The Yo-yo is a toy that dates back thousands of years. While documentation dates this toy back to 500 BC in Greece, historians believe that the Yo-yo really originated even long before that in China. The modern-day yo-yo came about in the late 1920’s when a man named Pedro Flores opened the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California. Since that time, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of variations on the toy, with kids from every generation having a familiarity.
Microsoft is a company that tries to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology, although in recent years some may say that they have fallen behind the likes of Apple and Google. When it comes to 3D printing, Microsoft realizes that the technology has a major place in our future, thus they have been preparing for this future by modifying their software and hardware to prepare themselves for what some may consider a “3D printing revolution”. Revolution or not, Microsoft has already integrated Kinect into 3D Builder, allowing for full body 3D scanning and printing using the popular X-Box accessory. They’ve also begun supporting 3D printing in Windows 8.1, while at the same time becoming a reseller of MakerBot 3D printers.
Today, Microsoft has released their collection of 3D printable yo-yos, a collection that includes four different versions of everyones’ favorite toy. The yo-yos, which can be download for free starting today, can be 3D printed on virtually any FFF-based 3D printer. All four of the yo-yos are printed in three separate pieces, and they all feature unique designs. Once printed, they are easily assembled, as is, only requiring that you supply the string.
While we have not printed one of these ourselves yet, 3D printers are usually fairly accurate, so there should be no balance issues when printing them. We would suggest that you use a rather dense infill when printing any of these yo-yos, so that they have a decent weight to them. You may wish to experiment with the infill amount to see which density creates the best working toy.
It should be interesting to see what might come next from Microsoft, who has been publishing more and more 3D printable design files as of late. What do you think? Have you 3D printed any of these yo-yos yet? How did they work? What would you like to see next from Microsoft? Discuss in the 3D printed Yo-yo forum thread on 3DPB.com.
