Seriously tough puzzles
Wooden puzzles are beautiful to look at but can be large and heavy. Puzzles are meant to be played with and shared. These 3D printed puzzles in tough nylon or solid stainless steel are great to play with and easy to carry around in a pocket. The puzzles range in difficulty from quite easy to fiendishly difficult and, unless stated, are all my own design. Puzzles work best in White, Strong and Flexible material.
If you would prefer coloured puzzles then you have three choices:
- Order in one of Shapeways standard seasonal colours
- Order white ones and dye them yourself
- Order directly from me through my Etsy shop.
Please note that Shapeways only print the pieces. You will need to work out how to fit the puzzle together. YouTube videos are available for many puzzles to help you with this.
Wooden puzzles are beautiful to look at but can be large and heavy. Puzzles are meant to be played with and shared. These 3D printed puzzles in tough nylon or solid stainless steel are great to play with and easy to carry around in a pocket. The puzzles range in difficulty from quite easy to fiendishly difficult and, unless stated, are all my own design. Puzzles work best in White, Strong and Flexible material.
If you would prefer coloured puzzles then you have three choices:
- Order in one of Shapeways standard seasonal colours
- Order white ones and dye them yourself
- Order directly from me through my Etsy shop.
Please note that Shapeways only print the pieces. You will need to work out how to fit the puzzle together. YouTube videos are available for many puzzles to help you with this.
richgain is selling 16 products in Shapes section
by
richgain
Update: Jury 1st Prize winner at the 2011 International Puzzle Design competition
Two open-ended Superstrings with the correct spin can be merged into a super-symmetrical cube.
The idea for this puzzle emerged when I was designing shapes based on two interlocked tetrahedra. Inspired by ideas from 'string theory' and 'super-symmetry', I began to search for shapes that were both symmetrical and as similar as possible.
Taking the two pieces apart is not too difficult; reassembling them back into a cube can be more challenging. Hold one of the pieces still; move the other piece through the correct sequence of lateral and rotational moves.
Two colour dyed version in a perspex display case available from Etsy.
Reviews of Superstrings by puzzle enthusiasts from around the world.
"Another great little pocket puzzle from Richard Gain" - Allard Walker - Puzzling Times
"I can't really think of any downsides with this one, it was an elegantly designed puzzle that was fun to solve. Well done, Richard!" - Brian Pletcher - Mechanical Puzzles
"An attractive tactile puzzle with a decent challenge but not too awful - a really good addition to my display." - Kevin Sadler - Puzzlemad
"This is a really tough puzzle, and I can see why it won favor with the judges at IPP. Much easier to take apart than it is to put together, Richard can be rightly proud of this one." - Neil Hutchison - Puzzling Parts
by
richgain
Buckyballs are molecules of 60 carbon atoms called Buckminsterfullerene.
Metabuckyballs are buckyballs made using metaball modelling software (Blender).
This large thin version is only suitable for printing in plastic materials.
Metabuckyballs are buckyballs made using metaball modelling software (Blender).
This large thin version is only suitable for printing in plastic materials.
by
richgain
Buckyballs are molecules of 60 carbon atoms called Buckminsterfullerene.
Metabuckyballs are buckyballs made using metaball modelling software (Blender).
This smaller, fatter version is approx 33mm across and has minimum strut thickness of at least 2 mm is suitable for metal (and possibly glass) printing.
Metabuckyballs are buckyballs made using metaball modelling software (Blender).
This smaller, fatter version is approx 33mm across and has minimum strut thickness of at least 2 mm is suitable for metal (and possibly glass) printing.
by
richgain
These strange mathematical shapes make rather lovely Christmas decorations. Each loop appears to consists of five twisted strands but, in fact, the whole object is composed of a single strand.
At this scale they have a soft springy feel but keep their shape well when handled, suspended or rested on a surface. Don't drop them though or, rather like a Slinky, you may have some careful untangling to do.
Extruded from the pentagonal faces on a buckyball using TopMod.
At this scale they have a soft springy feel but keep their shape well when handled, suspended or rested on a surface. Don't drop them though or, rather like a Slinky, you may have some careful untangling to do.
Extruded from the pentagonal faces on a buckyball using TopMod.
by
richgain
A hollow cube shape based on 13x13x13 1mm cubelets.
The design replaces the straight edge between each cube vertex with a long folded spring. The White Strong and Flexible material is ideal for making a strong, springy cube that can be used to make puzzles and perhaps many other things.
The design replaces the straight edge between each cube vertex with a long folded spring. The White Strong and Flexible material is ideal for making a strong, springy cube that can be used to make puzzles and perhaps many other things.
by
richgain
Four hollow cube shapes based on 13 x 13 x 13 1mm cubelets.
The design replaces the straight edge between each cube vertex with a long folded spring. The White Strong and Flexible material is ideal for making a strong, springy cube that can be used to make puzzles and perhaps many other things.
The design replaces the straight edge between each cube vertex with a long folded spring. The White Strong and Flexible material is ideal for making a strong, springy cube that can be used to make puzzles and perhaps many other things.
by
richgain
The Szilassi polyhedron is a seven-sided torus where every face is in contact with all of the other faces, proving that for toroidal topology, 7 different colours are required for a surface map.
This simple little shape is a mathematical curiosity, designed to demonstrate colour printing on the sandstone material. It is also a handy filler for topping those orders up to $25.
PLEASE NOTE:
Following changes to the minimum size requirements for some materials, this model was no longer printable. Consequently, I have now increased the size of the model from 2.5 cm to 4 cm in order to make it printable again.
This simple little shape is a mathematical curiosity, designed to demonstrate colour printing on the sandstone material. It is also a handy filler for topping those orders up to $25.
PLEASE NOTE:
Following changes to the minimum size requirements for some materials, this model was no longer printable. Consequently, I have now increased the size of the model from 2.5 cm to 4 cm in order to make it printable again.
by
richgain
Buckyballs are molecules of 60 carbon atoms called Buckminsterfullerene.
Metabuckyballs are buckyballs made using metaball modelling software (Blender).
This first version is only suitable for printing in plastic materials.
Metabuckyballs are buckyballs made using metaball modelling software (Blender).
This first version is only suitable for printing in plastic materials.
by
richgain
This complex cube consists of two separate parts interlocked. The central core can move freely and even rotate inside the surrounding cage. Modelled in TopMod 2.
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