Introduction: SNOW RIP 3D Printed Doll Using TinkerCAD

By Amy's Crazy Crafts
About: I am an engineer by day and crafter/gamer by night!

Anyone can design and print their own SNOW RIP doll.

Roberta's only friend in the beginning of the book Roe-bot Girl: Best Friend App is a Snowman Robot doll she calls Snow. Snow’s full name was SNOW RIP, which was an acronym for “So no one within reach inclined to play”.  Snow is interactive and lights up later on in the book but at the beginning of the book he does not work anymore.  This Instructable will show how to make the doll. 

This is how you can design and print your own form of the doll with TinkerCAD.

Shown below is a Mini Snow doll in his vacation cottage.

I pictured the doll in the book to be an 18" doll similar in size to an American Girl Doll.  I designed and printed the example in the picture to be about the size of an "Mini American Girl" doll, he ended up being about 7". 

This Instructable has assumed you have a log in at TinkerCAD and have gone through the Lessons. (It is free)
https://tinkercad.com
If you want to have a cloth body for Snow then you'll have to have some cloth and a way to sew it. This is not covered in this Instructable.

Step 1: Decide on Size

I printed a Mini Snow due to cost and machine printing area.  The 3D printer we had at the time did not have the print area to print a full size American Girl doll sized head.  I did not want to print in parts and glue together so I got quotes from other printers and they were in the hundreds of dollars for other printers to print the parts.  Thus to save money I went with a Mini Snow, I could print myself. 

Choose your size of doll for this project. TinkerCAD does not mass re-size, you will have to re-size each part individually.

There will be 3-5 parts you will be designing.
   A head
   Arm (I designed one and used it twice, if you want two different arms you'll have to design two different arms.)
   Leg (I designed one and used it twice, if you want two different legs you'll have to design two different legs.)

Draw the general idea out on a piece of paper.

I measured the parts of an American Girl Mini Doll for mine.  I decided I wanted Snow to stand and not be able to wear shoes, so his feet are bigger.  I did not think about his hands/claws and made those too big to fit in most clothing.  Since you are designing your own doll you do not need to have all the measurements below.  The drawings are just giving you an idea on what to design. 

Note: I used the smallest Zip Ties I could find then added about an 1/8 inch to the part where the Zip Ties attach to the cloth body. "Size this to your Zip Ties" remember to add the extra height of the cloth you are going to use for the body. If you decide to make a 3D printed body you do not need this part.

Step 2: Built It in TinkerCAD

Start moving the pieces in TinkerCAD until you have your Snow model built!
https://tinkercad.com

I have listed my files as public if you search "Snow Rip" they should come up and you can copy them and paste them as you like. Re-size them to the model you want printed.  They are not sized to an American Girl Mini doll, I did this when 3D printing them myself.
Make sure to re-size to the Zip Ties you are going to be using with cloth width added.

A few pointers:
The top left corner under "Inspector" will change the color of the Geometric (piece).
Once "locked" the piece cannot be changed until it is "unlocked"
Make sure to look at the model from all sides that all parts are attached correctly.  Sometimes they look good from one view but are floating out in space in another view.

Step 3: 3D Printing

TinkerCAD has many ways to get your project printed.
If you want to print it yourself then you can download the 3D printable files.
If you do not have a printer then you can pick who you would like to print your files.
The four choices they currently offer are in a screen shot below.

Step 4: Putting Snow Together

When you get your pieces paint them. I used craft paints from the local craft store and then sprayed him with a sealer.
For the soft body of snow:
     You will want to measure around the parts that stick out around where the Zip Ties will go and make sure to sew the openings large enough for these to fit into.
     The body is whatever size you want, I measured a Mini American Girl doll for mine then added seam allowances.
     Fold over the edges for the neck, arms and legs and sew them. The fold over not including the seam allowance should be bigger then the width of the Zip Ties, I added about 1/16 inch to the width of the Zip Tie.
     Cut a hole to feed the Zip Tie thru.
     Add stuffing to the body. (This maybe easier if you attach a few of the limbs with Zip Ties first.)
     Put the piece in the corresponding hole and tighten the Zip Tie, it should be in the notch designed for it. Repeat for head, arms and legs.
     Cut Zip Tie ends off.
     Add clothing (if needed) and you are ready to play!

Step 5: Enjoy Snow!

Enjoy your custom Snow Doll while you read the book Roe-bot Girl: Best Friend App.

From December 17-21 2013 Amazon will be offering the ebook of Roe-bot Girl: Best Friend App for free!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HB77NFU