Puzzle Cube

Cameron Carpenter
Introduction to Engineering and Design
12/1/15

Overview:
The purpose of this project was to design a puzzle cube from scrap inch
hardwood cubes leftover from furniture construction to save waste. The cubes need to be
designed to challenge high school students. Our class worked on brainstorming,
designing, revising, and modeling the cube all individually. The rules we had to follow
were that we had to use 27 cubes, the puzzle must contain five parts with each of the
pieces between 4-6 cubes, none of the parts can be the same, the five parts must form a
2 inch cube, and some puzzle parts should interlock. We only had a few weeks to
complete the design process for making the cube.

Materials List:
The main materials we used were 27, inch blocks. We also used markers, glue,
isometric and orthographic grid paper, a decision matrix template, a pencil, paper towels,
and Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) software to help us design the puzzle cube.

Procedure:
First, we had to brainstorm and sketch on isometric grid paper possible puzzle
part cube combinations for our cube.

Second, we had to create two different puzzle cube designs from our possible parts.

Third, we had to pick our best option from making a decision matrix.

Next, we had to sketch a multi-view drawing for each of our five puzzle parts.

Then, we had to create our puzzle parts using CAD. We made multi-view drawings and
other types of working drawings as shown below.

After that, we had to make a prototype of our cube pieces by gluing them together and
using sandpaper to make them fit together smoothly. Finally, we had to color them, and
then put them together based on our designs.

Concepts Covered:
One of the concepts we used was the design process. We had to brainstorm,
design, revise, and manufacture our product. Sketching was also another main concept
we used. We had to make isometric drawings, multi-view drawings, and use CAD to
make some drawings on the computer. Within those, we applied dimensioning, drawing
straight, precise lines, and visualizing what our product would look like along the way of
the design process.

Summary:
Overall, I learned how to incorporate the design process and other skills we have
learned so far this year into making a product. I personally learned how to troubleshoot
and revise issues along the way of designing a puzzle cube. We were given many
different tasks to complete this project and had to connect all of them together to make a
solid, well designed puzzle cube. There were a few things I had to troubleshoot. I had to
redesign two of my puzzle cube parts because after trying to make my cube, I realized I
couldnt make the cube with the parts I currently had. My project, in my opinion, did a
pretty good job solving the problem we were faced with. My puzzle cube takes a little bit
of time to solve and would save waste from the furniture company. I used my time well
and made sure I was following a timeline to get everything done by the due date. I took
my time and did every section of the project to my best ability. One thing I could have
done better was to use my time more efficiently. I spent a lot of time re-doing things and
trying to make them better when they were already good. If I did this project again, I
would plan out my project before I started and take some time to do each section, but
then when Im done, I would move on to the next task.