Markus Ball is a variation on a puzzle design by Markus Goetz. Markus’ original design was a 2x2x2 cube, built from four parallel 1x1x2. Markus' challenge was that opposite 1x1x2's were connected. So how can such a puzzle come apart? Here is a modified version of this puzzle, turned into a tennis ball. Markus Ball is an easy fun puzzle. It has eight 3x3-mm cylinder magnets to have it click together.
The set of two pieces took about 6.5 hours to 3D print on a Dutchy 3D printer. 66 gram (22 meter) of 1.75-mm filament was used. The puzzle itself weights 42 gram, as 24 gram of material was used to build a raft and support the overhanging structure. The filament is based on transparent PLA plastic that is infiltrated with 20% of wood fibres, giving its wooden look-and-feel. The type of wood used is oak.
Oskar van Deventer has created many different puzzles including his brand of Oskar Puzzles which are mechanical puzzles and objects that can only exist thanks to 3D printing technology. Since 1978, he has been creating hundreds of mechanical puzzles, making him one of the world's most prolific designers. Several of his innovative designs are commercially available.