Foldable chessboard "Chess Pencil"

Foldable chessboard in pencil design

An extraordinary chessboard that combines functionality and design: when folded, it looks like an oversized, 60 cm long pencil – when unfolded, it transforms into a full-sized, stable chessboard measuring 32 x 32 cm. The ‘eraser’ provides enough storage space for chess pieces (even large ones).

Characteristic pencil look with contrasting tip, wooden section, lacquer finish and eraser.
The perfect gift for chess lovers.
Ideal for school, the office or as a decorative object.
An eye-catcher on any desk – both closed as a ‘pencil’ and open as a chessboard.

Features

Fully configurable using the included OpenSCAD files.
Can be printed without AMS and without support structures.
Suitable for magnetic chess pieces.
Additional materials required: 88 magnets (height 5 mm, radius 3 mm): 64 for the chess squares, 16 for the holders and 8 for the closure.

How it works

The chessboard can be rolled up into an octagonal column.
When closed, it takes the form of a large pencil with a tip, shaft and eraser end.
Inside the eraser is a generous storage space where all the chess pieces can be safely stored.
The tip of the pencil also contains a small storage space – for example, for draughts pieces or even real pencils.
When unfolded, it forms a flat, full-size chessboard with 4x4 cm squares.

Printing instructions

The model is divided into several parts and configured for Bambulab A1. No AMS is required.
All parts can be printed without support structures. The standard settings work for PLA.
The individual chess squares (print plate 3) must be printed twice – once in white and once in black.
The chessboard consists of 8 strips, each with 8 squares. Each strip requires its own print plate. The two outer strips (print plates 5 and 6) contain a magnetic closure. Print plate 4 is for the middle strips and must be printed 6 times.

Assembly instructions

1.75 mm filament (7 x 32 cm) can be used to assemble the hinges. Instead, I used 7 rods of spring steel wire, 32 cm long and 1.6 mm thick.
When inserting the magnets, make sure that they are inserted the right way round.
When inserting the field plates into the 8 strips, be careful not to break the hooks. Thanks to the hooks and magnets, no glue is needed here. Important: The magnets for the closure must be inserted before inserting the plates into strips 1 and 8.
The two octagonal holders from the first printing plate must be glued to the eraser holder from printing plate 1 and the tip of printing plate 7 respectively. Plastic is ideal for this.

When directly printing STL files instead of 3mf file

print chess_pencil_mine.stl once (e.g. in black).
print chess_pencil_metal.stl once (e.g. in black).
print chess_pencil_mount.stl twice (e.g. in black).
print chess_pencil_row_1.stl once (e.g. in blue).
print chess_pencil_row_2_to_7.stl six times (e.g. in blue).
print chess_pencil_row_8.stl once (e.g. in blue).
print chess_pencil_tile.stl 32 times in black and 32 times in white (or similar).
print chess_pencil_rubber.stl once (e.g. in red).
print chess_pencil_tip.stl once (e.g. in white).

When customizing the model

Change the parameters in chess_pencil_configuration_variables.scad
Check the model using chess_pencil_assembled_pencil.scad and chess_pencil_assembled_chessboard.scad
Check every single piece and export them to stl (i.e. chess_pencil_mine, chess_pencil_metal, chess_pencil_mount, chess_pencil_row_1 chess_pencil_row_2_to_7, chess_pencil_row_8, chess_pencil_tile, chess_pencil_rubber and chess_pencil_tip)

Chess Pieces
See here for configurable OpenSCAD chess pieces (I recomment an octagonal base, since the pencil is octagonal itself): https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7308786

What next?
Have fun printing and playing! And please upload your makes or at least send me pictures of your makes! And if you have an idea what I should design next, just send me a message!