Has anyone tried making 356 Air M?

[jaredye]

I really like the 356 Air and unfortunately thecubicle.us doesn't offer the M version. And I've never seen any time talk about it in forums. I just bought some different magnets from https://www.kjmagnetics.com/ and I'll try building my own tomorrow.

I plan to use this one in my 356 Air. It's a bit weaker than the standard 4mm*2mm N35 people use. Maybe I should place the magnets further out so they have a bit larger torque? Any other suggestions on magnets choices and placement choices?

I'll update once I'm done. I hope the community can share some data points so we know what works and what to avoid. The whole burden of research shouldn't be on the manufacturers and resellers like thecubicle.us.

 

[dskids]

Sounds cool, let us know how it turns out

 

[DGCubes]

Gans is making one, at least according to the description of Feliks' latest video (he has a prototype).

 

[Razgorth]

I've made one, currently maining it with purple GES. It's pretty awesome. I used 4x2 N50s and think it might be slightly strong, but definitely think N35 and anything smaller than 4x2 is probably too weak. FWIW I can still do U3s with a (hard) index flick and close to an M2 with a (again hard) ring flick.

The main benefit of the magnets in my opinion is that they move "contact" and "tension" away from the center of the cube face towards the corners, as well as helping with stability and alignment.

Be very careful with placement, especially edge placement. The edge caps have a ridge running across the unexposed sections that prevents you from placing magnets too far out from the "inside" of the cube. When you decide on a placement, make sure you can actually put the edge caps back on. I put mine too far out the first time and basically had to rip out all the magnets and redo. Not fun at all.

 

[Dash Lambda]

Chris Tran (I think) said something about having to gut the pieces to remove the screw shafts and glue everything back together to distribute the weight properly for magnets, though I don't understand exactly why that is.

 

[Aysha]

 

[jaredye]

There is actually no need to remove the internal structure of the pieces. See the picture below.


I find making a magnetic cube pretty easy. If I had to do it again I probably only need about an hour to dissemble, glue the magnets and reassemble. But of course it's recommended to wait for a couple hours for the glue to completely dry out before reassembling it.

The magnets I use are N42 3mm*1.5mm. I can definitely feel they affect the way the cube turns, but they are a bit weak. I would guess that N35 4mm*2mm should be better for Gans 356 Air. The cube wouldn't restore its shape if a layer is slightly misaligned. The feel is quite new and I need to adjust to it. Specifically, the starting friction is much higher, and at the end of a 90 degree turn, there is a tendency for the piece to snatch to align itself. I would say it definitely helps with stability. However, many of my OLL and PLL algs start to stumble and I will get lock up from time to time. I think I just have to learn how to handle a magnetic cube and the lock ups will go away.

Finally a cautionary note for anyone trying to dissemble Gans 356 Air: The pieces are connected by screws. If you don't tighten the screw of every piece equally and to the factory setting, your cube will be super crunchy. That's probably an understatement. It's more like it gives me tremendous agony when I turn the cube. I would recommend setting aside a corner piece and an edge piece so you know how much to tighten the screws when you reassemble it.