Part 5 of the SPIES Puzzle series designed by Alphons Eyckmans

SPIES #3  is featured in part 5 of this series from designer Alfons Eyckmans, who has kindly given permission to provide this model. It is a great assembly puzzle with a difficult move to discover, or you can fully build it without learning its ‘secret’ and have a puzzle you can learn to take apart.. Please respect the copyright and only create the puzzle for your own enjoyment.

You can build SPIES #3 from the STL files below. I used PLA, 0.3 layer height, 3 perimeters for all parts. You can build at a 0.2 layer height for increased quality.

You can build the plates with no text on them. This increases the difficulty of the puzzle as you won't know their orientation. In the inscribed plate set, text goes on the outside and can be read when spun left/right. You can print the text in 2 color for better contrast using a manual color change. I tend to solve these puzzles knowing the plate orientation. 

There is also a 2-piece inscribed plate. You use this to create a final-form puzzle without knowing how to take it apart. You do this by looking at the orientation hints in the video to find where all the parts go. Place them in the first plate. Take the 2-part plate and place it behind the first plate and around the pieces. Then screw the 2 pieces of the second plate together with an M3 screw (12mm +/- 4mm)

This puzzle requires a minimum of 47 moves to put all the pieces in their correct position. 

NO ROTATIONS are allowed if you wish to discover the intended solution. That is, all parts will shift up/down, left/right or backwards/forwards. If you attempt to manipulate the puzzle while holding in an upright position, you may find that the pieces (red in the picture) may rotate due to gravity. There may be non-intended solutions if you rotate parts. I often work on these puzzles on a table top to prevent unwanted rotations.

The following video introduces this puzzle, describes how I solved it,  and provides hints and a full solution.