After the unsuccessful smash attempt in Miami, the guitar had only suffered a few scratch marks. It was signed by Yngwie Malmsteen before heading back to Sandvik’s hometown of Sandviken, Sweden, where Yngwie had previously followed the production of the guitar.
"This guitar is a beast! Sandvik is obviously on top of their game. They put the work in, they do their hours, I can relate to that," Malmsteen said. "The result is amazing. I gave everything I had, but it was impossible to smash."
In the project, Sandvik gathered experts from across the company to demonstrate how they could use sustainable, cutting-edge techniques to make something that is both highly precise and amazingly durable.
Sandvik engineers teamed with renowned guitar designer Andy Holt, of Drewman Guitars, to match Malmsteen's exacting musical standards and his lightning-fast playing style.
For the guitar's 3D printed body, Sandvik relied on its world-leading expertise in metal powder and additive manufacturing. Lasers traced a design in beds of fine titanium powder, fusing layers of material one on top of the other.
The guitar's neck and fretboard were machined from a solid block of recycled stainless steel. To strengthen the fret and neck as they extended into the guitar's body a new, super-light lattice structure was sandwiched between the guitar's neck and fretboard.
Sandvik has been supporting Engineers Without Borders Sweden since 2017. Through their important work, solving engineering challenges related to inequality and global development, people around the world have been able to raise their standard of living.
