Maze Maker

Maze Maker is a maze generator. It has two types of mazes:

 

1. Flat paper maze: Produces fine line sketches, with cutting lines, engraving lines, and answer lines colored in three layers, the laser software distributes the processes according to the colors.

 

2. 3D bead maze: Produces stackable three-layer entities, with a base that supports the beads, the maze layer cut through into passages, and a transparent acrylic cover to prevent beads from falling out—place a steel ball inside and shake it left and right to solve the puzzle.

[3D bead maze] is where this tool truly becomes challenging, the net width of the passages is driven by the bead diameter, with kerf compensating precisely, and it will detect those "island walls that will fall after cutting" and automatically repair them. These are pure geometric algorithms, the boundary of whether it can truly become a physical object. Be sure to conduct testing before mass production.

Backstory

Inspired by a childhood memory.

When I was about 13 years old, I was in middle school. Our school was located in a remote town where there were no electronic devices, and the only entertainment for students was homemade games like cards, marbles, and DIY crafts.

One summer, two teachers came to our school from a big city; their college majors were related to education. They were assigned to our school as teachers for 3-6 months to complete their university assessment.

Once, these two teachers set up a DIY art class for us, where one teacher told us: “It’s not only great artists who can create good works, you can too.” So, in this class, the teacher encouraged students to create according to their imagination without limits, and set up three prizes.

I made a black and white silhouette piece: it depicted a boy climbing a mountain and looking at the other side from the peak. The prototype was my elementary school classmate, who had a dream to leave the mountains and see the world outside when he grew up.

I shared this story with the teachers and classmates, and this DIY piece won first prize. The teacher gave me a marble maze toy as a reward.

And told me: “When people are young, they sometimes feel lost in a maze, stagnating, and other times, they take many detours yet end up back where they started. But as long as you keep moving forward and learn to observe, you will find the exit. I hope you always maintain a passion for learning.”

Thus, I created this Maze Maker, hoping that those interested in DIY can make some maze toys to give to children, to cultivate their observation skills and encourage them to explore the physical world, contributing to the progress of human civilization in the future.

Changelog

v1.0.2:

1. Added support for 18 languages, following the Atomm platform language settings;
2. Optimized the interface by adjusting the language and unit settings to the upper right corner;
3. Message prompts use components provided by the platform;

v1.0.1:

1. Adjusted the page layout and interaction of Maze Maker, added a [maze type] processing flowchart.
2. Optimized dropdown options, numeric forms, and other controls to follow platform UI specifications.
3. Enhanced the gaming experience of the [3D bead maze], added game operation instructions.
4. Added support for [French] language.