Making Your Own Micro:city Props, Structures, and Accessories With Tinkercad

micro:city is a project meant for micro:bits. It is made with Tinkercad. You can view it here.

You'll need a Tinkercad account and a big enough printer. A micro:bit is optional but highly recommended.

1. Log in to Tinkercad.
2. Click create.
3. Click 3D Design.

Tinkerplay is a system by Tinkercad. It is used to print joints.

1. Look for a button saying "Basic Shapes", and click on it.
2. You should see a menu.
3. Click on "hardware".
4. You should see a ball and a socket. Add these two to your design.

Note: This is optional, see step 7 for more info.

Now, build a model connecting to the ball. You can also build another model connecting to the socket.

Use the villager model as a guide. In detail:

1. Click here for a model of a micro:city villager. You will want your villager to fit through the door.
2. Remix the design.
3. Use it to guide you through the size of the door.

Note: It is highly recommended to use orthographic (flat) view when determining the size of the door, as perspective view warps the model, so you might get a door too big.

You also must have the inside be hollow if you want to play inside. To do this:

1. Duplicate the house shape.
2. Shrink the duplicate down, and make it a hole.
3. Select both the solid and hole shapes.
4. Group them.

Non-Cosmetic Building Criteria:

"non-cosmetic" refers to buildings that villagers can go inside.

1. Roof must be able to open and close, for easy play.
2. Villager must fit through the door.
3. Inside must be hollow.

You can attach accessories to your micro:bit. Just make sure it doesn't come into contact with the components.

1. Set the ball aside.
2. Click the "hardware" button. You should see the same menu as when you went into the "hardware" collection.
3. Click the "electronics" button.
4. Add a micro:bit to your design. The micro:bit model is to scale.
5. To do this, press the right arrow next to two LEDs, then press "Boards".
6. You can now drag a micro:bit into your design.
7. Make your micro:bit a hole.
8. Overlay the micro:bit over the socket.
9. The micro:bit model does not have the components shown. Make sure the socket is centered.
10. Select both objects, and group them.
11. On mobile, tap the two objects.
12. On a desktop, click and drag. You should see a red box.
13. Drag the box over both objects.

Your accessory should now fit your micro:bit.

The micro:bit intentionally has its components exposed for educational reasons, so it's important to consider where there are components and where there are not. If your accessories touch the components, you might risk the following in the list below:

1. You might get electrocuted.
2. Your micro:bit might malfunction or even get damaged.
3. If your accessory is wet, it may risk even more. Dry well after cleaning accessories with water.
4. If your micro:bit is from your school, you may have to pay a lot or suffer from other punishments.

The joints are optional, not required. Sometimes, you don't want your villagers to hold your item, or maybe it has no moving parts at all, and that is completely OK! Let your creativity break free, as long as your item is compatible.

Again, your creativity is your limit, as long as your model is compatible with your micro:bit or micro:city. If you are ever out of ideas, look around for inspiration, and you may eventually have one!