Knotty 6 – Interlocking puzzle by Yavuz Demirhan

Knotty 6

Interlocking puzzle by Yavuz Demirhan

Assemble six identical pieces into the symmetric shape shown in the cover photo.

Knotty 6 is a lovely, elegant design. Six pieces all have the same flat, simple shape, yet they interlock in a surprising way. As a puzzle it’s not difficult; it’s also extremely easy to print, so I can recommend it to anyone who might be interested, regardless of experience level with puzzles or 3D printing.

A variant is included (see instructions below) in which one of the pieces is unlike the others. In addition to the basic Knotty 6 shape, the variant pieces can form an alternate assembly, as shown in the second photo.

Printing Instructions

To print the original version of Knotty 6, just print six copies of demirhan.knotty-6.piece.stl. To get the color configuration shown, print two copies in each of three colors.

To print the variant, substitute demirhan.knotty-6.alternate-piece.stl for one of the six copies: that is, print five copies of demirhan.knotty-6.piece.stl and one copy of demirhan.knotty-6.alternate-piece.stl. (If you’ve already printed the original version, then you can print just the one extra piece and use it interchangeably with five of the originals.)

Finally, you may optionally substitute demirhan.knotty-6.inscribed-piece.stl for one of the pieces. The difference is purely aesthetic; inscribed-piece has the name of the puzzle and designer printed on it, as shown in the photos.

The puzzle is modeled using puzzlecad, and I have included the .scad file in case you want to remix it.

About the Designer

Yavuz Demirhan is one of the most prolific active designers of interlocking mechanical puzzles, with over five hundred published designs, ranging from simple and bite-sized to highly complex. His designs have featured prominently at the International Puzzle Party and have been realized by some of the world’s top puzzle craftsmen. Demirhan is also an accomplished woodcrafter, selling finely crafted copies of his and other designers’ puzzles through his etsy shop, Cubozone.

Happy puzzling!