# Modeling a yoyo for manufacturing
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727
**Category:** Looking for Help/Recommendation
**Created:** [January 23, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727 "2024-01-23T14:17:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dragonfruitea](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/dragonfruitea)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/1 "2024-01-23T14:17:21Z")
hey does anybody have any knowledge on how to model things also im using a school computer
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### Author:  [@EricInfinity](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/EricInfinity)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2024, 2:27pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/2 "2024-01-23T14:27:10Z")
I’d suggest a 3d camera and some half decent CAD software to transfer the image to a workable CAD.
Essentially you need to do this.
Model Yoyo with image capture tools →
Use captured images and port to CAD software →
Use CAD software to modle and tweak for production/rendering
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### Author:  [@MarkD](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MarkD)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/3 "2024-01-23T15:02:22Z")
> **[FreeCAD: Your own 3D parametric modeler](https://www.freecad.org/)**
>
> FreeCAD, the open source 3D parametric modeler
FreeCAD is a free, open-source parametric modeler. I have been using it for my yoyo company since 2021, including 15 yoyo models that I’ve had manufactured or prototyped.
It has its own collection of tutorials: [https://wiki.freecad.org/Tutorials](https://wiki.freecad.org/Tutorials)
[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/uploads/yoyoexpert1/original/4X/d/1/2/d12aab3782a4ab938a87d7db399e10dfdc02741f.jpeg "Yoyo Design 101: Lesson 1: Introduction and "The Guts"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RmFeVW3wSk)
This short video series talks about design/physics/manufacturing of yoyos. A must-watch.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLWmlUBMq1m9eKpMDYjLmfK-D2YlKGBSbb&wmode=transparent&rel=0&autohide=1&showinfo=1&enablejsapi=1
Here’s a playlist that walks through the entire process of taking a yoyo design from concept to production. The resulting yoyo was the [Mk1 Spyglass](https://shop.yoyoexpert.com/products/spyglass-yoyo-by-mk1?variant=42478938947774).
> [@Yoyo CAD & Prototyping Adventures](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-cad-prototyping-adventures/291547):
>
> About a month ago I realized that designing your own yo-yo and actually prototyping it is a lot more approachable than I thought. There’s a lot of great CAD software out there, a lot of it free to use for this purpose, and there are machine shops that specialize in yo-yos, even for one-off runs. The price for this is expensive, but I’ll end up with something real, and personal, and special. I started learning CAD using [Fusion 360](https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview), which has a free startup license that you can activate from the …
This thread has a lot of useful information as well, many other folks have designed/produced their own yoyos and shared their stories on these forums.
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### Author:  [@yoyoxcellence](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/yoyoxcellence)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/4 "2024-01-23T15:54:51Z")
As Mark said use freecad to follow those tutorials then you can learn to export to blender to showcase the design well.
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### Author:  [@Shwa](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Shwa)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/5 "2024-01-23T20:14:24Z")
> [@EricInfinity](#):
>
> I’d suggest a 3d camera and some half decent CAD software to transfer the image to a workable CAD.
I would be interested in a listing of the tools that can complete this task. Have you done this?
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### Author:  [@dragonfruitea](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/dragonfruitea)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2024, 10:24pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/6 "2024-01-23T22:24:30Z")
not yet
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### Author:  [@Tempura](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Tempura)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/7 "2024-01-24T01:41:15Z")
Probably something like the Intel RealSense and a turn table.
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### Author:  [@Shwa](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Shwa)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/modeling-a-yoyo-for-manufacturing/392727/8 "2024-01-24T02:49:26Z")
That looks cool.
It’s the “turning the file into a workable CAD file” that is the tricky part. If folks have a clean way to do that I would be interested in learning.