Model of the Week: Squishy Turtle + ID Design Process [Endless Turtle Squishing Fun!]

If any of your hobbies involve turtles and/or squishing things with your fingers while giggling like a schoolchild hopped up on oatmeal pies, you’re going to love our model this week.

Jacob Stanton, also known as ‘jakejake’, has created a small turtle toy that squishes down and bounces around on its springy little legs. They’re so squishy, you could make a bed of them. That’s right, a squishy turtle bed. Not weird at all.

The Squishy Turtle model is a simple 5-piece assembly with five additional shell variations. Each part is designed to print with ABS or PLA, with PLA using for the prints you see here. The top and bottom snap together with two small H-clips, while the sliding head/tail piece rests between. The design is impressive with no support required and loads of possibilities for shell customization!

What does it look like in action? Have a look:

On his website, Jacob provides a detailed breakdown of the design process behind the Squishy Turtle. He describes just how much thought goes into something so seemingly simple and the nice surprises discovered after the 3D modeling begins.

While 3d modeling the turtle, I realized that the lower half, the flexible part, and the legs could all be one piece. This really simplifies the construction, and is possible because of the 3D printing technology’s limited ability to print overhangs. I made sure that most overhangs were “bridged” and some of the surfaces still look a little crusty when printed, but it isn’t too visible and shouldn’t affect the function of the print. After some trial and error, I got the base and shell each print in one piece and made a clip to hold the model together so no glue would be needed.

Read the rest here! You can download the Squishy Turtle on Thingiverse. (Bonus: The idea for the turtle came from his Mini Monster Truck. So much fun!)

Have a model you think everyone needs? Share the link and details with us here!