Fusion-Confusion - Interlocking puzzle by Stewart Coffin (STC #15-A) by asiegel

Last crawled date: 4 years, 2 months ago

Fusion-Confusion
Interlocking puzzle by Stewart Coffin (STC #15-A)
Assemble the four pieces into any of three symmetric polyhedral shapes.
Fusion-Confusion is a modification of Coffin's earlier design Triumph, in which two pairs of pieces are permanently "fused" together. This makes the assembly considerably more challenging. There are three distinct symmetric shapes that can be formed; try to find them all! (They're the same three shapes obtainable with the basic Triumph set, though with different color patterns, owing to the variant color symmetry employed in Fusion-Confusion.) Coffin wrote:
"In a rare flash of lucky inspiration, I created Fusion-Confusion by joining two pairs of Triumph pieces together in a particular way, resulting in only four pieces but ever so much more potential for recreation. For a start, three of the four axes of assembly are eliminated, leaving only one confusing diagonal axis. The object is to assemble into any one of three shapes having a three-fold axis of symmetry (or four solutions if you count mirror images). There are in addition 12 assemblies that produce nondescript shapes."
Coffin regarded Fusion-Confusion as an improvement of Triumph, but I think they're both great. With a 3D printer, you don't have to choose: print 'em both!
Printing Instructions
Print one copy of coffin.fusion-confusion.bases.stl and six copies of coffin.fusion-confusion.tip.stl. Use one filament color for the bases and a different filament color for the tips.
This puzzle uses "snap joints" so that it can be printed in multiple colors. 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, each male connector labeled "A" should connect to a female connector with a matching "A" label on the interior). If they come out too loose, they can be reinforced with a few drops of superglue, but this usually isn't necessary. The joints are designed to be printed without supports.
Optionally, you may print coffin.fusion-confusion.bases-larger.stl and coffin.fusion-confusion.tip-larger.stl for a grander version of the puzzle, which will use around 50% more material.
The Printable Puzzle Project
The 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 Designer
Stewart Coffin has been called "the most outstanding designer and maker of interlocking puzzles that the world has ever seen". He is credited with over four hundred designs, has pioneered numerous ingenious puzzle forms, and has written extensively about puzzle design and craftsmanship. More information on Coffin, along with many other printable models of his designs, can be found on the Stewart Coffin Puzzles overview page.
Happy puzzling!