“Make it work, make it happen, and make it right. Once you create something, your name is on it"
Tetris Puzzle Cube
(Presentation with speaker notes)
Overview
I wanted to make something that can keep me busy/entertaining in areas without internet access or with younger children. So, I made a puzzle box out of 6 pieces that are mostly shaped like Tetris pieces. This puzzle box was 3D printed from the school’s 3D printer. This was the "Brainstorm" part of my Design Process
Design Process
1. Technical Drawings
After brainstorming, I began to create a 2D Design of my puzzle cube by creating "Technical Drawings" as seen below.
2. Autodesk Fusion 360
After creating a 2D Design for my puzzle cube, I created a 3D design of them through Autodesk Fusion 360. The first two pictures represent orthographic drawings of Piece A and Piece B as examples. The units of these drawings are mm. Also, each piece (and its orthographic drawing) was made separately on Autodesk Fusion 360. Later, each piece was combined into one single design as seen in the last image.
3. Mesh Lab
4. Manufacturing + Sanding
Then, I meshed the design and exported it as an .stl file. I opened up the file on Mesh Lab (and then, began my process to 3D print my design).
The two pictures show the manufacturing process which was mainly the 3D Printer printing my design. The design took about 4 hours to print.
5. Testing and Final Product
Reflection
Overall, many of my technology skills improved. I got better at hand drawing my designs and also since I got more exposure to CAD software, I became more efficient while 3D designing. Furthermore, I got the chance to 3D Print for myself and I think that is a valuable skill that I learned. Besides that, I also became a better problem-solver as I was constantly fixing minor and major issues during the design/prototype phase. This lead to a better understanding of it. However, I realized that I should’ve made my cube multi-colored so the pieces are easy to distinguish. Also, I should make the edges a tad bit more round in order to ease the process of dismantling and mantling. Besides that, I need to improve my project management skills as this project took longer than expected. Lastly, during this project, I displayed the "Thinker" aspect from the ASD profile as I had to constantly use creativity to help design each piece and create a puzzle. Also, I was adaptable as I was able to deal with new problems and I remained persistent throughout the project.