• 3D Printed Puzzles

    These projects are recreations of puzzles I enjoy solving. Using the originals as reference, I designed and 3D printed my own.

    12 3D printed pentamino blocks

    3D printed pentamino blocks

  • Puzzle Sphere
    (Spring 2022)

    I made this puzzle as a gift. I modeled it in Blender based on measurements from a similar injection molded version of the puzzle that was missing pieces.

    Download .obj files here!
    a 3D printed puzzle sphere on a stand

    The puzzle sphere

    The most challenging part of the build was ensuring the pieces had enough clearance to assemble, but still fit together snugly.

    To determine the necessary adjustments, I printed and measured test parts. X and y-axes were consistently a fraction of a millimeter under nominal dimension, which was acceptable. The z-axis was printing about 3% too high, so I adjusted the scale of each piece accordingly, and with minimal sanding, the puzzle assembled.

    If I were to try printing it again, I might shrink each piece 0.5% more, which may allow it to assemble without sanding. Alternatively, I might look into calibration software for my printer.

    • a disassembled puzzle sphere
    • a partially assembled puzzle sphere

    The puzzle, disassembled and partially assembled

  • Katamino
    (Fall 2022)

    This is my version of a puzzle game called Katamino. Using the techniques I learned in the puzzle sphere build, I achieved a good fit on my first try.

    • a disassembled puzzle sphere
    • a partially assembled puzzle sphere

    The puzzle in two different configurations

    a decorative dingbat