♪♪
Narrator: THE FIRST
JIGSAW PUZZLE WAS INVENTED
IN EUROPE IN 1760.
NEARLY TWO CENTURIES LATER,
A CANADIAN INVENTOR RESHAPED
THE POPULAR PASTIME.
HIS PUZZLE PIECES, MADE OF THICK
FOAM RATHER THAN CARDBOARD,
COULD STAND UPRIGHT,
TURNING THE PUZZLE
INTO A THREE-DIMENSION MODEL.
♪♪
CONSTRUCTING A 3-D PUZZLE
PRODUCES IMPRESSIVE RESULTS.
TO DO SO, TWO 800-PIECE PUZZLE
SETS ARE USED TO CREATE
THIS SPECTACULAR
CASTLE REPLICA.
♪♪
AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER CREATES
THE PUZZLE'S
THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE.
AN ILLUSTRATOR USES TECHNIQUES,
SUCH AS VISUAL TEXTURES
AND SHADING, TO TRANSFORM
FLAT GRAPHICS
INTO A THREE-DIMENSIONAL
RENDERING.
THE INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER PREPARES
THE PRINTING AND CUTTING LAYOUT,
FITTING UP TO THREE
PUZZLES PER SHEET.
THE PUZZLE PIECES ARE MADE
FROM RIGID FOAM.
THE FOAM IS SPECIFICALLY
ENGINEERED
TO BE CHEMICALLY COMPATIBLE
WITH THE PAPER GRAPHICS
AND PROPRIETARY ADHESIVE.
♪♪
A TECHNICIAN FEEDS
ONE SHEET AT A TIME
INTO A CUSTOM-DESIGNED
LAMINATION MACHINE.
THE FIRST STATION
SPREADS HOT GLUE
OVER THE TOP OF THE FOAM SHEET.
♪♪
AN AUTOMATED ARM WITH
VACUUM SUCTION CUPS
LIFTS A SINGLE SHEET
OF PRINTED PAPER
AND PLACES IT ON
THE GLUE-COATED FOAM SHEET.
AS SOON AS THE PAPER
ADHERES TO THE FOAM,
THE SHEET IS RELEASED
FROM THE SUCTION CUPS.
♪♪
THEN THE FOAM MOVES
UNDER A ROLLER
THAT PRESSES DOWN THE PAPER.
♪♪
AS THE LAMINATED FOAM
EXITS THE MACHINE,
A TECHNICIAN ROLLS A TUBE
OVER THE FOAM,
PRESSING OUT ANY REMAINING
AIR BUBBLES
TO ENSURE THE PAPER
ADHERES FULLY.
♪♪
IN THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE,
THE INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER
ASSEMBLED A BLUEPRINT
FOR HOW THE PUZZLE PIECES
WOULD BE SHAPED AND LAID OUT.
THAT DESIGN WENT TO A TOOLMAKER,
WHO PRODUCED A CORRESPONDING
CUTTING DIE
OUT OF STEEL KNIVES.
♪♪
THE DIE IS MOUNTED
INSIDE THE CUTTING MACHINE.
♪♪
A TECHNICIAN FEEDS THE MACHINE
ONE LAMINATED FOAM SHEET
AT A TIME,
PAPER SIDE DOWN.
♪♪
GRIPPERS GRAB
THE EDGE OF THE PAPER,
PULLING THE SHEET INTO
THE MACHINE.
THE CUTTING DIE SLICES THE
PUZZLE PIECES INTO THE FOAM.
♪♪
EVEN THOUGH THE CUTTING
PRESSURE COMPRESSES THE FOAM,
IT IMMEDIATELY BOUNCES BACK,
KEEPING THE SHEET INTACT.
♪♪
THANKS TO A HIGH-QUALITY
RUBBER SHEET
INSERTED BETWEEN THE BLADES,
THE PIECES DON'T GET STUCK
IN THE DIE.
THE STIFF RUBBER
PROVIDES COUNTER-PRESSURE
TO HELP REMOVE THE FOAM SHEET.
♪♪
IF THE SHEET HAS TWO OR THREE
PUZZLES PRINTED ON IT,
THE CUTTING DIE SEPARATES THEM.
THEN A TECHNICIAN PLACES
THE PUZZLE
ON A SEMI-AUTOMATIC
CONVEYOR BELT
THAT MOVES IT TO
THE DISMANTLING MACHINE.
THE MACHINE INFUSES THE DIE-CUT
PUZZLE SHEET WITH STEAM.
THE STEAM PREVENTS
STATIC ELECTRICITY,
WHICH CAUSES
PIECES TO CLING TOGETHER
OR TO THE INSIDE OF THE MACHINE.
THE MACHINE SEPARATES THE PIECES
AND DISPENSES THEM INTO
A PUZZLE BOX.
A TECHNICIAN ADDS THE STANDARD
INSTRUCTION SHEET
AND SEALS THE BOX.
♪♪
THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE
IN BLACK AND WHITE
BUT CAN BE VIEWED
IN COLOR ONLINE.
THE FIRST STEP IS TO SORT
THE PIECES BY COLOR AND DESIGN
AND SET ASIDE THE ONES
MARKED WITH A RED DOT
WHICH IS PART OF
THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS,
NOT THE PUZZLE ITSELF.
THE NEXT STEP IS TO ASSEMBLE
THE PUZZLE, SECTION BY SECTION.
ALL THE SECTIONS ARE FLAT,
SO THE FINAL STEP IS TO
ATTACH THE FLAT SECTIONS
TO MAKE THE PUZZLE
THREE-DIMENSIONAL.
FOR AN ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE,
YOU CAN FORGO
THE STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
AND REFER ONLY TO
THE PHOTOS ON THE BOX.
♪♪
IF YOU HAPPEN TO
LOSE A PUZZLE PIECE,
YOU CAN GO TO
THE COMPANY'S WEBSITE
TO TRACE THE NUMBER
OF YOUR MISSING PIECE,
THEN ORDER A NEW PIECE ONLINE.
THE COMPANY WILL MAIL IT TO YOU
SO THAT YOU CAN
COMPLETE YOUR PUZZLE.
♪♪
UNLIKE A TRADITIONAL
FLAT PUZZLE,
YOU CAN MOVE YOUR 3-D PUZZLE
WITHOUT IT FALLING APART.
♪♪
IT TAKES FOUR TO SIX MONTHS
TO DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
THIS INCREDIBLE 3-D PUZZLE.
NOW IT'S TIME TO SPEND
EVEN LONGER
PIECING THIS PUZZLE TOGETHER.
♪♪
