Puzzle Cube Reflection

I timed 7 people in solving my puzzle, stopping them at 15 minutes if they could not.  The times, rounded to the nearest minute are : 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, and 10.
mean: 14.29
median: 15
mode: 15
sample standard deviation: 1.8898

Looking back at the project, it is important to model an idea before making the final prototype because it allows us to test it before we actually make the real thing.  I made mistakes in the model that would have been in my final puzzle if not for the modeling.  

I love how my puzzle looks well made, but still looks like I made it.  I like how it isn't exactly a perfect cube because some of the faces are a bit uneven.  However, it still looks neat and I like that about it.

If I were to do this project again, I would probably put more interlocking pieces to make my puzzle even more difficult.

After the project we took about 30 minutes to sketch, plan, and build packaging for our cubes.  I made a simple box and had to sacrifice some of the aesthetic quality to get the job done neatly.  This process was much different in comparison to the puzzle because it was over a shorter period of time.  We had to rush through things to get things done and finish.

Puzzle Cube

To begin, I started drawing all the possible pieces that could be combined by 3,4,5,and 6 cubes to brainstorm.  Below is a picture of a few of them.

Then I played with the blocks and formed two puzzle designs.  I documented these two designs with multi-view sketching and isometric drawings (see below).

Since my first design is more complicated, with more interlocking pieces, I decided to continue with that design.  In addition it took two people more than twenty minutes each to do it versus the one minute it took to do the second one.

The next step was to make the piece designs on the computer, using inventor, see below.  The first image is the physical rough draft of the piece while the second image is the computer generated one. 

Below are the rest of my computer generated pieces. 

In order to see if my multi-view drawings and isometric drawings were easy to understand, I swapped drawings with a partner to have her assemble piece 2.  

She was able to build it, it can be seen below on the left.  On the right is the piece of hers that I built from her sketches.

I also made annotated drawings on inventor for each piece.   

Finally, I assembled the parts using inventor.  

After the assembly on inventor was complete, I used wood glue and wooden cubes to assemble my puzzle.  Below is the finished product.

Statistics/Quality of Cubes

We took 27 wooden cubes and measured them using a dial caliper.

mean: 0.753 inches

median: 0.748 inches

mode: 0.745 inches

range: 0.027 inches

sample standard deviation: 0.00928 inches