This is my Mini Pentultimate, which uses the shells mechanism. Even though this mechanism is probably the most widely known, I think this is the first implementation of it. It is about the same size as a pyraminx crystal:



The puzzle was designed after a challenge from Andrew Cormier to test the limits of the white, strong and flexible material from Shapeways. Well, I certainly tested the limits. This puzzle has some very delicate and thin parts (you can really notice the flexibility of the material at this scale) but once assembled, it is perfectly stable and doesn't pop. Despite the delicate parts, this puzzle is not much more delicate than any others.
The turning is very smooth without any clicking. The tolerance to misalignments is also very good. This may just be the best turning Pentultimate out there. This one easily competes with some production puzzles.



I have acquired permission from Jason so you can now purchase this puzzle from my Shapeways shop for just $99/€85. Click here to buy the Mini Pentultimate DIY kit from Tom's Puzzle shop.

VIDEO

Wow, thats amazing. Can't wait for the video!

How thick are each of the layers? What kind of limits did you discover?

Looks great! Can't wait to see a video!

I played with it at DCD.
And I'm still stunned about how well it worked.


me want all your dodecahedrons

As soon as I saw this thing on your desk from the DCD pictures, I simply couldn't wait for it to be revealed. Amazing work.

Wow what an amazing puzzle. I can't wait to see the video.

P.S. You said that you used the shell mech. What is it?

Apparently my little joke is too subtle...

It's the same size as a pyraminx cyrstal...


....but it's not?



Actually, it's 25mm on an edge.

I am in love!

AS soon as it hits your shapeways shop, I will purchase it!

I just saw that the title says "Mini Pentulatimate" and then you said that this is the same size as the crystal pyraminx..
which was kinda wierd untill I saw your last reply.

If you're allowed to sell it on shapeways, how much do you think it will cost?

If their's a big Pyraminx Crystal, and then a smaller one, what do you think he's made?

Looks great Tom. I'm looking forward to seeing your 'competitive' price.

I have a good idea of what it will cost, and I can afford it no problem. You can as well, I promise!
It's a pentultimate!! It can cost any price IMO

Wow! I'm at a split decision now, as to which I should get. I suppose it will come down to price...

Define "afford" Do you mean like $20-$30 afford?

So i've attempted this many times. I've tried a Rubik's ball mech but that failed. I also tried a one-inner-layer mechanism similar to a v-6 mech that had small ridges for the mechanism to click into. I never finished the v-6 mechanism because solidworks kept crashing. I challenge anyone who wants to design it with this mechanism.

Well, isn't that the bandaged Master Pentultimate idea? I think it may have already been made.

It will be CHEAP! that's all I can say right now! I just hope he will be allowed to sell it.

I reckon it will be cheap, and it will be allowed to be sold. I went with Greg's because I do and will presume until proven wrong that his is still cheaper, and I haven't seen a significant difference betweent the two Pentultimates.

I'll definitely buy one for Christmas. And who knows? It might open up a whole new era of pentultimate modding.

Yeah! how about a cubeshaped one? or even crazier a tetrahedron shaped???

It's not as simple as Master Pentultimate -> Pentultimate.

Fine. Be technical.

Fine, a deeper cut Master Pentultimate which has had the internal middle layer bandaged to prevent it coming out of misalignment. Happy now.

Amazing
I like how the spinning is really impressive (@ everyone yes I was on the IRC )
I might buy one someday for the sake of comparison, I really love it

- Greg

What about an icosahedron?

Who is this "Cubeguy" you are talking about? *Wearing false mustache*



Improper grammar: Double negative

Yes, because that was worth two posts...

The icosahedron has already been made by Jason, I'm too lazy to find the post.

I am sorry for any confusion, but cheap still only means relatively cheap.
If it goes up for sale (that is, if I can get permission from Jason), it will be US $99 in white strong and flexible, with free UPS shipping. Which is slightly more expensive than Greg's, but once you factor in magnets, stabilizing sphere and the like the difference is only slight and you're going to get a very smooth moving, stable puzzle. And in due time (Monday), you will be able to get other matching dodecahedral puzzles.

Also, please keep this discussion on topic. False mustaches are not what this topic is about.

I consider 100 dollars so cheap I could have never hoped for any less! I hope you hear from Jason soon!

NINETY-NINE DOLLARS?!?!!?!? Aww...

I seriously do not believe you know what is actually here for sale. Tomz is selling a fully printed, smooth turning Penultimate that actually has a mechanism. Greg, simply put is selling pieces of plastic with holes. If you think this is expensive I believe you need to take a gander at the puzzles for sale at Oskar's shop. If you only stop to think, you will realize that 99.00 is a reasonable price. Please stop this useless complaining.

I agree! It has a very complicated mechanism! I am 100% positive that Tom put all the work in that he needed to make this puzzle as good as possible!

To give you an idea of the mechanism:

Congratulations on this Tom, it's really beautiful, you have me sold, will we be able to purchase a dyed and stickered puzzle?

Thanks,

Chris Hemerich

gorgeous! I hope they do indeed become available...
thanks for sharing the mech pic... I've been very curious...

Please note that I do not have permission from Jason as of yet to sell this and I don't want to get ahead of things. But yes, you will be able to buy this assembled though it will be quite expensive. I simply can't handle too many orders of this. My time is limited enough already. But it is a lot of fun to do it yourself, it's very rewarding to see the mechanism up close.
However, I would be quite happy if persons with more time on their hands would buy DIY kits to assemble and resell for a profit.

Wow, wonderful puzzle! At first seeing the teaser I thought that it was a black version of the magnetic pentultimate! It's wonderful to see a pentultimate with this mech, finally, since it's the most straigtforward design, yet it's never been made before...
Wonderful puzzle, the mech pic is pretty ^^

I guess this is probably going against the whole 'mini' idea, but if you were to make it slightly larger (say, Megaminx size) how much more would it cost?

(kind of) off topic- will you also be releasing the Starminx? I'm particularly excited about that!

How does the Mini Crystal compare to the regular one?

It turns a bit better, I think. It's still squishy but a bit smoother in general and it catches a little less often. Oh, and it doesn't feel like you're holding depleted uranium. But who's going to buy a $80 puzzle when you can buy a $40 one?
I might make it available but again, I'd have to arrange that with Meffert.

Oh, here's your teaser for monday.

Hmm, I wonder what that can possibly be? XD

On a practical note, I'd love to see a mass-produced Mini Crystal, and a Starminx.
Are the pieces on the mini Pentultimate too small to injection-mold properly, or could that be mass-produced too? I'd love to see them (;

thanks for making such brain-asploding puzzles!

Amazing puzzle, amazing turning and (if you get permission) amazing price.

That said i do have a question about the size. I was just wondering if you made it this size just because it would be a lot cheaper and more of a challenge or if you actually prefer such small puzzles? I always found my megaminx to be a little small and fiddly. Just a tiny bit smaller than the original pyraminx crystal is the size i would prefer but i obviously wouldn't prefer the price that goes with that

Great job, Tom!
I've seen these puzzles at GCD and the quality and movement is just great. I'm usually not a big fan of printed puzzles, but these are amazing. Looking forward for the outcome with the Starminx .

October is month of Pentultimates!

Thank you all for the kind commments.

The Mini Pentultimate can now be ordered from my puzzle shop for just $99/€85. I have now also published the official video.

Ordered! Thank you Tom! And thank you Jason!

This deserves another topic in the Market Place section IMO

Beautiful, and very impressive.

Do you have any plans to offer a non-mini version at a higher cost?

This is so exciting! So what length of screws do I need? Does it come with detailed assembly instructions?

Length... about 10mm would be good, but you can take a little more. I also used springs in my version, but that may not be totally necessary. Assembly instructions... no, but you can always ask me

Thanks to Tom, it looks after a few weeks, I will be able to provide stickers to this beautiful puzzle!

Tom, this is excellent new, and the movement of the puzzle is wonderful!

Would you be offering it in regular size that is comparable to, say, Pyramix Crystal? I would like that much better. It does necessarily requires resizing of the whole puzzle, but rather making the outer layer "thicker" or "taller". With that in mind and having a small core I would love to be able to order sets of outer layer parts for other outer shapes.

Since this puzzle cuts in half with each twist, I'm thinking the small size is probably perfect. (Think Skewb)

Chris