Autodesk Launches Tinkerplay App, Making 3D Modeling & Printing Easy & Fun

We all know how important 3D modeling and printing will be in the years to come. If I had children, I would be teaching them at the earliest age possible how to model with CAD software, and ultimately how to use a 3D printer, as the world our children will be entering as adults will likely be foreign to what we are all familiar with today.

Autodesk realizes the importance of 3D modeling and printing on future generations, and how important it is to get younger generations using their products and services at an early age. The best way to teach children, and even adults, about a new concept or how to use a new technology is by creating a learning experience which is fun, exciting, and rewarding. That’s just what Autodesk aims to accomplish with the release of their new Tinkerplay application.

Tinkerplay is based on the Modio app which Autodesk acquired last year. The app allowed for simple, intuitive and entertaining construction of models which were almost immediately available for 3D printing without the need for additional rafts or support material. Autodesk has since added new features, functionality and parts to the application, and has today announced the release of it under the Tinkercad family of products.

“Creators, designers and makers from ages five to ninety, have blown us away with their passion for 3D modeling and 3D printing,” stated Samir Hanna, vice president and general manager, Autodesk Consumer and 3D Printing. “With Tinkerplay, we’re providing another great tool designed for kids of all ages who want to play, create and tinker.”

The whole premise of the Tinkerplay app is to engage children in 3D modeling by enticing them to design modular creatures and characters, color them in, 3D print the modules out and then put them all together. Depending on the user’s skill level they can either select from a growing collection of professionally designed character templates or create their own models themselves. Things like texture and color can be adjusted so that each model is unlike any other.

Users also have the opportunity to play around with their 3D creation on their smartphone or tablet, by placing them in various scenes and backgrounds at varying times of the day and in numerous positions.

When it comes time to 3D print a model out, the software quickly orders each module of the model by color and then neatly arranges them on the build platform so that the user gets a ‘perfect print every time’.

The Tinkerplay application is available on both mobile and desktop devices, using any of the following operating systems: iOS, Android, Windows and Windows phones. It is available for download immediately at Google Play, the App Store, and the Windows Store. Let us know if you have downloaded and tested this exciting 3D modeling application out. Discuss in the Tinkerplay forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out a short clip of the Tinkerplay application in action: