Remember the satisfying click of a cassette tape sliding into a Walkman? The deliberate ritual of selecting an album, studying the liner notes, and committing to a side of music? In an age of endless scrolling and algorithmically generated playlists, that tangible connection to music has become a distant memory for many.
But one ingenious maker is bridging the gap between analog charm and digital convenience. A Reddit user, known as bharms27, has designed and built a stunningly clever DIY project: a fully functional, 3D-printed cassette player that uses NFC technology to control Spotify. It’s a love letter to the past, built with the tools of the present.
The Perfect Blend of Form and Function
At first glance, the device is a straight shot of nostalgia. The enclosure is a beautifully 3D-printed body that mimics the iconic lines and buttons of a classic portable cassette player. But instead of a tape mechanism inside, there’s a dock for your smartphone—the true brains of the operation.
The real magic, however, lies in the "cassettes" themselves. These aren't just static models; they are intricate, multi-part creations. Each tape is assembled from 3D-printed shells, laser-cut acrylic for the transparent window, and finished with custom vinyl labels that give each album a genuine, collectible feel. Small, functional details like screw-joined halves and tiny rollers that spin with the flick of a pencil make the illusion nearly perfect.
Embedded within each custom cassette is a tiny NFC (Near Field Communication) tag. Each tag is programmed with a unique identifier. The process is beautifully simple: you take a physical cassette from your collection and tap it onto (or near) the docked phone. The NFC reader activates, recognizes the tag, and automatically launches the associated album, playlist, or song on a music streaming app like Spotify.
It’s a brilliant way to recapture the intentionality of analog music listening. You’re not just passively listening; you’re physically choosing an artifact and initiating the experience.
The project, which has been warmly received, was shared in detail on the r/3Dprinting subreddit. You can see the original post and the discussion it sparked right here.
From Digital Model to Tangible Music
The creator’s technical execution is as impressive as the concept. The design was meticulously modeled in Rhino 3D and printed on a Bambu Labs P1S 3D printer, a machine praised for its reliability and print quality. The design was deliberately engineered to be 3D-printed without supports, making it more accessible for others to replicate with minimal post-processing fuss.
On the software side, the journey evolved. bharms27 initially built a simple music player using Processing but later transitioned to Android Studio, even enlisting the help of AI to integrate Spotify's controls seamlessly. This development path, however, does mean the project currently favors Android users. The open nature of Android's NFC system allows the phone to read the tags from the cassette without an unlocked screen. iOS's more restrictive NFC policies and varying hardware placements present a barrier, though the developer has noted that an iOS version could be possible with enough community interest.
A Community Chimes In
As with any great maker project, the community response has been a vital part of its evolution. The Reddit thread and other social media shares are filled with praise and creative suggestions for improvements. Popular ideas include adding a feature to automatically pause playback when the cassette is "ejected" (removed from the dock), integrating with other streaming services like YouTube Music, and even adding small displays to show track information.
This conversation highlights a broader trend in the maker community: a desire to create more meaningful interactions with our digital world. This NFC cassette player is more than a gadget; it's a statement about the value of physicality in a digital age.
For those inspired to see more, bharms27 has documented this project and other experiments in tangible digital tech on their Instagram handle, @ritual.industries.
While this specific cassette player isn't currently a commercial product, it stands as a brilliant example of the power of personal fabrication and open hardware. It proves that with a 3D printer like the Bambu Labs P1S, creativity, and some technical skill, we can build the bridges between the fondly remembered past and the digitally connected future—one custom cassette at a time.
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3D Printed digital nostalgia - NFC Cassette Player.
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