When you can combine 3D printing, product design, Yahtzee and the BBC science-fiction program Doctor Who, you end up with one fun and creative project. We were tasked by USAopoly to create a Yahtzee dice shaker that represented the evil mutant race of the Daleks, extraterrestrial villains who battle the Doctor though time and space. USAopoly is well known for playful variations of games like Monopoly, Risk, Life and Yahtzee.
Here is an inside look into the development process. Wanting to stay true to the details of the Bronze Asylum of the Dalek characters, we started by reverse engineering images from the original costuming. Paying attention to the fine details, we drew the figure in SolidWorks. SolidWorks is a feature based 3D CAD program that allows us to create a virtual prototype to ensure moldability, symmetry, form and fit. With the geometry fully defined, we 3D printed a rapid prototype to test geometry and to create a showpiece. Prototypes are very helpful to ensure dimensions, test the way it feels and to pitch the product at tradeshows. The 3D print was hand painted to represent a final production piece so it could be showcased.
David Yakos is the VP, Director of Creativity at Salient Technologies, Inc.