Moira's Cube - Interlocking puzzle by Alfons Eyckmans

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<h3>Moira's Cube</h3><h4>Interlocking puzzle by Alfons Eyckmans</h4><p>Disassemble the interlocking cube.</p><p><i>Moira's Cube</i> is one of several cube puzzles by Alfons Eyckmans in the style of his earlier <a href="https://www.printables.com/model/171035">Arne's Cube</a>. Like its predecessors, <i>Moira's Cube</i> is for experienced puzzle solvers, with 24 separate components, and requiring a whopping 74 total moves to disassemble.</p><p>It's intended as a take-apart puzzle, but in order to attempt it as such, you will first need to assemble it. Unless your puzzle-solving skills are far greater than mine, you'll probably want to use software such as BurrTools to do so, and I've included the BurrTools (xmpuzzle) file. <i>Moira's Cube</i> is quite a challenge to assemble, even with BurrTools! (Please do not contact me for the solution; if you don't have experience using BurrTools, you might be better off starting with one of the less complex designs in the Printable Puzzle Project - see below.)</p><h4>Printing Instructions</h4><p>Print one copy each of <code>eyckmans.moiras-cube.pieces-1.stl</code> through <code>eyckmans.moiras-cube.pieces-5.stl</code>. You may use whatever color scheme you wish; for the print shown in the photos, I used five different colors, with <code>pieces-2</code> and <code>pieces-3</code> in the same color.</p><p>This puzzle uses "snap joints" so that it can be printed without supports. After you print it, first connect all the joints before attempting to solve the puzzle. Snap each male connector into a corresponding female connector (for example, the male connector labeled "A" should connect to the female connector with a matching "A" label on the interior).</p><p>The joints are designed to be tight, and depending on the printer and filament used, you may need to hammer them into place. If they come out too loose, a drop of superglue will make them more solid (in most cases this shouldn't be necessary, but unfortunately tolerances vary across printers and filaments). The snap joint concept is discussed further in this tutorial: <a href="https://www.puzzlehub.org/tutorials/getting-started">Getting Started with Puzzle Printing</a>.</p><p>Because its dimensions are quite large (9x9x9), <i>Moira's Cube</i> is modeled to a small (8 mm) voxel size, in order to keep the overall size of the printed puzzle manageable. As a result, some of the connectors might be relatively fragile, so I recommend using a sturdy filament such as PLA+. If you do use a more brittle filament, I suggest reinforcing each joint with a drop of superglue.</p><h4>The Printable Puzzle Project</h4><p>The <a href="https://www.puzzlehub.org/ppp">Printable Puzzle Project</a> aims to make available high-quality open-source models of many puzzle designs. All of our models are posted with the generous permission of their designers and are licensed for <strong>non-commercial use only</strong>. Anyone may print copies for their own personal use, but selling or otherwise monetizing them is not permitted, and puzzle designers retain all rights as copyright holders of their work.</p><p>Our puzzles are modeled using the open-source <a href="https://www.puzzlehub.org/puzzlecad">puzzlecad</a> library. The <code>.scad</code> file is included with this model in case you want to modify any of its design parameters; more information on how to do this can be found in the PPP <a href="https://www.puzzlehub.org/tutorials/puzzle-modeling">Puzzle Modeling tutorial</a>.</p><h4>About the Designer</h4><p>Alfons Eyckmans specializes in highly complex burr puzzles with intricate interlocking solutions. His designs range from moderately challenging to truly gargantuan, often requiring dozens of moves to remove the first piece. Many of his designs incorporate unusual geometric shapes or figurative elements, such as his "Burr Zoo" series of puzzles featuring animal shapes. Eyckmans's puzzles are for experienced puzzle solvers (you have been warned!), but patience will be rewarded as they reveal their creative and fascinating structure.</p><p>Happy puzzling!</p>