3D Modelling, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting

Chess – A classic in a miniature format

July 14, 2024

Last month I posted about my miniature Qawale project. Both me and my son love the size and the fact that it is actually easier to play than the original. I started to wonder if it would be possible to minituarise chess the same way as that is another game we enjoy playing. It would require a lot of modelling with all the different pieces, and the tolerances would be very tight as it was supposed to nest on top of the Qawale board. On top of that, the question of course was if my printer is even capable of printing on that scale.

Yes, it required a lot of modelling, yes it was very tight, and yes my printer was able to pull it off!

This is how it ended up looking.

(Mini) Build Log:

After spending multiple evenings, this is the design I came up with. It is the absolutely maximum size for the board I’m able to fit to the Qawale board’s footprint.
I will keep the same design for the lid. It will have a laser cut piece of acrylic embedded to the print. It will also be taller to fit the chess pieces.
The pieces took more time than I had expected. Especially the knight was tricky as I wasn’t sure if the printer is able to handle the small details.
The board will have 64 magnets (6mm x 3mm) to alight the pieces. The pieces on the other hand will have 4mm x 2mm magnets.
The chequered board is printed upside down for the best possible surface quality. It will align to the base with 5 pins incorporated to the print and will be glued down after the magnets are added.
Printing the chequered board is the first step.
The base is next. The print is stopped midway to insert four 6mm x 3mm magnets. These are used when the board is nested with the Qawale board, or when the lid is placed under the board when you are playing.
The board is ready for the 64 magnets. The holes for aligning the chequered board can be seen on the corners and on the center.
Magnets are in. The chequered board is placed on top after adding few drops of glue.
First batch of chess pieces and the printer didn’t have any issue printing them.
The pieces got magnets as well, just a bit smaller ones.
A piece of acrylic is laser cut for the lid. I chose to got with deep black for contrast.
To embed the acrylic to the lid, the printer is paused mid print. Additional four more magnets are embedded for nesting with the Qawale board or when the lid is under the board while playing.
There is a slight step down on the bottom of the lid. That is due to the design with the raised chequered board. The four magnets are attaching the lid to the board and are aligned with the magnets under the chequered board.
Ready! The board is very small.
The lid fits perfectly and the black acrylic looks great.
The lid aligns under the board magnetically while playing.
Both of the boards have an acrylic plate with similar design.
Both of the boards can be nested on top of each other while playing…
… and also while packed away.
I’m very happy with the result. Now I need to think of what other board games I should add to the collection!

Random Posts

Customizable Mood-O-Meter for the office

December 18, 2022

Rocket Grill – Part 2

June 25, 2022

‘Cold Forged’ banister

September 16, 2020

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses very few cookies, but cookies nevertheless. By continuing to use this site, you accept the use of cookies.