Labyrinth Box

This is a labyrinth box. A labyrinth is basically a maze but without wrong turns. A box is typically a cube, this one is 2.15 x 2.15 x 2.15 inch (≈5.5x5.5x5.5cm). Thus we have a labyrinth box. There is also a small foot on one edge so that printing can be done cleanly without any support. The holes are 0.26 inch, thus any ball 0.25inch and smaller should work; personally I get about 0.010 undersizing on any hole printed, so I use a 0.22 inch steel bearing.

The idea came to me a few months back, I am sure I am not the first, that 3D printing provided a great opportunity for hidden features. Hidden features makes me think of great puzzle applications. From this idea, the labyrinth box was born.

The labyrinth is made of a 7x7x7 grid and is split into floors. In future iterations I will add 3D paths, but this labyrinth is essentially 2.5D. Originally I had designed a maze box, however, this proved to be much harder to solve than I expected, in particular because of the possibility of rouge threads of filament blocking the correct path. If wall thickness is reduced, then the internal features start to show on the outside face of the maze, losing its mystery.