Rhinoceros - Interlocking puzzle by Alfons Eyckmans

thingiverse

## Rhinoceros ### Interlocking Puzzle by Alfons Eyckmans Disassemble the 13-piece interlocking shape to release the rhinoceros-shaped piece trapped inside. _Rhinoceros_ is one of Alfons Eyckmans's popular "Burr Zoo" puzzles, where ordinary-looking burr shapes conceal animal figurines hidden within. (In the photo, the rhino shape is shown standing atop the puzzle, but in the assembled state it will be concealed inside.) This puzzle requires a total of 51 moves to disassemble. It is designed as a take-apart puzzle, but to attempt it, you need to assemble it first. Unless your puzzle-solving skills are far beyond mine, you'll probably want to use software like BurrTools to do so, and I've included the BurrTools (xmpuzzle) file provided by Alfons. (Please don't contact me for the solution; if you're not experienced with BurrTools, you might be better off starting with one of the less complex designs in the Printable Puzzle Project - see below.) ### Printing Instructions Print one copy each of `eyckmans.rhinoceros.rhino.stl`, `eyckmans.rhinoceros.pieces-color-1.stl`, `eyckmans.rhinoceros.pieces-color-2.stl`, and `eyckmans.rhinoceros.pieces-color-3.stl`. The rhinoceros uses "snap joints" so it can be printed without supports. After printing, 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](https://www.puzzlehub.org/tutorials/getting-started). ### The Printable Puzzle Project The [Printable Puzzle Project](https://www.puzzlehub.org/ppp) 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](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3198014) 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](https://www.puzzlehub.org/tutorials/puzzle-modeling). ### About the Designer Alfons Eyckmans specializes in highly complex burr puzzles with intricate interlocking solutions. His designs range from moderately challenging to truly gargantuan, often requiring dozens of moves to remove the first piece. Many of his designs incorporate unusual geometric shapes or figurative elements, such as his "Burr Zoo" series of puzzles featuring animal shapes. Eyckmans's puzzles are for experienced puzzle solvers (you have been warned!), but patience will be rewarded as they reveal their creative and fascinating structure. Happy puzzling!