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If you've rotated an object in Tinkercad, you may have noticed that two distinct rings appear around your object -- an outer ring with many fine markings, and an inner ring with just a few larger markings.

By keeping your cursor over one of the two rings while you rotate your object, you can modify the precision of the rotation. Use the inner ring to rotate in increments of 22.5 degrees, or use the outer ring for rotating one degree at a time.

It's also possible to snap your rotation to convenient 45-degree increments by holding down the shift key as you rotate. This way, you can take an object laying flat on the workplane and quickly orient it into a perpendicular 90-degree angle.

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Tinkertip: Rotating (inner ring vs. outer ring)

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If you've rotated an object in Tinkercad, you may have noticed that two distinct rings appear around your object -- an outer ring with many fine markings, and an inner ring with just a few larger markings. By keeping your cursor over one of the two rings while you rotate your object, you can modify the precision of the rotation.

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[1DAY_1CAD] CAR (Tinkercad : know-how / style / education)

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Introduction: Design a Space Helmet in Tinkercad

To protect themselves from the cold vacuum of space, astronauts need to have a helmet that provides safety but also functionality in order for them to perform their duties. The space helmets of the future will serve the same function as the ones we use today, but will need to include all kinds of new technology which will enhance any mission they are called on.
Gasping for air on the Moon
With no atmosphere and no air, holding our breath isn't an option on the moon! You'll need a breathing apparatus to get around. Though houseplants and algae could generate enough oxygen inside your moon pod, outside, you're still on your own.

The future of space travel lies in the hands of designers and engineers, just like you. In this Instructable we'll explore designing a Space Helmet using Tinkercad, a fun way to explore design by combining shapes to make your model. Think of it like digital building blocks.

Below is the Space Helmet we will be making together. Take a moment to interact with the model below and see it from all angles before we get started.

The moon is closer than ever with new advancements in space technology. The next breakthrough in space design could come from a designer such as yourself. Let's get making this Space Helmet!

Teacher Notes

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Step 1: Basic Helmet Shape

Go to Tinkercad and start a new design.

From the shape library on the right side of the screen, drop a sphere and a box hole onto the workplane. We will use the box shape to trim off the bottom of the sphere.

Select the box hole and use the white handles on the corners to stretch the shape out larger than the sphere. Use the white handle on the top to change the height of the box, you want to trim off the bottom 1⁄4 of the sphere.

When ready, select both shapes and use the group command from the top toolbar (or ctrl + G).

After grouping you'll notice that the chopped sphere is floating above the workplane. Select the chopped sphere and use the arrow on the top of the shape to drag the shape down to the workplane. You'll know it's resting on teh workplane as the distance meter that appears when you drag it down will reach 0.00.

Step 2: Duplicate + Resize

Next, let's make some copies of this chopped sphere. Select the sphere and duplicate ( ctrl + D), then drag the duplicate to one side.

Now make another duplicate. If you push ctrl + D again right after the fist duplicate you will make another one that automatically is off to the side.

Change one of the duplicates to a hole shape by selecting it and using the color pop-up to make it into a hole. The second duplicate you can change the color to gold and then use the transparent button to change the opacity.

Select both duplicates and resize them by holding down the shift key and pulling the white handle inwards. Holding the shift key constrains the scaling so that it is uniform. We want the duplicates to be only slightly smaller than the original. We can achieve this by starting to scale by dragging, then releasing the mouse and manually entering in a value in the numerical box on screen.

For example, if my original chopped sphere was 70mm in diameter, the duplicates should be 68mm in diameter.

Step 3: Align and Combine

With the duplicated spheres resized, select the resized hole sphere and the original sphere, then select the align tool from the top toolbar.

You will see a grid appear below the two shapes you have selected. We want these shapes to align with each other in both axes. Select the middle node of the grid below the shapes to snap them together in that axis, repeat as needed so both shapes sit centered on each other (the smaller one will disappear inside the larger one).

Drop a rounded roof shape onto the workplane and resize it as needed to make a rounded opening in the front of the chopped sphere. You may want to use the align tool again here to center up the shapes. Make sure to lift the rounded roof shape off the workplane slightly, this will be the bottom portion of the helmet by the chin.

When you're ready, select the chopped sphere with the smaller hole sphere inside, and the rounded roof, and group them together.

Here is what the 3 shapes look like when they are grounded together, the yellow chopped sphere in the background will be the visor added later.

Step 4: Add Visor + Color

With the shell of the helmet made we can move the visor into the shell.

Select the shell and the visor sphere and use the align tool to bring the two together. Don't group them together.

Now is a good time to add some color to the shell to look like a real space helmet. Select the shell and choose a color from the pop-up menu on the right. I chose white.

Step 5: Helmet Collar

The helmet design is coming together, but needs a few more elements to achieve the design we want. Let's add a collar around the bottom of the helmet.

Find the torus shape from the library and drop it onto the workplane. With the torus selected, move the sliders around on the pop-up menu to reduce the thickness of the torus, then grab the handles and resize the torus to be slightly larger than the bottom of the helmet. Using the align tool here is helpful to keep things lined up.

Change the color to black and move the torus height to the bottom of the helmet. Looking good!

Step 6: Helmet Stripe

The helmet shape is great, but looks a little boring with no visual interest on the top. Let's add a stripe to make this helmet more exciting.

Select the shell of the helmet and duplicate the shell, then move the copy off to the side.

Drop a box hole into the workplane and stretch it out so that it covers almost one half of the shell duplicate. Make a copy of the box hole and move it to the side of the helmet, leaving a small section of the shell along the middle uncovered by the hole boxes.

Select both hole boxes and the shell duplicate and group them together, leaving a stripe of helmet.

Here is what mine looks like, colored black.

Step 7: Scale Stripe

Now we need to align these elements back together again. Select everything and align so that the shapes sit on top of each other.

Something doesn't look right here. Because the stripe was made from a duplicate of the shell they are the same size and are sitting inside each other. To fix that we'll select just the stripe and resize it to it's slightly larger than the shell.

With the stripe selected, grab a corner handle and hold shift + alt and drag outwards. The shift key will constrain the scaling to be uniform, and the alt key means to scale from the center of the shape outwards (which keeps the aligned location locked).

You only need to make it slightly larger, so you could type in a number manually into one of the numerical boxes instead of dragging.

Step 8: Helmet Accessories

Now we can add some accessories to the helmet to really bring this deign to life. For my design, I wanted to have an instrument or light cluster on each side of the helmet.

I started by dropping a box onto the workplane, then moving the radius slider on the pop-up to round over the edges.

Next I dropped a cone shape onto the workplane and rotated it by 90°. The align tool was used again to line the two shapes up. I then changed the cone to a hole from the color pop-up menu,

The cone was duplicated and the copy was lifted upwards so the two cones were stacked. The cones and rounded box were all selected and grouped to carve out the cone shape from the box.

A new cone shape was dropped onto the workplane, then rotated and placed like before. I changed the color of the cone to yellow and the carved box to white. The cone was resized to fit inside the cone-shapes carve out.

Once I had the design the way I wanted the entire assembly was selected and move to the side of the helmet. I made a duplicate of this and moved the copy to the other side so there were lights on both sides of the helmet.

This space helmet is complete and ready to explore the final frontier of space! What design choices did you make with your space helmet?

Step 9: Take Your Design to New Heights!

This tutorial was created as part of the Moon Camp Challenge, a yearly 3D design competition by the European Space Agency and the Airbus Foundation, in partnership with Autodesk.

If you're up for the challenge, head out to the competition platform here, find many other moon related 3D design tutorials and submit them to potentially win amazing prizes!

Be the First to Share

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Design a Space Helmet in Tinkercad: To protect themselves from the cold vacuum of space, astronauts need to have a helmet that provides safety but also functionality in order for them to perform their duties. The space helmets of the future will serve the same function as the one...

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We believe that one of the most effective ways to learn software is having interactive lessons and activities baked right into the new user experience. Anyone familiar with Tinkercad's 3D editor or Circuits editor knows how helpful our beginner activities are, and how quickly they can provide a solid foundation for a successful experience in Tinkercad.

The Tinkercad Codeblocks editor now has its own suite of interactive starter activities to help new users learn the moves. You can use this link to jump right into the first activity. Otherwise, you'll find these activities by scrolling down in the launcher menu of any Codeblocks design, or by clicking the word "Codeblocks" in the top left corner (as shown below). From this same window you can also find our Codeblocks Quick Start guide, as well as view and pick apart a handful of great starter designs.

The three new interactive learning activities help beginners take their first steps in computational design and modeling. Activities include:

Intro to Shapes- covers the basics of manipulating the size and color of Shapes and employs core concepts of 3 dimensional space (WxLxH).

Moving Shapes- covers the basics of navigating Shapes through 3 dimensional space, assembling Shapes to build simple things and introducing 3D technical concepts like workspace origin, XYZ axes, plotting with Cartesian coordinates, positive/negative direction, perspective vs. orthogonal views and quadrants.

Rotating Shapes- challenges users to explore single and multi-axis rotation reinforces earlier 3D technical concepts like workspace origin, XYZ axes, plotting with Cartesian coordinates, positive/negative direction, as well as rotational increments.

More to come!
The Tinkercad team is excited to build on these resources and provide you with the kind of compelling, interactive learning content you've come to expect from us. We also encourage you to check out our expanding catalog of free, classroom-ready content on Instructables.

The community of tinkerers, teachers, and students that log-in to Tinkercad every day inspire us to keep improving this site. We always appreciate hearing from you and getting feedback on what's working and what could be better. If you have an idea for us, let us know by reaching out to us on Twitter or Facebook.

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We believe that one of the most effective ways to learn software is having interactive lessons and activities baked right into the new user experience. Anyone familiar with Tinkercad's 3D editor or Circuits editor knows how helpful our beginner activities are, and how quickly they can provide a solid foundation for a successful experience in Tinkercad.

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Definitions and shortcuts

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What is a primitive? What in the world does CAD mean?

If you're new to 3D modeling, you may find yourself lost in all the new vocabulary you encounter. Never fear, we're here to help you find your way!

Below is a glossary of terms commonly used in Tinkercad. If you ever find a word you're unsure about, check below for clarification.

3D Modeling Language Glossary

Align: to place or arrange (things) in a straight line. To use the Align tool, select at least two objects by Shift left-clicking on them or by dragging a box around them. Once selected, click on the Align icon at the top. Simply move your mouse over a node (the black dots) to preview the move.

Angle: a figure formed by two rays, called the sides of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the vertex of the angle. It also measures the amount of turn an object is rotating, for example: 45 degrees or 90 degrees (also called a "right angle.")

Boolean operation: in 3D design, the action of adding, subtracting, or combining primitive shapes.

CAD: computer-aided design is the use of computer systems to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase the productivity of the designer and to assist in the fabrication process. Using CAD is often faster than drafting by hand, and it also allows you to easily export files, such as for 3D printing.

Diameter: a straight line going through the center of a circle connecting two points on the circumference.

Dimensions: a measurable extent of some kind, such as length, width, or height. In its simplest form: a line describes one dimension, a plane describes two dimensions, and a cube describes three dimensions.

Using the "Duplicate" function in Tinkercad

Duplicate: to make or be an exact copy of. To duplicate an object, use Ctrl + D and then drag it out or use the arrow keys.

Export: to convert a file into another format than the one it is currently in. For example, you must export your design in order to print it. Tinkercad also allows you to "share" your design in the form of a PNG image file.

Fabricate: to construct or manufacture. To "make" your design. You can make almost anything through 3D printing or laser cutting.

Flip: a tool that allows you to create the mirror image of an object or to flip it along the x, y, or z axis. Use the Flip icon after you have selected the object. Use Flip and Duplicate together to create complex designs more efficiently.

Gallery: a collection of creations grouped together. Creations in the Tinkercad gallery typically can be copied and tinkered for analysis, modification, and inspiration. You can publish your design by changing the setting to public when you are ready for an audience.

Group: to combine two or more shapes into a part. Do this by selecting them and then choosing the Group icon at the top.
See the handles around the edges of the skull?
Handle: the little squares that appear on the shape when you select it that allow you to resize it by pulling and pushing them.

Hole: a tool used to subtract from a solid shape.

Import: to bring a file from a different program into the one you're using. In Tinkercad, you can import STL files in order to analyze and build upon the 3D designs of others, or SVG files in order to add 2D images like logos and patterns to your designs.

Millimeter: a millimeter is 1/32 or 0.039 of an inch. This is the default unit of measurement in Tinkercad.

Pan: to rotate a camera on the horizontal or vertical axis. Use the right mouse button to do this.

Part: one or more shapes that have been grouped together.

Perpendicular: at an angle of 90 degrees to a given line, plane, or surface.

Plane: a flat surface with no thickness.

The basic "Primitive" types used in the Tinkercad editor

Primitive (or shape): a starting point or building block for 3D design. These shapes can be added, subtracted, and combined with one another to build just about anything. They include: Cube (Box), Cylinder, Tube, Sphere, Torus, and Cone.

Rotate: to move in a circle around an axis or center. When you select an object, the arrows are for rotation. You can rotate on any of the planes.

Ruler: you know what this is in real life! You can access this handy tool for measuring by dragging it out on the workplane. This can enhance your design by allowing you to see an object's exact location on the workplane, and also by making it easier to manually set measurements.
Some of the keyboard shortcuts used in Tinkercad
Scale: to change the size of an object so that its dimensions are proportional to the original size. You can do this by holding down the Shift key while pushing and pulling the handles to resize.

Shortcut: computer keys that help provide an easier and usually quicker method of navigating and executing commands in computer software programs. Here is a link to a list of Tinkercad shortcut keys.

Workplane: the large, blue grid where you create your designs. You can drag out new workplanes onto the surfaces of your shapes for easier stacking and more precise measuring.

X, Y, Z axes: an axis is an imaginary line about which an object can rotate, which also serves as a fixed reference for measuring position. In a Cartesian coordinate system, the z-axis is perpendicular to both the x-axis and y-axis and usually represents depth or the third dimension. You can lift objects up off the workplane and along the z axis by using the black arrow pointing up from the center of the object.

Zoom: to move a camera from a long shot to a close-up gradually. Use the wheel on the mouse to do this.

If you've enjoyed this post, check out How to Teach the Language of 3D Modeling and Design on Instructables for a deeper dive into 3D modeling terminology.

Keep an eye on the Tinkercad blogand our social media channels ( Twitter, Facebook) for more step-by-step guides, design challenges and other inspiration.

In the meantime, please see our recent posts titledHello Tinkercad Friends! Let's #TinkerTogether and Parents Guide to Starting Kids in Tinkercad. They provide more information on some of Tinkercad's useful features for parents, teachers, and students.

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What is a primitive? What in the world does CAD mean? If you're new to 3D modeling, you may find yourself lost in all the new vocabulary you encounter. Never fear, we're here to help you find your way! Below is a glossary of terms commonly used in Tinkercad.

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Unknown Text, Letter Illusion - ADVANCED: No sound

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78) Into the unknown! Dual letter Illusion with Tinkercad + 3D printing | 3D modeling How to make

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step by step

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Navigate to Characters in the Shapes drop-down menu, find the egg shape and place it on the workplane. Holding Shift, scale it down to 10mm.Under the Edit menu, choose duplicate. Holding Shift, move the duplicate about 20mm on the Y axis.Choose duplicate from the edit menu again. Duplicate will apply the same rotation to the new grapes.Choose duplicate one more time to have a total of eight grapes.Select four grapes on one side of the gape and move them to meet the other side.This will be the first ring. Select all the grapes in the ring.Rotate the new ring 25 degrees. Keep the current ring selected.Choose duplicate from the Edit menu.Keep choosing duplicate, making sure not to deselect the ring. Duplicate rings until there is a total of five rings.Create a duplicate of one grape, and use it to fill in the gaps (blue grapes) Make sure to rotate the blue grapes so the tops are leaning towards the center.With all four blue grapes selected, move them up 3mm.Select all of the white and blue grapes. Make a duplicate of the larger ring and move it up about 5mm. Keep the current ring selected.Rotate the duplicate ring 45 degrees and keep the ring selected.Choose duplicate from the edit menu two more times to have a total of four large rings.Make a new duplicate of a single grape.Make another copy from the single grape and move it 14mm, while holding shift.Select the six new grapes and move them to cover the whole on the top of the bunch.Place an egg on the workplane and scale it down to 10mm. Change the color to purple. Make a duplicate. Rotate it 45 degrees and move the duplicate up so it rests on the original as shown in the image.Make a duplicate of the top grape. Under the Adjust menu, choose mirror and move the duplicate to the other side.Duplicate the two top grapes and rotate them 90 degrees on the Z axis.Position the stem at the top of the bunch.Find the Shape Generators (All) section on the right hand menu. Go to page 5 to find the Cute Heart shape and place one on the workplane.Scale the heart so it is thin like a leaf and color it green.Attach the leaf to the stem.

In this tutorial you'll learn how to create grapes in Tinkercad -- from a single grape to a whole bunch. It's a fun way to get familiar with Tinkercad's duplicate and rotate tools.

The following information is a single lesson in a larger, guided Tinkercad project. If you'd like to follow along step-by-step from within your Tinkercad 3D editor, just sign-in to your account and follow this link. Otherwise, you can find all of the steps and images in this blog post.

Note: The images used in this guide we're taken from an older version of Tinkercad. You may notice some differences in the layout and the icons used to represent some features. Additionally some of the shapes mentioned (egg, cute heart) have moved locations. Their new locations has been updated in the text.

Change its color to purple.

Rotate both grapes 23 degrees so their tops point toward each other

Select both grapes and make duplicates of them. Keeping the two new grapes selected, rotate them 31 degrees so they touch the edge of the original grapes. Keep the grapes selected.

Duplicate the ring and move it up about 7mm. Keep your current ring selected.

Select the top ring of grapes and change the color to white. This will help keep things organized.

Position the camera to look down on at the top. Move the grapes in the top ring away from the center as shown in the image.

Select both new grapes. Holding Alt, rotate the pair until their edges touch with the original pair.

Repeat step to fill in the gap.

Select the grapes of this new cluster and move them to fill the bottom of the grape bunch.

From the Basic Shapes menu, place a cone on the workplane and scale it so it is thin and tall for the stem.

AND.....you're done. Great work!

Keep an eye on the Tinkercad blog and our social media channels ( Twitter, Facebook) for more step-by-step guides, design challenges and other inspiration.

In the meantime, please see our recent posts titled Hello Tinkercad Friends! Let's #TinkerTogether and Parents Guide to Starting Kids in Tinkercad. They provide more information on some of Tinkercad's useful features for parents, teachers, and students.

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Navigate to Characters in the Shapes drop-down menu, find the egg shape and place it on the workplane. Holding Shift, scale it down to 10mm.Under the Edit menu, choose duplicate. Holding Shift, move the duplicate about 20mm on the Y axis.Choose duplicate from the edit menu again.

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Advanced Projects

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Tinkercad + 3D Modeling + 3D printing - YouTube

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Let's Make Something with Tinkercad & 3D printing!