Heart Breaker Puzzle

thingiverse

UPDATE (Apr 18, 2020): I redesigned the "U-Bar" piece to be more attractive and just as functional as its original cast iron counterpart that I remember. UPDATE (May 5, 2020): I fixed a slight misalignment with the captured bar in the "U-Bar" piece. Nobody even noticed it, probably because they were too busy solving the puzzle. When I was a young boy, my grandfather had a cast iron version of this puzzle in his living room. It became a rite of passage for us kids to complete the puzzle on our own without any help from anyone else. Now, I've recreated it for everyone to enjoy. I looked online and found that this puzzle is called "Heart Breaker" or "Iron Heart". There are several variations of it out there. The idea is simple: separate the heart from the other piece. But since they print as separate pieces, your goal will be to put them together... unless you can find someone who knows how to do it for you before you start. This puzzle should not involve any breaking or flexing of the material, because remember, this was cast iron. I printed this with 50% gyroid infill at a 0.2 layer height with supports. I scaled mine down to 66% so that I could print both pieces together on the print bed. Just keep in mind that the smaller you make it, the more flex it will have, which isn't great. Post-processing: Probably nothing on the heart piece. On the other piece, remove all the supports and sand out the rough spots. The top bar should be loose and able to move around, but captured within the rings on the "U" part of it. If you don't find this puzzle challenging enough, maybe hand it to an 8-year-old for a fun challenge. If you liked this design, consider leaving a tip or posting a make!