Bubble Universe

This double-layered packing puzzle consists of twelve pieces. There are concaves on both sides of the tray, one is a circular shape, and the other is a square shape, and the object of the puzzle is to fit all twelve pieces in the tray. As it turned out, these two challenges became quite difficult. The circular side is comparatively easier than the other side (not easy at all), while the square side is presumed to be very tricky.

Juno designed the puzzle primarily using CAD software, but he himself does not know the optimal solution for the two challenges. You may find a better solution than he did. In his intended solutions, the pieces fit on both sides of the tray without any force, and when the tray is flipped, the pieces fall out by gravity. If you feel it's too tight to put the pieces in the tray, there should be a better way.

The hole on the white disk represents the distance between the white and dark disks. The shortest distance one has a small circular hole, and the longest distance one has three oval holes. It is obvious that the small circular hole means 1, and the oval one means 4.

Producing this puzzle required precision and accuracy. All the pieces and the tray were milled out by a CNC router. To glue the two disks together in the exact spot, positioning pins were used. Those bamboo dowel pins also work as reinforcement of the pieces since some of the pieces have a quite big overhang.

If you would like to try the puzzle without the actual product, for example with a supercomputer, please refer to the measurements of the pieces and the tray on the page bottom.

The solution to this puzzle will be supplied upon request.

Size: 169 mm x 169 mm x 32 mm

Number of pieces: 12 + box

Material: American Black Walnut, Koto, Fijian Mahogany, and Bamboo hidden pins

Designer: Junichi Yananose (Juno)

Origin: Made in Australia

Ages: 6+

Measurements of the pieces and the tray

(Very subtle tolerances are given to the actual product.)