Cubic Spiral Burr

Cubic Spiral Burr is a cubic puzzle with twelve identical pieces, each made of ten cubes connected in a cubic spiral. If the pieces were rigid, then the puzzle could never come apart. Therefore, the puzzle was 3D-printed in flexible PTE material. This way, the pieces can be flexed and the last few pieces can be popped in place. Some puzzlers may consider this cheating, but the result is pleasing nevertheless.

Cubic Spiral Burr dates back to 1992, as a geometry for actual helical pieces. In 2002, Oskar van Deventer designed a version with 45-degrees ends. It comes apart in four directions simultaneously. Tom Lench made some wooden samples of this. Later, with the advent of 3D-printing, he designed a version where three pieces can screw out, and then the rest can be taken apart. George Miller 3D-printed it on his Dimension machine. Finally, with flexible PTE material, it was possible to make all pieces cubic, symmetrical and identical.

The puzzle took 13 hours to 3D print on a Dutchy 3D printer. 33 meter of flexible 1.75-mm TPE filament was used to print it. Each piece is held together by eight M3 bolts and some two-component epoxy glue. The puzzle weights 134 grams

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..