CS 494 Spherical Combination Puzzle

1. CS 494Spherical Combination Puzzle Jeremy Quick

2. Previous Attempts • Magic Ball (Rubik’s Sphere) • Exact same as 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube • Hard to grip • Impossiball • Icosahedron, 20 moveable pieces • Pieces flex • Hard to turn • Breaks • No known 3D printed puzzles

3. Goals • Three directions of movement • Print as a whole • No assembly at all • Size vs. Strength • Fits in hand • Doesn’t break • Remove tracks • Solving feels natural? • No confusion on movements or design • All cracks wide enough to dissolve support • Tight enough for smooth movements

4. Base Spherical base with 3 tracks carved at 90 degree intersections • Allows for: • 2 different directions • 8 possible moves per turn

5. Tracks carved from spherical base to the puzzle pieces movement • Requirements: • Crack must be wide enough for a stable stem • Trench must be wide enough to hold pieces • Small enough for stable sections

6. I-Piece Inside piece with stem • Top and bottom carved by spheres of varying radii • Inner radius equals half of the trench width minus air

7. V-Piece Visible piece • Has pattern on top • Top and bottom piece is carved from spheres with different radii

8. Whole Piece • V&I piece combined • Cut into 3 equal squares • 6 default locations • 4 pieces per location • 24 total pieces

9. Final Result • Non-jumbleable • No set pieces • Higher difficulty • Combinations: • 24! ~ 6.2*10^23

10. Unsolved Problems • Ability to feel when a piece has snapped in place • Raise radius of cracks slightly • Or, small prongs • Ex: Wheel of Fortune • Matching pattern • Stickers: • Solid color patches vs. gradient colors • 3D Design • Raised pattern that requires matching • Natural feeling?

11. Questions?