Lockblock - printable connector

thingiverse

To tackle complex puzzle shapes with overhangs, consider using soluble support material if a dual extruder isn't available. However, ordinary support material may leave marks. A solution is splitting the piece horizontally and printing two halves upright with custom joints on top. The joint design involves a triangular peg in a hole, fitting within a cube outline. First modeled in Tinkercad, the idea was further customized in OpenSCAD. Watch a test video at http://youtu.be/Fp63gR9HTJA. For an advanced version, check out Aaron Siegel's Puzzlecad. When using this method, adjust parameters if needed to achieve the desired fit. Be mindful of overheating small pieces by utilizing cooling options and fans in your software. After printing two puzzle pieces, lock them together and consider reinforcing with acetone (ABS) or superglue (PLA). To showcase this in other scripts, use Blender to divide puzzle pieces and attach the lockblock STL on top of each half. Note that the join will be visible halfway up the vertical section on each piece. This module could potentially be integrated into larger script applications.