Braille cube

thingiverse

This is a prototype of an ongoing Braille educational toys development project. It's simply a cube with letters embedded in it. The design allows users to print six identical cube sides and pins that can be used to form Braille font letters. After assembling the cube, it can be glued together or used as a puzzle without glue. WARNING! Use SIDE_01_07_16_release.stl if you experience issues with printing quality - this file has a 0.25mm error included. If your printer doesn't have such problems, use SIDE_07_07_16_release.stl instead. CHANGELOG: 1.07.2016 The design was reviewed to minimize time and plastic usage. 7.07.2016 A file suitable for high-quality printing was added. More information on Braille educational materials can be found on our team website: http://braille-device.com/en/. You may write me if you want to get additional support or want to get source models. Post-Printing Assembly Manual To make a full cube, first print six sides and six sets of pins. You can print fewer pin sets, but make sure you'll have enough to create characters. Below is the English Braille alphabet that you can use as a reference. Each side has a specific mark - filled corners, so blind people know how to read it properly. Note: Ukrainian Braille readers usually expect this mark to be below the letter. Ensure that you assemble cubes in a convenient way for blind individuals in your region. *Source: http://fontmeme.com/images/Braille-Alphabet-550x466.png* Step 1 When printing is finished, carefully cut the pins using side cutters or a knife. You will get six round dots and six flat caps. Each pin has a square base, and thin connections should be removed. Left - flat cap, right - round dot. Pins after cutting Step 2 Now form a letter by inserting pins into the sides. It is recommended to use reasonable force while putting them, so glue is optional. Holes in the sides are pretty tight, you may need to grind the pins. Make six sides for each cube you want to make. Here's the front side of a letter Reverse side. Six sides with pins. Letters from top left: E, G, B, D, A, W. Step 3 Now it's time to assemble the sides to get a cube. Since all sides are identical, it's hard to assemble the cube in the wrong way. Connections between sides are also tight, so you may need to grind them too. Usually, no glue is required. Here's the way you assemble the sides. And finally, here's the assembled cube. Notice leftover pins - one set allows you to make any letter, so there will always be some leftovers. It's ready! You're awesome! Typically, it's enough to make 16 cubes for making nearly every word in the Ukrainian language. Since English has a shorter average word length, I assume 10 cubes will be enough. Note Depending on the language, cubes will have different letters on them. But I don't advise you on how to choose letters. The simplest way is to go to the nearest toy shop and buy some letter cubes for sighted individuals to recreate those for blind people.