Learning Targets
- Translate a 3D idea into a clear color-coded isometric sketch.
- Represent each puzzle piece separately while preserving its 3D geometry.
- Check a concept against measurable design constraints before CAD modeling.
IED Unit 2 • Lesson 2.10 • Puzzle Cube Challenge Day 1
Puzzle Cube Concept Design & Sketching
Focus question: How can an engineer communicate a three-dimensional puzzle design clearly enough to build it accurately in CAD?
Your lesson guide
Objective
Translate a 3D idea into a clear color-coded isometric sketch. Represent each puzzle piece separately while preserving its 3D geometry. Check a concept against measurable design constraints before CAD modeling.
Materials
For the online work: a browser and your engineering notebook. Follow the activity’s materials list for any physical build, and get teacher approval before using equipment.
Plan your time
Suggested work block: 45–60 minutes. Physical builds and projects may span several classes; follow your teacher’s schedule.
Lesson Overview
What You Are Learning
Project Workflow
This is the first milestone of a four-lesson project. Your sketches become the design plan you will reproduce in Fusion during Lesson 2.11.
PlanColor-CodeCheckSketch PiecesSubmit
Puzzle Cube Challenge
Project Requirements
These requirements apply throughout Lessons 2.10–2.13.
3 × 3 × 3 Unit Cube
- 27 total unit cubes.
- Each unit cube is exactly 20 mm × 20 mm × 20 mm.
- The assembled puzzle must be 60 mm × 60 mm × 60 mm.
- The final puzzle contains exactly 5 pieces.
Five Connected Pieces
- Each piece contains at least 3 unit cubes.
- Every piece must be one continuous solid with cubes connected face-to-face.
- At least 1 of the 5 pieces must span at least 2 unit cubes in X, Y, and Z.
- Pieces may repeat the same shape.
Plan for Manufacturing
- Use five different colors consistently in the sketch, Fusion model, and final printed puzzle.
- Each piece must have a practical flat-face orientation that can print without support material.
- No additional clearance is required; use the exact 20 mm unit geometry.
Example
Example Color-Coded Puzzle Cube
This example shows how five different puzzle pieces can be represented with color in an assembled isometric view. Use it as a visual reference for communicating piece boundaries—not as a design to copy.
Notice: The colors make the five pieces easy to distinguish while the completed form still reads as one 3 × 3 × 3 cube. Your design should use the same idea with your own five-piece arrangement.
Assignment
Design Your Five-Piece Puzzle Cube
Create a paper design for a 3 × 3 × 3 puzzle cube made from five separate interlocking-style pieces. You will use this drawing as the blueprint for the Fusion model in Lesson 2.11.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Draw the full cube: Create a 3 × 3 × 3 isometric cube grid. The grid represents all 27 unit cubes in the finished puzzle.
- Divide the cube into five pieces: Decide which unit cubes belong to Piece A, B, C, D, and E. Every one of the 27 unit cubes must belong to exactly one piece.
- Choose five colors: Assign one distinct color to each piece. Use those same five colors throughout the entire Puzzle Cube Challenge.
- Color the assembled isometric: Clearly color each visible unit cube so the boundaries between the five pieces can be interpreted.
- Check the piece sizes: Count the unit cubes in each piece. Every piece must contain at least 3 unit cubes.
- Check connectivity: Confirm each piece is one continuous shape. Every unit cube in a piece must connect face-to-face to another cube in that same piece.
- Check the 3D-piece rule: At least one piece must extend at least 2 unit cubes in the X, Y, and Z directions. These pieces should occupy at least a 2 × 2 × 2 bounding region, even though they do not need to fill it.
- Sketch each piece separately: Draw a separate isometric sketch for Pieces A–E. Use the same color as the assembled drawing and make the location of every unit cube clear.
- Perform a final count: Add the cube counts from all five pieces. The total must equal exactly 27.
Before You Submit
- Your assembled drawing represents a 3 × 3 × 3 cube.
- Exactly five colors and five pieces are shown.
- All five individual piece sketches match the assembled design.
- Every piece has at least 3 unit cubes and is face-connected.
- At least one piece satisfies the X/Y/Z span requirement.
- The piece cube counts total exactly 27.
Submission
What You Will Submit
File requirement: Combine your sketches into one clear PDF or scan named LastName_FirstName_2_10_PuzzleSketches.pdf. Keep the original sketches available because you will use them while modeling in Lesson 2.11.
Grading
20-Point Lesson Rubric
| Criteria | Points |
|---|---|
| Color-coded isometric view clearly communicates the assembled five-piece cube | 5 |
| Five separate individual-piece sketches are complete and match the assembled design | 5 |
| Design satisfies the 27-cube, minimum-piece-size, connectivity, and 3D-span requirements | 6 |
| Sketches are neat, readable, consistently color-coded, and ready to use as a CAD plan | 4 |
| Total | 20 |
Resources
Lesson Resources
IED Unit 2
Return to the Unit 2 lesson list and course sequence.
Introduction to Engineering Design
Return to the IED course hub for units, resources, certifications, and current course information.
Build your lesson report
Checkpoint: is your evidence ready?
- Check calculations, units, labels, and measurements against the activity requirements.
- Record what actually happened, including unexpected results.
- Explain what you changed and why; attach required drawings, photos, CAD, or code in your classroom assignment.
Color-coded assembled isometric: one complete drawing of the 3 × 3 × 3 cube showing all five pieces. Five individual piece sketches: one separate isometric sketch for Piece A, B, C, D, and E. Piece cube counts: clearly label how many unit cubes are used in each of the five pieces.
A PDF download is not a submission. Review it, then upload it and any required attachments through your classroom assignment system.