3D Hubs and Autodesk Tinkerplay Join Forces for Robot Design Contest

3D Hubs is teaming up with Autodesk Tinkerplay on a project that will allow designers to print their own robot toys. With the Tinkerplay app, it’s possible to drag and drop different body elements, select customizable textures and colors, and then use 3D Hubs to 3D print the robots – directly from the app.  And as part of the rollout, the integration will feature a contest for the ultimate robotic creation.

Starting today and running through Sunday June 28, designers will have the chance to win a 3D printed version of their Tinkerplay robot. Entering the contest is as simple as sharing the design on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #3dhubsxrobot. One winner will be chosen each day for the duration of the contest.

Autodesk says Tinkerplay, a free app designed for kids of all ages that introduces creative play through 3D design and 3D printing, is an outgrowth of the popular Modio app. The 3D printed parts built with the app can be snapped together to “make the world of 3D design simple, fun and engaging.”

Samir Hanna, the vice president and general manager of Autodesk Consumer and 3D Printing, says that creators, designers and makers have “blown us away with their passion for 3D modeling and 3D printing.”

“With Tinkerplay, we’re providing another great tool designed for kids of all ages who want to play, create and tinker,” Hanna says.

All the robot parts from the Tinkerplay app are interchangeable, and they’re optimized for 3D printing. The final bots are fully posable characters and creatures, and they’re all designed to make certain they don’t require rafting or support material to print. A print function in Tinkerplay displays the layout of parts for 3D printing, and it provides an easy way to export all the necessary files straight to a variety of 3D printers.

If you have the skills, users with a bit more experience can create completely new parts using the Tinkerplay connectors which can be found as part of the Tinkercad web app.  Tinkerplay is available on mobile platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, and Windows phones, and the app can be downloaded free from the App Store, Google Play, or the Windows Store for Windows 8.1 users.  Users can select from a large and expanding collection of professionally-designed character templates or build custom models within the app.

Will you be using Autodesk Tinkerplay and 3D Hubs to locally output your robotic creations and enter the robot design contest? Let us know in the Autodesk Tinkerplay and 3D Hubs forum thread on 3DPB.com.