Unhinged Cube

Unhinged Square was inspired by the 360-degrees hinge by EnginEli on Thingiverse. Peter Knoppers suggested that it should be turned in a puzzle. The results is a necklace with 24 hinges that link 24 rounded cubic pieces. The goal is to fold the hinged necklace such that its fits into a 3x3x3 box. The puzzle is more difficult than it looks, as one cannot simply start "at one end" as with a snake puzzle. Moreover the box will have three empty cubies, and the solver needs to figure out where these empty cubies go. The necklace can also be folded into a 12x2x1 block and a 6x2x2 block. It is not known what other nice shapes it can be folded into. Is a 4x3x2 block possible?

Watch the YouTube video.

Please order a 3D-printed do-it-yourself puzzle kit from Shapeways at this page (check with Oskar about screws and stickers), or contact Oskar directly if you are interested in obtaining a fully colored, stickered and assembled sample of this puzzle.