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About Project

With the 2026 World Cup officially in full swing and football fever taking over the globe, it’s the perfect time to fire up your 3D printer! If you want to bring the tournament’s excitement into your home, you have to check out this incredible 18cm World Cup Puzzle Ball on MakerWorld.

This ingenious design is a true geometric marvel. Crafted from individual interlocking pentagons and hexagons, the model slides together seamlessly using rigid interlocking edge joints鈥攃ompletely eliminating the need for a single drop of glue! The progressive assembly is incredibly satisfying as the pieces wedge tightly against each other to build a perfect, sturdy sphere.

What makes it even better? It doubles as a versatile, functional print! By leaving the top pieces off, it transforms into an eye-catching decorative bowl for your game-day snacks or a stunning custom gift box for the die-hard soccer fans in your life. It even includes a dedicated display stand beautifully embossed with “2026” to commemorate this historic event.

Load up your favorite team’s filament colors, download the model, and build your own piece of World Cup memorabilia piece by piece while watching the matches!

Solution

• Step 1: The 3D digital model files were downloaded from MakerWorld, and the printing parameters were configured within the slicing software. Cream and tan filaments were selected to accurately replicate a traditional two-tone soccer ball pattern.
• Step 2: The individual pentagonal tiles, hexagonal tiles, and the custom display stand were fabricated using an FDM 3D printer equipped with a multi-material automatic system.
• Step 3: The structural assembly was initiated by laying a single tan pentagonal tile flat, after which five cream hexagonal tiles were slid into its outer edge slots using the rigid interlocking joints.
• Step 4: Additional rows of alternating pentagon and hexagon tiles were progressively slid onto the exposed vertical tabs of the lower layers, allowing the natural three-dimensional curvature of the sphere to form a rigid, open bowl structure.
• Step 5: The final upper tiles were slid into their matching slots to fully enclose the sphere, causing the entire interlocking structure to wedge tightly against itself without any glue, and the completed puzzle ball was placed onto the “2026” embossed display stand.