eL Perch Puzzle

thingiverse

This puzzle was designed in 2009 by Rick Eason. See http://www.mechanicalpuzzles.org/puzzles/eLPerch/eLPerch.html The puzzle consists of seven L-shaped pieces plus a stand. The goal is to build a cube on the stand in so that each piece is fully supported and nothing falls down. It's trickier than it sounds. Solution hints can be found at the above website. Rick Eason sold the original wood version seen in the photos. The pieces need sufficient friction and sadly PLA is too slippery. Wood works well, I suggest using wood-infused PLA. Light sanding is recommended to roughen the faces, and you may want to use a higher infill to mimic the weight of the wood pieces. I include the puzzle in two sizes: the original wood version is based on a 7/8"=22.225 mm cubie size. I include both a "basic stand" and "fancy stand". I prefer the basic stand, it is simple and functional, like the original wood stand. If you find the stand is not strong enough, try the fancy stand. The plastic stands come in three parts which snap together. You can glue the stand together, but it is nice to take the stand apart for easy storage. Arrows are included on the stand to show how to unsnap the stand without breaking it. The small size uses a 15 mm cubie. The stand is quite small in this version but the snap joints still work for me (no fancy version here). The stand does not need to be made from wood-infused PLA and the joints will be stronger if you use a high-strength PLA. I printed one small stand from wood-infused PLA. The joints came out very tight, but it did snap together and has not broken (yet). Print six copies of L4 and one L3. Select a stand to fit your puzzle and print it in 3 parts. I also include the puzzleCAD file in case you want to change the joint fit or puzzle size.