Right now, we are just waiting to get all of our pieces printed.  We are printing 10 edge pieces, 16, straight pieces, 12 turn pieces, and 6 t-shaped pieces, for a total of 50 pieces. There are enough to fill up two faces of the cube.  There will be 1 base cube, 1 trigger, and 1 top face printed out.

Figure One: T-Shaped Piece

Figure Two: Edge Piece

Figure Three: Straight Piece

Figure Four: Edge Piece

Figure Five: Base Cube

Figure Six: Top Face

Figure Seven: Trigger

Figure One: Test Face with Test Pieces

Figure One: Microscope

To better differentiate the pegs and the surface of the cube, the pegs were colored with black expo marker.

Figure Two: Computer

The pegs were too large for the camera to pick up, so to take the measurements of the diameters and spaces between, two measurements were taken.  Two measurements of the diameter of the pegs were taken, .2664 centimeters and .2631 centimeters. The distance between the pegs were taken as well, at .2924 centimeters and .2818 centimeters.  The measurement for the diameter in the peg was supposed to be .2 centimeters and the measurement between .3 centimeters.  The average percent differences between the ideal diameter and distance and the real one are  32.3% and 4.3% respectively.

Polycarbonite, to our dismay, is not a material that can be used for laser cutting.  A new material had to be ordered, cast acrylic.
An optically clear cast acrylic sheet was ordered from McMaster-Carr. It is 1/16'' thick and it is a 2 feet by 2 feet square.  This material can be cut using the laser.  We should be able to get all of the acrylic pieces cut for the pieces in Week Seven.  Glue will be used to keep the glass in place.  The acrylic costs $21.14 (including shipping).

TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $32.94

An impact-resistant polycarbonate sheet was ordered from McMaster-Carr. It is a 24 inch by 24 inch sheet that is 0.04 inch thick.  It is clear, with "good" tensile strength and "excellent" impact strength. Both sides of the sheet will be smooth.  It was $13.66.
A 25 pack of 3/8 inch diameter ball bearings were ordered off amazon.com from BC Trade, LLC.  They are made of a steel alloy. They have a smooth finish. It was $8.21.

TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $11.80

Figure one: Face cube

The base cube will be 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters, with 1.5 centimeters thick.  There will be 100 protrusions per face of the cube, as seen in figure one, only on the side faces.  The top face will be connected to the rest of the cube using hinges.

Figure Two: Piece. Front View (left), Side View (middle), Bottom View (right)

The pieces will be 2 centimeter by 2 centimeter cube.  The groove will be a little more than .5 inch deep and .5 inch wide so it can hold a ball bearing that is 3/8 inch will be able to travel through the grooves smoothly.  The impact-resistant polycarbonate will be used to cover the grooves so that the ball would not escape.

Small prototypes of the base cube and pieces were made.

Figure One: Base Cube

The cube was made without a top.  It is 5 centimeters by 5 centimeters. There are 100 protrusions per face, except on the final cube the bottom face and the top face will not have any. The walls are 1 centimeter thick.

Figure Two: Test pieces. Front View (left); Side View (right)

Two test pieces were made. They are 1 centimeter by 1 centimeter cubes. The groove is .6 centimeters wide and .6 centimeters deep.  The two pieces were made to compare the bottoms and figure out which was the best to use as the final piece.

Figure Three: Test bottom. Four Holes (left) and Center Circle (right)

The two bottoms are the four holed bottom and the center circle bottom. In the four holed bottom, there are four holes that would fit over the protrusions on the faces of the cube. In the center circled bottom, the circle fits in the middle of four protrusions.  The piece that worked the best is the center circled one, thus the one that will be used in the design.

We took a trip to Home Depot to buy some parts.  We were able to find hinges, and a variety pack of springs.  We were unable to find a glass/plastic material, and ball bearings.

Figure One: Hinges

The hinges were $1.98.  The hinges are 3/4 inches by 11/16 inches, as seen in figure one. They're small enough to fit the ideal size of the cube.  The problem with these are that the screws are as long as the ideal thickness of the walls, so the wall thickness must be increased.  The walls will need to have screw holes drilled into them.

The variety pack of springs were $4.37.  The assortment kit was most ideal to get so that there are a multitude of springs to test and figure out which was the most ideal.

TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $6.35

Figure One: The Maze of Piggy Bank

We bought a competitor's toy for comparison, as seen in figure one.  For $6.99, "The Maze of Piggy Bank" was bought from amazon.com.

Figure Two: Instructions

Our goal is to send in Creo files so that there can be pieces printed out to test.

Figure One: Cube

The a test of the main cube will be printed. It will be hollow and 5 centimeters by 5 centimeters. There will be 100 dots per face.

Figure Two: Test Pieces

There will be four test pieces tested out. Two normal face pieces and two edge pieces will be created with two different kinds of bottoms.  One bottom will be so it can fit over each peg and the other bottom will be a circle that will fit snugly in the middle of the pegs.  This will show which type of bottom would be most ideal to use with the ideal project, and it will see how well the edge pieces will work.

How to go from face to face?

Figure One: Edge Piece

Creo models have been made of the base cube and model pieces.

Figure One: Closed Cube

Figure Two: Open Cube

Figure Three: Turning Piece

Figure Three: Straight Piece

The pieces would fit over the pegs on the cube, similar to the way a Lego works. The pieces will have a transparent covering to keep the ball bearing in place.

A locking mechanism has been designed.

Figure One: Locked (Left) and Unlocked (Right)

When the ball reaches the maze completion point, it enters a hole so that it triggers the latch so it displaces.  The latch moves and lets go of the door, as seen in figure one. This allows for the ball to move past the latch and exit the chute.  The door will lock itself again once the door is shut.

In the market, there are many toys similar to each other. The two toys that were the most similar to our design are "Maze Money" and "3D Crystal Puzzle".

Maze Money 

Maze Money is a toy made by MagNif.  Marketed at $19.99, this toy has a built in maze, so when it is solved, it triggers the door so it can be opened and removed to access the money inside.  It is targeted at children ages 12 and over.  It is a cube at 3.75 inches a side. Its strengths are that it is easy to use, and the transparency is appealing. Its weaknesses are that it is transparent, thus not being too private, and it cannot carry too large of an amount of money, though it can fit a gift card.


3D Crystal Puzzle: Piggy Bank

The A(maze)ing Heist will be a hand-held, puzzle bank. A 6 inch by 6 inch cube will have one or more mazes, each on a face of the cube.  The maze(s) must be solved in order to open the toy.  3-D Printing will be used to make the cube and the pieces.

Figure One: Face

 Each face of the cube will be designed so that pieces will fit on it to create a maze. The cube will be made so that the sides are already connected to each other aside from the top part, so that it will open once the maze is completed.  Each square inch of the faces will have four equally spaced pegs. The bottom of the pieces will be so that it will be able to fit over the pegs and stay snugly.

Figure Two: Pieces, Top View (Left) and Side View (Right)

The pieces are 1 inch by 1 inch cubes.  The depth and width of the grooves in the cube will be large enough to fit a ball bearing, as shown in figure two.  The tops of the grooves will be covered by a transparent material so that the ball bearing is seen, yet still encased.  Each piece will have a differently shaped path, like a straight line or a t, to give variety for maze design. The ideal size of the ball bearing is still unknown.  Many different sizes of the ball bearing will be tested to see which one fits the toy the best.

The A(maze)ing Heist is a piggy bank with a twist. Incorporating puzzles and mazes, the key to unlocking your bank is in your hands.
Piggy banks are common objects given to children to teach them about saving money.  The money is usually fished from the hole on the piggy bank's belly, but that isn't that secure or fun.  With the A(maze)ing Heist, you have both.