Ever since I made a little computer program called Plad for creating 3D shapes out of cubes, I've been thinking of producing a series of toys based on this look. So far I made a few toy prototypes out of wooden cubes and most recently using silicone casting. The latest was a puppy (which happens to be the first software Plad character) celebrating 2006 as the the year of the dog on Chinese calendar. The shape was cast into an aluminum mold made up of multiple pieces which produce no seams when put together. (I liked the idea that a seamless cast could not be easily replicated via another process) A small battery-powered electronics board with an on/off switch and one RGB LED goes inside the toy to make it glow and change colors :)


Plad
A program for creating and animating cube-shaped characters I wrote in 2000.

Smooth-on
Supplier of silicone and mold rubbers for hobby projects.

Silicone cast of the puppy made for Chinese New Year in Feb 2006.
The casting mold was cut out of aluminum sheets by hand and put together using scotch tape.
The circuit used for lighting up the toy. Two batteries drive a small board with a PIC microcontroller that controls RGB lines of a 3-color LED. The board is actually a modified version of a PCB used for 0x10 project some while ago ;)
Silicone puppy is flexible, but also strong enough to stand up on its feet.
Lighting up!
Last Updated:
2006.11.21