3D Printed Sliding Tile Puzzle

Hi All.

As a kid, I always dreaded going to the dentist. The only positive memory I can remember was being released from the chair of horror and allowed to claim a prize from the "treasure chest" in exchange for keeping my mouth open the previous half hour. One of the trinkets I received from my many dentist visits was a plastic sliding tile puzzle. After seeing the puzzle challenge, I decided to try to print a tile puzzle myself; so here it is.

Tools Needed:

- 3D Printer with minimum build volume of 4in x 4in x 3/4in (101mm x 101mm x 20mm)

Materials Needed:

- Plastic Printer Filament

- Super Glue

I printed my puzzle with PLA, but ABS or other printing material would work just as fine.

When your ready to print, download the STL files below and configure the gcode with a CAM software. I used the following specifications when printing my parts:

Layer Height: 0.06

Infill: 40%

Shells: 2

You will need to use a small amount of support material when printing all the puzzle pieces, except the frame piece.

Once you've printed all the parts and removed the support material, you're ready to assemble your puzzle. Simply snap the pieces into the puzzle tray. Start by placing a tile in the bottom left-hand corner and continue placing the other tiles around it in an upward outward pattern.

When all fifteen tiles are in place, squirt a drop of super glue on the four corner pegs on the puzzle tray. Then align the holes on the frame with the pegs on the tray, and snap the two pieces together. Be careful not to get any super glue on the puzzle tiles.

Alright, so now that your puzzle is assembled and all, you can solve it. Start by sliding the tiles around into a completely random orientation, then you can put them straight again. The goal is to position all the tiles in the correct numerical order, starting with the 1 in the top left-hand corner and counting upwards, left to right. The tiles will slide roughly at first, but as you keep sliding them around, their edges wear down a bit and the sliding action will become smoother.

And that's it! I hope you have fun with this 3D Printed Sliding Tile Puzzle. Thanks for reading this post, and enjoy!

jlaake