• Welcome to the Speedsolving.com, home of the web's largest puzzle community!
    You are currently viewing our forum as a guest which gives you limited access to join discussions and access our other features.

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community of 40,000+ people from around the world today!

    If you are already a member, simply login to hide this message and begin participating in the community!

I made a custom molded cube!

4Chan

Premium Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
2,984
Location
Lumbridge
YouTube
Visit Channel
Here on speedsolving, we just care about solving fast-- but in a distant land, there's a place called "TwistyPuzzles". They don't care about solving things, just making new exotic puzzles. However, they don't really care about designing or making speedcubes.
But really, there's nothing stopping us from specifically tailoring our own cubes to our liking! Sure, we do mods and stuff by removing plastic, but how about completely molding our own unique pieces?

For a long time now, I've been toying with the idea of combining good qualities and traits of various cubes.
I wanted to combine the feel and "depth" of the Gans 357, the wide wings of the Fangshi, and the smooth surface of the QiYi Thunderclap.

So I ended up spending over $100 in supplies, and 20+ hours of work, and ended up making this thing!
I made the original piece by cutting up a Gans 357 piece and building onto it with polymer clay. TwistyPuzzles really likes to use Milliput. I got rid of the ridges because I like a smoooooth surface.

DZtSuG1m.jpg


If you want the wings of a fangshi piece, just make a replica with milliput, and then attach it to the original. Simple simple.
I checked several times to make sure everything fit nice and tight.

7I0ZJNsm.jpg


Here you can see the similarities and differences between the original Gans, and Fangshi:

9jKpmZSm.jpg


After making the molds, there were several failed batches. LOTS OF FAILURES.

ED1zkg2m.jpg


MwYv2pim.jpg


But eventually, I got the knack of it, and started producing pieces!

W9FTL4lm.jpg


It started to come together, and for a little while, it looked pretty nice! Here are some pieces before cleaning/finishing touches:

30H9P2Cm.jpg


HOWEVER, when assembled, I realised that each piece expanded by about half a mm in volume. Multiply that by 20 pieces, and the cube was crap, the pieces were bigger than the core, and I had failed because I'm bad at this and I'm a total nub at puzzle building.

hzhcNaxm.jpg


I had dreams of making special unique tailored cubes for people, but puzzle making is tough.

It would be so awesome if someone from TwistyPuzzles could start a custom speedcube business though!
Thanks for reading! :)
 

4Chan

Premium Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
2,984
Location
Lumbridge
YouTube
Visit Channel
I kinda glossed over the part where you said it "was crap" the first time. Sorry to hear that. Looks good tho :) You gonna try again?

Thanks! Probably not, I had no idea how expensive and time consuming this stuff is. The cost of mold silicone, catalyst, dye, resin, mold release, etc adds up way too quickly for me.

I've got absolute respect for puzzle builders now, I'm amazed at how they do it.

Even though it didn't work out, this is really cool!

Thanks a lot!!
 

4Chan

Premium Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
2,984
Location
Lumbridge
YouTube
Visit Channel
I misread molded as modded at first, but now your post seems cooler :p

Just wondering: why the wide wings of a fangshi though? Is there something special about them?

Ahhhh, thank you thank you!

Regarding the wings, it was purely aesthetic reasons, I just really like my fangshi cube and the way the pieces look
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2011
Messages
4,319
Location
Louisville, Kentucky, United States
WCA
2010WOMA01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Try asking people like Tony Fisher and other people on Twistypuzzles to fix your molding problems. BTW the puzzle looks almost exactly the same as the Fangshi. By talking to some people like Tony Fisher who has been doing this for years and has had many successful builds with this type of product building can guide you through so that you know how to do it better.
 

Tony Fisher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
554
Location
UK
YouTube
Visit Channel
However good your design is I think an issue will be the weight you get with solid parts and also the different type of plastic you are forced to use. If I was doing such a project I would first test my ability to copy my favourite existing speedcube. Get yourself one just for this project and make moulds of the parts and cast a new set of pieces. Make sure you are using shrink free silicone rubber and polyurethane resin. If the puzzle works as well as the original you can then think about your improved version. I suspect very much that it won't so it's pointless going further until it does.
There are certainly ways to make it hollow though probably not as hollow as a regular speedcube. I think also the plastic will always be an issue and polyurethane seems a bit soft to me. It's not something I have cared about so I have not looked for alternatives. Within 10 years I am sure there will be an affordable, strong and smooth 3D printed material and you guys will be designing and making your own speedcubes to suit your own preferences.
BTW shouldn't this be in the "Puzzle Building, Modding, & Designing" forum? People like me are likely to miss it here.
 
Last edited:
Top