Half Cut - Packing puzzle by László Molnár

prusaprinters

Half CutPacking puzzle by László MolnárPack six oddly-shaped pieces into a 3x3x3 box, so that no gaps are visible at the box top (see photo).Half Cut is an intriguing take on the well-worn genre of 3x3x3 packing puzzles. It's reminiscent of classic puzzles such as Stewart Coffin's similarly-named Half-Hour, but with a twist: each of the six pieces has a half-cube removed from it along a diagonal axis. The result is an unusual and confusing packing challenge that manages to feel both familiar and unique.Printing InstructionsPrint one copy each of molnar.half-cut.box.stl and molnar.half-cut.pieces.stl. (If you prefer, you could also print it without the box and simply solve it as a free-form challenge to assemble the pieces into a 3x3x3 cube with one face solid.)This model uses "snap joints" on one of the pieces so that it can be printed without supports. After you print it, first connect all the joints before attempting to solve the puzzle. Snap each male connector into a corresponding female connector (for example, the male connector labeled "A" should connect to the female connector with a matching "A" label on the interior).The joints are designed to be tight, and depending on the printer and filament used, you may need to hammer them into place. If they come out too loose, a drop of superglue will make them more solid (in most cases this shouldn't be necessary, but unfortunately tolerances vary across printers and filaments). The snap joint concept is discussed further in this tutorial: Getting Started with Puzzle Printing.The Printable Puzzle ProjectThe Printable Puzzle Project aims to make available high-quality open-source models of many puzzle designs. All of our models are posted with the generous permission of their designers and are licensed for non-commercial use only. Anyone may print copies for their own personal use, but selling or otherwise monetizing them is not permitted, and puzzle designers retain all rights as copyright holders of their work.Our puzzles are modeled using the open-source puzzlecad library. The .scad file is included with this model in case you want to modify any of its design parameters; more information on how to do this can be found in the PPP Puzzle Modeling tutorial.About the DesignerLászló Molnár is well-known for designing puzzles that are based on a seemingly simple idea, but are actually fiendishly difficult. In recent years, Molnár's designs have featured prominently at the International Puzzle Party, and his packing puzzle Hat Trick received a Top 10 award at the 2019 IPP in Kanazawa, Japan. A Google search for "laszlo molnar puzzles" will turn up lots of information about his designs, including links to several that are commercially available.Happy puzzling!