FDM was out, so he contacted companies about injection molding the Vocal Trainer, which was also a dead end.
“I couldn't do injection molding. I met with probably 10 different companies who told me that my designs wouldn't work. So I'd send them to companies that did 3D printing and they'd send it back to me and it didn't work. So I’d change the design. That went on for about three years. Then I got the Formlabs.”
Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO, Better Voice
Realizing injection molding wouldn’t work, Oswald tried outsourcing the manufacturing to a local selective laser sintering (SLS) provider but disliked that he didn't have control over how well they were printed and post-processed.
Oswald uses the Formlabs ecosystem for production, including Form 4B, Form Wash, and Form Cure.
After doing some research, Oswald had samples of the Vocal Trainer printed on a Form 3B. “The Formlabs sample of my device was the first that got sent to me from a company where I didn't have to do any post-processing,” he says. When he realized he could get a printer for himself for around the cost of injection molding, Oswald brought a Form 3B in-house.
“Once I did verify that the designs were good, getting my own printers became a low cost way for me to do all the manufacturing at a level where it's like injection molding.”
Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO, Better Voice
Once the design had been verified, Oswald began manufacturing on Form 3B, moving to Form 4B when it was released. Manufacturing with 3D printing enables customization of the trainer, which can be engraved with the user’s name.
3D printing the Vocal Trainer means they can be individually engraved with the users’ name.
It also enables inventory and supply chain control. Oswald produces just what is required, and having control over the entire manufacturing process ensures the Vocal Trainer meets his quality standards. When tariff issues arose in the USA in 2025, “everybody was waiting on inventory to get here and paying more for their inventory,” says Oswald. “It didn't affect me at all because we're printing things here.” In-house 3D printing means manufacturing is resilient.
Biocompatible, Durable, and Resilient: BioMed Black Resin
“We did a lot of testing on the material itself, to see how long it'll last. We did some heat aging and built a cycle tester to test the durability of the springs.”
Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO, Better Voice
Oswald selected BioMed Black Resin for its short-term mucosal membrane contact (<24 hours), sleek aesthetics, and compatibility with disinfection methods. 3D printing with BioMed Black Resin during development enabled comprehensive testing of the device. “We tested to make sure that the optimal back pressure ranges were right in there. Then, because everyone's voice is so different and the amount of pressure you put out changes how much is coming back, we put it a little bit outside the optimal ranges just so people could find that optimal range for themselves. We found the ranges based on what the studies suggested were helpful for people.” Oswald also works with speech pathologists who provide feedback.
BioMed Resin Swatches
Each BioMed Resin swatch features embossed and debossed designs, 0.5-2.0 mm cutout thicknesses, as well as regulatory information unique to that resin.
Scaling Throughput With Form 4B
“Moving from the 3B to the 4B changed things like crazy for us. Our ad spend was pretty much dependent on how many trainers we could produce a day. Once we got the Form 4B, we could just spend whatever we wanted because we can just print them like crazy. It's been amazing having the 4B.”
Braden Oswald, Founder and CEO, Better Voice
60 Vocal Trainer tubes fit on one Form 4 Build Platform and print in about three hours.
| Part | Form 4B quantity per Build Platform | Form 4B print time | Form 3B quantity per Build Platform | Form 3B print time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliders | 80 | ~1 h | 50 | ~6 h |
| Tubes | 60 | ~3 h | 36 | ~12 h |
The increased speed of Form 4B and the larger build platform enable a 10x increase in the throughput per day, just by switching from two Forms 3B 3D printers to two Form 4Bs. Prints are set up so that supports are in places where they do not affect the finish, minimizing finishing time.
Oswald has used Form 4B for manufacturing, adding printers as he scales up.
Manufacturing with 3D printing and having complete control of inventory enables Oswald to make design improvements without worrying about holding onto old inventory designs. Recent design innovations include a linear slider for uniform increase in backpressure and a spot that allows the springs to release so that they aren’t under constant pressure, increasing the longevity of the trainer.
As of late 2025, Oswald is printing on two Form 4Bs that are each in use for 10-12 hours a day, for a total of 6,000 Vocal Trainers a month. But with orders continuing to increase, he will be doubling throughput by the end of the year by adding two more printers for rapid scaling.
Request a free sample part to evaluate Formlabs materials for yourself. Explore Formlabs SLA 3D printers or contact sales to start printing.
