Whale Cam Toy

This week I designed a CAM toy using Fusion 360 to be laser cut out of cardboard, in the shape of a humpback whale.

Step 1: Designing the Whale

I knew I wanted to design something which could be either laser cut or 3D printed, and ended up building it with a combination of both materials. To do this, all my parts had to be designed flat and then extruded to the same width, so I opted to make up the whale's body with a series of circles. The whale's tail was designed upright, with the idea of making it out of cardboard and then bending the toilet a 90 degree angle so the stem could be moved up and down and the tail itself could be horizontal.

Each part of the whale was matched with a cam, with the head and tail having holes in the cams placed in opposite locations to the middle, with interpolations of hole heights in the other pieces, to give a wriggling effect.

Step 2: Laser Cutting

I laser cut all of the pieces for the base after testing kerf tolerances for the different connecting pieces. I left more tolerance for the sliding joints than the rigid ones. I ran out of time to cut the whale parts, and decided to 3D print instead.

Step 3: 3D Printing and Assembly

I 3D printed the rest of the whale parts and assembled (see partially finished whale photo). Unfortunately the weight of the 3D printed parts is too much for the cardboard cams/shaft to move, so I will need to reinforce or use just one material for future iterations.