Chocolate Box Puzzle

cults3d

Pack six "chocolates" into a cylindrical box and close the lid. Is it possible? The "obvious packing" is to place two pieces together in a layer, then repeat three layers high. This packing sticks above the top of the box, so the lid can't go all the way down. Find the real solution where all pieces are packed below the rim of the box. In this case, the lid goes all the way down without touching any pieces. This puzzle is fairly large. The pieces are 2 cm tall and the diameter of the box is almost 9 cm (3.5 inches). The pieces are made from truncated rhombic dodecahedra, also called edge-beveled cubes. This isn't a true truncation because only degree 4 vertices are cut off. To see a wood version of this puzzle, click here. If you need the solution, just contact me.