When brainstorming for the project, I wanted to create something that is handy but fun to move. Therefore, I wanted to make a toy that I could play with no purpose like a fidget spinner. Fidget spinner is a stress relieving toy which is intended to help people who have trouble focusing or those who have psychological stress.
I was researching fidget toys and how they function. I noticed that they could be played anytime and anyplace since they are small and handy. There are many types of fidget toys such as spinner, box, magnet, cube, etc. From these many toys, I trying to think on my own was a difficult process. I remember when I was young, I always played with the stacking toy. I went with the similar aesthetic of this stacking toy. While you can take out the parts of this toy, my toy is just to spin the parts.
1. Sketched an Idea
My original idea was to create a long linked toy. However, I changed my idea to a stackable and spinning toy.
2. Fusion360 Modeling
3. Send to Print
4. I noticed that I cannot print the tall vertical rod.
Since it almost always fails due to falling over and this would ruin the rest of the print and waste filament.
so instead, I decided to use a metal rod
5. Resend without the tall vertical rod
6. Print
I made a large cylinder thread in the middle and the parts can move around the thread. I thought that just the act of spinning and playing around with it could relieve the stress.
Unlike fidget spinner which moves continuously, you can control where and how much the spin could go. Also, if you want, you can take some parts out to spin dynamically.
I was satisfied with how the project turned out. However, I made the hole a bit bigger which makes the spinning little unstable. If I were to do this again, I would like to make the parts fit exactly so that they spin perfectly. However, it is fun to play with and easy to carry around since it is small.
Overall, it was fun to design a toy that I would play with. I also learned how I could design almost anything which made me become confident in 3D modeling and 3D printing.
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