Hand-held Labyrinth

I designed this game in CAD and then went on to build it out of wood. The goal of the game is to follow the red vinyl sticker line from the start to the finish while avoiding the holes. If you fall through the hole you lose. On the side of the game there is a wooden door that opens and closes to reveal the hole where you get the ball when it falls through one of the holes. The door also provides storage for the ball when you are not playing. You place the ball into a hole on the back of the door and then when you turn it closed the ball is enclosed. I used an X-Carve carving machine to carve all the components to the game.

• 1/2 Inch MDF Wood (Least likely to chip when carving)
• 1/4 Inch MDF Wood
• X-Carve Carving Machine
• Cricut Sticker Machine With Vinyl Sticker (optional)
• 1/4 Inch Wood Pin

To start the process I modeled the game in CAD first. This was an important step because I just transferred this model into the carving machine program to make the actual maze. Dimensioning all of the walls in the sketch was a challenge because they had to be perfect in order for the ball to be able to properly roll through the maze. The Onshape link is provided.

CAD Model Link

The next Step was transferring the CAD models into the carving machines program called Easel by Inventables. I transferred the design into easel by exporting it as a DXF file which is essentially a picture. From there I made sure all the cut depths and paths were correct and then carved it. The Maze and door were carved on 1/2 Inch MDF and the walls and bottom were carved on 1/4 Inch MDF. The carve files are linked below.

Maze Carve File

Walls and Door Carve File

Once you have all the part to the labyrinth ready you're ready to put it together. I started by glueing all of the walls to the maze carve using wood glue. Make sure the wall with the door on it is on the opposite side of the start of the maze. Clamp the pipes together until the glue is finished drying. When that is cured glue the Botton onto the walls. After that drill a hole about an inch to the right of the door on the wall and then another one on the opposite side of the hole on the door used to store the ball with a 1/4 Inch drill bit. Attach the door to the wall using a 1/4 Inch diameter wood pin. It should be tight but not too tight to spin. Next I exported the maze path as a DXF from the Onshore file into circuit and cut it. Carefully place the vinyl sticker onto the balls path. Your now have a Hand-held labyrinth!