ToddlerMag: Magnetic Puzzle Pieces

These puzzle pieces can be printed without magnets, if you wish. But the wonder of this toy is that it's been designed to safely contain four small magnets so children can play with these toys on any magnetic surface, such as a refrigerator or dishwasher.

But because I intended for these to be baby-safe, it's important to read this important safety note: parents of young children are (or should be) aware of the dangers of children swallowing magnets. They can get stuck in the digestive system and lead to dangerous (or deadly) consequences. Please handle the magnets with care. As a parent of three children, the youngest of whom is 14-months-old, I simply keep loose magnets far out of the reach of all of my children. I carefully count ONLY the needed number of magnets when preparing a print and keep a close eye on them until they're safely embedded (printed) within each toy.

The toys you see here are designed to allow small neodymium magnets (circular, 8x3 mm, such as https://amzn.to/3v5c8ox or https://amzn.to/3Z37SDN) to be printed inside each piece. Each piece has been designed to be large enough to exceed the minimum dimensions outlined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for children under 3 years-old. But if these toys ARE to be used with small children, despite the precautions mentioned above, it is incumbent on each user to ensure that the print quality is up-to-snuff. Try bending each piece. Look for separations in the layers. In short, look for, and test, any defect that may lead to an unsafe situation.

Please note that the links here are Amazon Affiliate links that provide me with a small commission for each sale at no cost to you. You're welcome to order any rectangular magnets of the same dimension (0.8x0.4x0.2 inches) if you'd prefer not to use the links. But the small commission on sales is appreciated.

For ToyBox users, I've provided GCODE files for your use. All are in the "Toybox GCODE Files.zip" file. Just unzip it, then upload the gcode itself directly to the printer (as you would an STL file). The printer will then automatically print based on the instructions contained in that file.

The following instructions are specific to the Toybox printer only:

The print code for these toys has been modified to add a short delay (a "holding pattern", if you will) once the holes for the magnets have been fully printed. The times below are how long it takes the printer to reach this point (not including warm-up). When printing, I simply set a timer for each of these times so that when the alarm went off, I knew it was time to immediately go to the printer.

When the appropriate time has been reached, the printhead moves to the back of the printer, then moves right-to-left multiple times at a slow speed, giving you about 60 seconds to insert the magnets safely. One final motion of the print head, from the right-rear to the front of the printer gives you a cue that the print is about to restart.

Approximate time needed to reach the "holding pattern":

-- Piece 1 - 16:45
-- Piece 2 - 22:15
-- Piece 3 - 20:45
-- Piece 4 - 19:30
-- Piece 5 - 21:45
-- Piece 6 - 18:00
-- Corner 1 - 18:00
-- Corner 2 - 16:30
-- Corner 3 - 16:45
-- Corner 4 - 16:15
-- Border 1 - 20:15
-- Border 2 - 19:30
-- Border 3 - 20:15
-- Border 4 - 19:15
-- Border 5 - 18:30
-- Border 6 - 16:30
-- Border 7 - 17:30

(Please let me know if any of these times cause a problem for you. They're based on my tests, but I'd be interested to hear if they vary from one printer to the next.)

If you have any questions about this, or any of my other, designs, my email address is included in my creator profile (linked below). You can also join me, and the entire Toybox community, in our Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/385099612328348).

For most printers, you'll just need to pause your print at the proper moment, but I won't provide guidance on that. (Toybox users, see my description above when using the Toybox-specific GCODE files.)

Standard printing settings using PLA should be sufficient for these models.