Puzzle design challenge brief
Target Consumer: Ages 3+
Designer: Milkov
Problem Statement: A local office furniture manufacturing
company throws away tens of thousands of scrap ¾” hardwood cubes that result from its furniture construction processes. The material is expensive, and the scrap represents a sizeable loss of profit.
Design Statement: Fine Office Furniture, Inc. would like to return value to its waste product by using it as the raw material for desktop novelty items that will be sold on the showroom floor. Design, build, test, document, and present a three-dimensional puzzle system that is made from the scrap hardwood cubes. The puzzle system must provide an appropriate degree of challenge to a person who is three years of age or older.
Criteria:
1. The puzzle must be fabricated from 27 – ¾”hardwood cubes.
2. The puzzle system must contain exactly five puzzle pieces.
3. Each individual puzzle piece must consist of at least four, but no more than six hardwood cubes that are permanently attached to each other.
4. No two puzzle pieces can be the same.
5. The five puzzle pieces must assemble to form a 2 ¼” cube.
6. Some puzzle parts should interlock.
Designer: Milkov
Problem Statement: A local office furniture manufacturing
company throws away tens of thousands of scrap ¾” hardwood cubes that result from its furniture construction processes. The material is expensive, and the scrap represents a sizeable loss of profit.
Design Statement: Fine Office Furniture, Inc. would like to return value to its waste product by using it as the raw material for desktop novelty items that will be sold on the showroom floor. Design, build, test, document, and present a three-dimensional puzzle system that is made from the scrap hardwood cubes. The puzzle system must provide an appropriate degree of challenge to a person who is three years of age or older.
Criteria:
1. The puzzle must be fabricated from 27 – ¾”hardwood cubes.
2. The puzzle system must contain exactly five puzzle pieces.
3. Each individual puzzle piece must consist of at least four, but no more than six hardwood cubes that are permanently attached to each other.
4. No two puzzle pieces can be the same.
5. The five puzzle pieces must assemble to form a 2 ¼” cube.
6. Some puzzle parts should interlock.
Puzzle cube research:
Brainstorm 3, 4, 5, & 6 puzzle cube combinations:
puzzle cube solution:
isometric sketches for puzzle cube solution:
IPT for each puzzle piece:
puzzle cube parts idw:
puzzle cube assembly iam idw:
puzzle cube assembly:
puzzle cube data:
Reflection:
When someone says, “I used a design process to solve the problem at hand” I think of two things. The first thing I think of, is that they gave their problem a bit of thought to be able to solve the problem. The second thing I think of is that they had a bit of trouble, but improved their solution, and made it much better.
My design meets the criteria. My puzzle cube provides an appropriate degree of challenge to a person who is three years of age or older.
There are a few changes that could be made to my puzzle cube. One of the parts is very simple, and easy to figure out it's probably on the outside of the cube. That part could be changed along with another part, so it forms the 3x3 cube. Also, another change that could be made is to change the packaging. It doesn't look very professional in red color.