A pair of Columbia University researchers, Timothy Sun and Changxi Zheng, developed software that can automatically turn any object, no matter the shape, into a fully functional and completely 3D printable twisty puzzle. The software uses the basic design of the Rubik’s Cube, and adapts the same internal mechanics for the new puzzle. It will detect when parts of the 3D model will collide with each other and suggest alterations to the shape to eliminate them. You can read about the entire process over on 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/76320/3d-printable-twisty-puzzles/


Below is a look at a chess piece as a twisty puzzle: