Fermicaster – Stratocaster Built at School
From CAD modeling to a working guitar: an integrated mechatronics project
Fermicaster is an educational project involving the modeling and actual production of a Stratocaster-style electric guitar, created by the students of the 5A Mechanical 25-26 class at ITIS Fermi in Castrovillari (CS).
The project began last year with the fourth-year class and was completed this year, evolving into a biennial journey that integrated CAD design, 3D printing, CNC machining, mechanical assembly, and applied electronics.
Technical Specifications
- Type: Stratocaster-style
- Scale: 25.5" (648 mm)
- Body Material: PLA (divided into multiple sections printed separately in different colors; 100% infill)
- Neck: Maple bolt-on, salvaged from a guitar unused for about 25–30 years
- Electronics: Standard configuration with 3 Stratocaster-style single coils.
Project Goal
The idea was simple yet ambitious: to design and build a functional electric guitar starting from a digital model of the body, adapting it for production via 3D printing, and completing it with real components made or assembled in the laboratory.
The students then:
- Modeled the body using the CAD software available at the school (Autodesk Inventor), following the Stratocaster shape.
- Divided the model into printable parts, optimizing joints and mating surfaces.
- 3D printed the parts in different colored PLA, finished them manually, and glued them together to obtain the complete body.
- Manufactured some mechanical components using CNC machining.
- Assembled the neck and electronics.
The body was printed with 100% infill, reinforced with two 10 mm hardened steel bars embedded in the body to ensure greater structural rigidity.
The neck was bolted to the body following the Fender tradition.
Some metal parts were made internally using CNC machining. In particular, the strap-locks were designed by the students and produced in the technology lab by programming the appropriate operations on the CNC machines available at the institute.
This choice is consistent with the principle that guided the entire project: to manufacture all components internally where possible, enhancing the design and production skills developed during the mechatronics course.
The electronics were purchased and mounted directly by the students, who performed:
- Pickup wiring and pickguard mounting
- Soldering and jack positioning
- Final basic setup
The guitar is perfectly functional.
Availability and Support
The Fermicaster is kept in the CAD laboratory of the ITIS building and is available for anyone who wishes to see or try it.
We are also available for anyone who would like to replicate the project and needs technical advice.
Below, we provide the complete CAD and STL files for those who wish to build the project themselves.
👉 GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/antedoro/fermicaster
Mechanical and Electronic Components
- 6-in-line tuning machines - link
- Hardtail fixed bridge Strat type - link
- Pre-wired pickguard with single coil pickups - link)
- Strat-style guitar jack socket - link
- Real bone nut 42 mm - link