3D Jigsaw Puzzle

thingiverse

With a 3D printer, making an excellent sense out of creating a 3D jigsaw puzzle seems like a no-brainer! It usually takes most people about 30 minutes to solve it, and so far, everyone has enjoyed it (your mileage may vary). The easiest thing to do is simply print out the 8 STL files that will give you all 64 pieces for my 4x4x4 puzzle. However, you can also choose to make your own! Run the included Python script, giving as arguments the dimensions of your desired puzzle (for example, "random_puzzle.py 4 4 4 > MyJigsaw.scad"). The output file (MyJigsaw.scad) can be read into OpenSCAD, and now you can modify the final line of the file (the one with "many_cubes()") to build an array of cubelets. When I printed, I went 8 at a time because more than that wouldn't fit on my printer's build plate, and going 9 at a time still means I need 8 total STL files, so I just went with 8 x 8-cube files. Anyway, you go through a cycle of: * Update the many_cubes() line * Press F6 to render * Save the STL file * Repeat! Some people have commented that the puzzle would be better if the pieces actually snapped together. I thought so too, but there are two reasons. First, if the pieces snap together, then when two or three pieces are in a corner configuration, it's hard to impossible to fit the new one in without pulling them apart anyway. Second, I don't have a good design for a snap shape that is both easy to put together and pull apart, and hold together all within the tolerance of my standard PLA printer.