Fun and cever wind-ulp toy 3D printed in one piece, no assembly required

3D printing and toys: it's a perfect combination. Not only is it relatively easy to do with your own desktop 3D printer, everyone understands the attractiveness of toys

While great fun to make and give, I’ve found that some spoiled children nowadays quickly get bored of them as it doesn’t move and only relies on their own imagination. And 3D printing a moving toy can quickly become a challenging project.

In that respect, the wind-up toy car seen above is a perfect solution. Designed by Australian student and Shapeways producer Luke Ditria, the wind-up toy car is not only a very fun toy, its beautiful designs – with visible innards – is absolutely fascinating. And, as can be seen in the YouTube clip below, it runs like a train once wound up. I know a few kids who’d get a big kick out of it (including myself).

By the looks of it, you wouldn’t say that Ditria (and his Shapeways/Etsy shop Facetious) actually specializes in 3D printing beautiful and original jewellery. As he explained, the design is therefore the result of a long and arduous design process. "This working prototype is the result of lots of hard work, a few print iterations, a TON of design iterations and a bit of dumb luck (in the form of a few lucky guesses)", Ditria writes. "I was very excited pulling this little toy car out of the box when it finally arrived and have been quite surprised by its performance after only a few actual prints of the whole wind-up gear box system! (I was surprised it moved at all)."

Impressively, the wind-up toy car is 3D printed in a single piece of about 6 x 6 x 9 cm and has a strong but flexible body, making it perfect to play with. The car also comes with a wind-up key, though like toy cars of old it can also be wound but by simply pulling the car back. Before use however, the car requires quite a bit of manual cleaning to get it rolling.

While still a prototype, this cool little toy can already be ordered through Shapeways for €69 euros (or $79) – a little expensive, but for that price you do get a marvel of 3D printed manufacturing. Over the coming weeks, Ditria will work on some last kinks in the design (such as the cleaning stage), but the current model is already perfect to play with. Check it out here!