3D Tangram Puzzle

Here's the classic Tangram Puzzle in a 3D form. This Tangram is 2 cm high and 10 cm on the side. It has a nice chunky feel and I can do all the classic Tangram challenges with it, but also make new 3D shapes.

It's a wonderful little building block set as well.

I made it with Zotebook, an iPad app. The Zotebook file can be simply adapted to any height.

While I have included the stl file, making the puzzle from scratch in Zotebook is also a bonus puzzle. Using the geometry based tools in Zotebook, I challenged myself to avoid using numbers to see if I could make the shapes just using the relationships.

A 3D printer. I am using a Lulzbot mini.

Here is the stl file for a 2 cm tall Tangram puzzle.

But the real fun is making it in Zotebook, it's a free app on the iTunes store. You need an upgrade to download stl files, so I have included the final product it here.

Find more information about Zotebook at https://zotebook.io

I am using Zotebook, an iPad app that turns rough sketches in precise drawings.

I sketch just using my finger, using a few simple gestures.

(for a complete tutorial check out - https://www.instructables.com/id/Learn-Zotebook-Wi...

The gesture tools I am using are:

Right Angle - make an angle tick in the corner of a shape.

Parallel Lines - double ticks near the center of two lines.

Same Angles - make a tick mark in or on the angles.

Same Length - make tick marks on the lines you want the same lengths.

Shape Widget - tap to copy, paste, move, and rotate.

Looking at a Tangam puzzle I can see how the the shapes are related.

I'll make these same relationships in Zotebook.

I start with a large right angle isosceles triangle.

I will need three different sized triangles.

I use the Shape Widget tool to copy.

I use the Same Length tool to scale them.

I make a square just but sketching the rough shape, then I square up the corners.

Again I use the Same Length tool to match the side length.

The sides are the same length as the hypotenuse of the small triangle.

And both sides are parallel. but the angle is the tricky bit.

The acute angles must be 45 degree like the triangle so I use the Same Angle tool.

I also use the Shape Widget to get the 2 extra triangles I need.

I tap the length of the large triangle to scale it.

10 cm

I only need to scale one side, all the other dimensions are set in relationship to the scaled side.

I tap the little hammer in the upper right to get a 3D preview.

I can play around with different heights to what looks best.

I go to Zotebook.io to get the stl file.

I find it under "My Sketches," and select STL, I can also get a laser cut file or a craft cutter SVG file.

Using the big chunky Tangram pieces is fun.

This file is for a large cube size that I haven't made yet.

Let know if you try it out!