This week’s selection is the non-intuitive Disentanglement Puzzle by YouMagine contributor M. Ingle.
The puzzle is one of a large class of historical puzzles involving strings and rings. Ingle explains:
This is my take on a classic rope and ring disentanglement puzzle. The goal is to separate the ring (the light colored one) from the puzzle strings. As with most disentanglement puzzles, the solution isn’t intuitive. Can you figure it out from the pictures? If not, refer to the video for the solution.
And this is the video:
The 3D model is composed of only six very easy to print parts, which can then be assembled into the puzzle proper. Of course, you’ll need some string or thin rope in addition to the 3D printed pieces.
Ingles has posted a full set of assembly instructions on Instructables, but for using standard woodworking tools to build the parts rather than 3D printing them. What I find fascinating is that 3D printing them is vastly simpler than creating them from scratch with traditional tools, demonstrating the value of 3D printing – or digital making in general.
Puzzles are one of the more popular classes of objects commonly produced on desktop 3D printers by hobbyists, as they provide two puzzles: first to 3D print and assemble, then to solve.
Via YouMagine
