12-Part Puzzle

George W. Hart

Other Puzzles



This puzzle is composed of twelve identical components, which assemble and interlock. The above version is laser-cut from aluminum.




Above is the paper model which I made first, to test the concept.




And here is a prototype version made of nylon on a selective laser sintering machine. I made the parts separately and then assembled them.




Here is is before I dyed it red. This view looks straight down one of the 5-fold axes.
Thank you Jim Quinn for access to the SLS machine used to make the above model.





This photo shows me with the laser-cut aluminum version, to give a sense of its size.




And here is a final version in stainless steel, now at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. 

I like the design very much and should commercialize it some day.