This is the yo-yo that my team and I created for 2.008 - Design & Manufacturing II.  This turned out to be one of my favorite classes at MIT. 

This course introduced me to 2 core manufacturing processes that I had not been exposed to previously: injection-molding & thermoforming. 

Aluminum cavity/core molds were CNC machined. The molds were used in the plastic injection-molding machines. Interestingly, the lightsabers were created via an over-molding process to achieve the dual colors.

The thermoformed components were made via a 3D-printed mold and removed from their thermoplastic sheets using a custom punch & die. 

Ultimately, the class taught us about designing products for mass-manufacturing by prioritizing low-cost & highly-repeatable manufacturing processes.

Processes & Tools Used:

CAD/CAM • CNC Mill • Injection Molding • 3D Printing • Thermoforming