Hey all, I wanted to share this throw that I printed! My goal with this one was to print an aesthetic yoyo without support material that accepts side effects. Secondary goals were to make it heavy for performance reasons, yet not brickish and fun to play.
The profile features many small “cuts” which match the stepped design of the cup. I used a hilbert curve for the first layer which looks cool, if imperfect on this print. The absence of support material means no extra stuff to tear off, which damages the print and induces vibe in my experience. I also used variable infill density to concentrate most of the weight toward the outside of the throw (not the rims, but the top and bottom) for stability.
Specs:
Material: rainbow PLA
Diameter: 61.2 mm
Width: 48 mm
Weight: 73.9g with energy dome SEs
I think this design took advantage of the 3D printing process, as I don’t think the undercuts in the cup could be injection molded and they would be challenging to machine. I’m quite happy with it, though there is certainly room for improvement. Vibe is fairly minimal, but I’ve tuned my printer quite a bit in the couple of years since I made it. If I can make a smoother one and shave off like 2 grams, this thing will bang. If such a throw were mass produced, I would probably buy it. I guess creating a yoyo that you would want to play with is the reason most people get into yoyo design.
Anyways, here’s a trick! It is very satisfying throwing a trick that you created with a yoyo that you also created. Let me know what you think!
