Simple7 Puzzle by mswarden

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Simple7 Puzzle
This is a nice little puzzle. Not too difficult, but not too easy either. It’s sort of a Goldilocks Puzzle in both size and difficulty!
Overall puzzle size is: 6cm x 6cm x 2.5cm (2 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 1")
It’s easy to print (Box, Box Top, and a set of 7 Pieces). Requires no supports and minimal, if any, post-print finishing. Some find it quick and easy to solve, while others will find it a little more of a challenge. These little puzzles make great Holiday, or Birthday gifts for anyone who enjoys a good puzzle. They look great and provide at least a modest challenge.
Solution: The correct solution requires placing all 7 Pieces into the Box with each Piece lying flat on the bottom of the Box. No Piece can be tilted up at an angle, not even a tiny bit. The Box Top will easily fit back on the Box with all 8 Sticks comfortably inside. Trust me, there is plenty of room in the Box for all 7 Pieces when they are arranged correctly. The puzzle is designed with about 1.0mm slack in both the X and Y dimensions.
To make printing easier, I have included a single .stl file with all 7 Puzzle Pieces arranged to print together as a group, and I have provided a single .stl file with both the Box and Box Top arranged together. Of course, I have also provided all of the separate individual .stl files.
I printed all of my examples on a Makerbot Replicator 5th Gen set to: Layers=0.20mm, Shells=2, Roof=.80mm, Floor=0.80mm, Fill=10%, Infill Pattern=Diamond (fast), Raft=Yes, Supports=No. Because of the simple geometry of the Box and the Pieces, these modest settings produce a very nice model in a relatively short print time.
Please Note: Although I have not provided the solution here, I will respond to personal Thingiverse messages with questions about part sizes and/or printing accuracy. If you have trouble solving the puzzle once you have printed it, you can message me your email address, and I’ll send you the Solution Photo by return email. I will not use your email address for any other purpose, nor share it with anyone else. I promise.
Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or suggestions. I would also like to ask anyone who “Makes” this puzzle to thank me by taking a moment to respond with “I Made One” with your puzzle’s photo and your comments. But please, don’t publish your SOLUTION – it spoils the puzzle for others.
Have Fun!
-mike-
Instructions:
I printed all the parts of the puzzle, using PLA Filament, on a MakerBot Replicator 5th Gen Printer using the following settings: Layer Height=0.20mm, Shells=2, Roof=.80mm, Floor=0.80mm, Fill=10%, Infill Pattern=Diamond (fast), Raft=Yes, Supports=No These settings produced a very nice puzzle in a reasonable amount of time.
I put my finished puzzles in a small zip-lock bag with all the Pieces outside the Box. I added a little “Instruction Note”. The Note is included below.
I’ve printed more than a dozen of these puzzles at this point – they make great gifts and are fun to keep around as table top toys for friends and family visitors. They each take about 4:30 to print. So far, none of them has required any post-print finishing. The Box Top fits easily onto the Box and is only required to easily store the puzzle when not in use. Install and remove the Box Top by pushing it straight down and pulling it straight up (and not by tilting it, which may break off one of the small ‘pins’).
To make printing easier/faster, I included a single .stl file with all 7 Puzzle Pieces arranged to print together as a group, and I included a single .stl file with both the Box and Box Top arranged together. I also provided all of the separate .stl files.
-mike-