Zhang Shuai, a Douyin uploader, creates a wearable, design-forward pink mecha suit for his daughter with 3D printing technology. Photo: Screenshot from Zhang's Douyin account

A Chinese father used 3D printing technology to create a wearable, design-forward pink mecha suit for his daughter. A video documenting the making process as well as his daughter showing off the suit in public was posted on Chinese social media platform Douyin on January 30, which has garnered more than 330,000 likes.

In the video, Zhang Shuai, a content creator from Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, explained that he had previously made a cardboard Optimus Prime-style Transformers armor for his daughter, but she had outgrown it. This time, he redesigned the project from scratch, drawing a complete set of Transformers armor blueprints.

Most of the production relied on 3D printing. Zhang first printed all the helmet components and assembled them like building blocks. To make it easier to put on and take off, the face mask was designed with magnetic attachments, while the helmet itself features a low-profile shape designed to better match a young girl's softer facial contours.

The torso section involved the largest number of parts and the biggest components. He designed the chest armor as a split structure to improve wearability. The arm pieces incorporate built-in gloves, with detailed hand armor carefully recreated. He also added a playful "hand cannon," inspired by a bubble gun his daughter had previously enjoyed.

The shoulder armor, a signature element of Transformers, recreates the iconic exhaust-pipe design associated with the Autobots. To accurately render the emblem, Zhang used a laser module that can be quickly swapped onto the printer to engrave the outline and attached the shoulder pieces to the main body. The arms use a similar connection method. The waist section, which links the upper body to the leg armor, serves as a key structural component holding the entire suit together.

In the video, when Zhang's daughter stepped out onto the street wearing the one-of-a-kind pink mecha suit, the appearance quickly drew curious and friendly attention from passers-by, many of whom stopped to take photos with her.

According to a previous report by Yangtse Evening Post, a local media outlet in East China's Jiangsu Province, Zhang had already attracted widespread attention in October 2023 for making a homemade space station toy for his daughter. Since she was three years old, he has been creating toys for her using various eco-friendly materials, including an Iron Man piggy bank, a hand-cranked candy vending machine, a mini washing machine, and a toy microwave oven model.

"Almost everything is made from easily accessible, environmentally friendly materials like cardboard, plastic balls, markers, and buttons. The earliest works were quite simple and focused mainly on creativity. Some ideas seem ordinary at first, but once I make them, people realize there are new ways to play with these things," Zhang was quoted by Yangtse Evening Post as saying.

Global Times