I have a 3d printer and was thinking of creating and potentially selling a yoyo design. Do you have any advice on good 3d printing software for yoyo design?
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What you need is some cad software to design the yoyo in. There is one to be had for free called autocad inventor but it’s not great. A decent cad program costs a ton. For example I use solid edge and the only reason I can afford it is I used to be an engineer at a company where my good friend is head engineer and he let me keep my seat to it. Also all of them require some training to use. If you are wanting to get init it and learn though I’d say go track down autocar inventor, and start with some tutorials. I dont know if inventor has an option to print directly from the program, I know solid edge does. If inventor does not, I know there are programs that are not fully functioning cad programs, but allow you to import cad models to send to a printer. Hope this helps some!
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Fusion 360 is free for hobby/startup use. I’ve used it for all of the designs I’ve made, including one that is for sale here at YYE.
It took me a couple months of occasional practice doing throwaway designs before I found a winner, but with 3D printing you can actually test your designs much more quickly, and potentially, learn faster.
I wrote a whole thread about my learning process here: Yoyo CAD & Prototyping Adventures
Are you already pretty familiar with 3D printing? There’s some tricky parts of it that aren’t really apparent at first, especially with yoyos. You’ll probably want to use 100% infill, and it should be concentric circles instead of a waffle pattern. There should also be a setting or option to reduce z-level seams that is important to use. The trickiest part is making the guts - it’s easier for fixed-axle types, especially since the overall weight/width of the yoyo can be lighter, which is suitable for that style of play.
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Thanks for the software recommendation. I’m pretty familiar with 3d printing but I’m new to designing yoyos, so I appreciate the tips.
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Awesome, can’t wait to see your designs, then! If you need help with Fusion360 feel free to reach out.
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