Reuluauxminx (Rubik's Cube-Type Puzzle)

myminifactory

I'm submitting my entry for the Sinterit competition: A masterpiece of mechanical, mathematical artistry. The Releauxminx is a brain-twisting puzzle that outshines Rubik's Cube in complexity, with an internal mechanism akin to a canonical face-turning dodecahedron and an external geometry reminiscent of a reuleaux tetrahedron. I envision it as a four-sided puzzle with the sophistication of twelve sides. The intricate geometry, particularly its rounded exterior and blocky interior mechanism, poses significant challenges for typical FDM 3D printers, which I've successfully tackled above. With an SLS printer, not only can all components be printed accurately without compromising surface quality, but the core, usually requiring twenty-five separately printed pieces, can be condensed into a single, relatively simple mechanical part. Using a Sinterit Lisa Desktop SLS machine, all parts could be printed in one seamless operation. However, more extensive design modifications would be necessary to print the entire puzzle fully assembled – the closest I've come without an actual SLS printer (*wink wink*) is reducing the core's piece count from 25 to 1, which I've accomplished here and detailed above. I opted to have the stickers custom-cut by someone else, adhering to traditional puzzle design principles. Colored stickers on each face add a pop of color, but they're not essential – this puzzle changes shape with every turn, making it equally challenging to solve by shape alone. My initial prototype, now slightly outdated with a 25-piece core, was originally published here. This revised version boasts improved turning quality and tightened tolerances to accommodate the precision of SLS printers.