Cube Puzzle
Introduction
In this project, we had to design a simple cube puzzle made out of wooden cubes in order to help a company make use of left over wood scraps. We had to design the cube so it was easy to use for children who are three years old and up. The puzzle had to be made out of nine cubes, and consist of five pieces. Each piece needed to be made of at least four, but no more than six wooden cubes, and no two pieces could be the same. Sketches
I made two possible sketches for my puzzle, each with five different pieces. However, I decided to pursue the idea on the right because it had more interlocking pieces and I felt it would present a little more of a challenge for users. Working Drawings
I created a working drawing for each piece as well as two isometric views for the assembled product. To create the pieces originally, I used the lines on the isometric paper from my sketches to determine how large to make each piece. However, with the inventor drawings, you can see the exact dimensions for the puzzle. |
Prototype
To make a prototype of my puzzle, I glued wooden cubes together to make the piece I wanted. Then I colored each piece the same color it was in my sketches/drawings, and then let them dry. Once they were done, I assembled my cube using an exploded view of my inventor parts as an aid. Statistics
Once my puzzle prototype was completed, I did several different tests with people in my class to gather data on the amount of time it would take someone to solve my puzzle for three attempts. I put my data into a chart showing mean, median, mode, range, and standard deviation, and also created a graph showing the average solving times for all three attempts. All solution times are in seconds. |
Method
My puzzle worked by having multiple different pieces interlock. My data showed that most people took around three minutes for their first attempt before solving the puzzle, then about two minutes for their second attempt, and then roughly a minute and a half for their third and final attempt. This showed me that there was a learning curve, with users getting better at the puzzle each time they attempted it.
My puzzle worked by having multiple different pieces interlock. My data showed that most people took around three minutes for their first attempt before solving the puzzle, then about two minutes for their second attempt, and then roughly a minute and a half for their third and final attempt. This showed me that there was a learning curve, with users getting better at the puzzle each time they attempted it.
Conclusion
This cube puzzle was one of the first design challenges we did during the year, and was the first to incorporate the design process. It was a valuable project because it helped my become used to creating something with a planned out procedure instead of just jumping right into it. If I were to do this again I would have made my puzzle have more pieces connect through the middle so it would be a little harder to solve, and I also would have sanded down the edges of the puzzle so there would be no chance of a child getting a splinter. My pieces are not splintering, but it would be good just to take the safety precaution. Overall, this was project taught me very much and it was a lot of fun working on it.
This cube puzzle was one of the first design challenges we did during the year, and was the first to incorporate the design process. It was a valuable project because it helped my become used to creating something with a planned out procedure instead of just jumping right into it. If I were to do this again I would have made my puzzle have more pieces connect through the middle so it would be a little harder to solve, and I also would have sanded down the edges of the puzzle so there would be no chance of a child getting a splinter. My pieces are not splintering, but it would be good just to take the safety precaution. Overall, this was project taught me very much and it was a lot of fun working on it.