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Magnets Discussion and Help thread

CUBER1265

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Jan 28, 2021
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HI SpeedSolving Community!

I have an old MoYu Weilong GTS2, and I want to make it into a f2l practice cube (by removing stickers). The problem with that is I have gotten so used to using magnetic cubes that I just cannot turn properly on the GTS, and I am afraid that if I get used to it, I will lose the feel of magnetic cubes

My question is, does anyone know where to get magnets to magnetize your own cube (strength close to the gan 11 m pro or rs3m 2020+), in store, like home depot, menards, ect.? I do not want to order it online anywhere. Thanks!
 

SH03L4C3

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You can get everything you need here:
 

Gerry

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I've been recently watching a mixture of Puzzle Build videos, and Puzzle reviews. This inspired the idea of applying epoxy sculpt I think is it called, to the core in such a way that it doesn't interfere with anything but extends out towards the corner pieces. Then magnets could be glued to the corner pieces, and the core, or maybe the magnets could be embedded in the epoxy. Kind of re-creating the Gan 11 M Duo core magnet system.

There are so many versions of Gan 3x3 that are so close, you could probably create your own versions by swapping pieces. I'm getting some V5 springs to try in my 356 M lite. in theory, that will turn it into a 356 X v2 with glued in magnets. Which is fine if you don't change the magnets anyway. Then if the core magnet thing works, you get a Gan 11 M Duo for a fraction of the price. (If you already own the 356 M) Well probably a heavier version.

I have done no research into this, so this is purely a question if this can be done. Or rather should it be done. Maybe playing with the core will turn it into garbage? Thoughts?
 

abunickabhi

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Playing with the core, is always risky. Modding generally happens with the pieces and not the core.

If you mod or change the core, the functionality of the puzzle changes, and it is important that you know what you are doing, otherwise the core gets ruined.
 

qwr

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GAN cubes are manufactured to very tight tolerances, something like 0.1mm. Nothing in theory is stopping you from making your own core magnet system, but magnetic pull is proportional to the inverse square distance by Coulomb's Law, so being off by 1 mm when the magnets are close will have a significant effect on the evenness of the whole cube. (That's what I presume - I'm not a physicist and I haven't engineered any cubes.)
 

xyzzy

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(also not a physicist)

The inverse square law applies to point charges, but magnets are very much not point charges. If you've found a point magnetic charge, a Nobel Prize will soon be coming your way! Also, in my experience, you can be pretty slipshod with magnet placement and it'll still be mostly fine (see also: early Cubicle Labs products); as long as the placement isn't consistently off, the errors will partly cancel each other out.

---

I kinda want to try core magnets for myself, but I don't really have any cube that would benefit from added stability, that I also wouldn't mind sacrificing in an experiment. Actually, you know what, I guess I'll sacrifice my Huanglong. Never liked that cube much anyway, so there isn't much to lose. Trying to get the magnets to sit in the core might be weird though.

update: Tried it on my Huanglong, and unfortunately it seems that I have to permanently glue the core magnets in for it to work properly. (Blu-Tack absolutely does not hold the magnets to the core well enough. The ones in the corners seem fine, though.) It felt kinda interesting, so I might actually just commit to permanently modding my Huanglong. Maybe this will make the cube not suck! Actually nvm I tried blind-testing myself on the feel and I couldn't distinguish a modded side from an unmodded side, so lol, what a waste of effort.
 
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Gerry

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The purpose of the core magnets is to make the cube more stable. The springs also help keep it stable as well. What if we tried to take advantage of this added stability by adding repelling magnets, to compliment the edge to corner, and corner to core magnets? It might also work without core magnets, and just the edge to corner systems.

My idea to achieve this: imagine where you would put a magnet on the edge piece if you were to magnetize it to the center piece. When you move that edge, it passes the side of the of another edge piece that is already magnetized, and would attract it. Now flip that magnet you added, and now it repels as it goes by. In my mind that would reduce friction, by creating a floating effect. The other magnets should keep that repelling bump from pushing that layer out too far. It would need to be weaker as you don't want a big flex, just enough to lessen plastic to plastic friction without separation. By only repelling when in motion, and never while it's in place, it shouldn't mess with the original magnets. (Don't actually add magnets to the center. That was just to better describe where I meant to add the magnets on the edge pieces.)

If there are cheap enough magnetic cubes, it might be worth the experiment. I'd try it but I would have no way of knowing if it worked well or not. In my mind it works, but I'm not experienced enough to imagine how it would work on all sides, and if it would work as an full concept. All things feel the same to me when I take 3 minutes to solve a cube lol

EDIT; Just played with a couple of big magnets. I still think it may work, but way too much R&D. The 2 big magnets, had a noticeable slowing before the cushion kicked in. It took effort to push them far enough to levitate. The edges attracted before the levitation. You'd have to play with strength and distance a lot to even get close.
 
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Gerry

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I emailed sCs and asked everything I needed to install the V5 springs. The answer was just the springs. No centers, center caps, or core swap needed.

If you look at the Gan site, check out the cores. They sell the same core both both models. M and Xv2.
 

OreKehStrah

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The purpose of the core magnets is to make the cube more stable. The springs also help keep it stable as well. What if we tried to take advantage of this added stability by adding repelling magnets, to compliment the edge to corner, and corner to core magnets? It might also work without core magnets, and just the edge to corner systems.

My idea to achieve this: imagine where you would put a magnet on the edge piece if you were to magnetize it to the center piece. When you move that edge, it passes the side of the of another edge piece that is already magnetized, and would attract it. Now flip that magnet you added, and now it repels as it goes by. In my mind that would reduce friction, by creating a floating effect. The other magnets should keep that repelling bump from pushing that layer out too far. It would need to be weaker as you don't want a big flex, just enough to lessen plastic to plastic friction without separation. By only repelling when in motion, and never while it's in place, it shouldn't mess with the original magnets. (Don't actually add magnets to the center. That was just to better describe where I meant to add the magnets on the edge pieces.)

If there are cheap enough magnetic cubes, it might be worth the experiment. I'd try it but I would have no way of knowing if it worked well or not. In my mind it works, but I'm not experienced enough to imagine how it would work on all sides, and if it would work as an full concept. All things feel the same to me when I take 3 minutes to solve a cube lol

EDIT; Just played with a couple of big magnets. I still think it may work, but way too much R&D. The 2 big magnets, had a noticeable slowing before the cushion kicked in. It took effort to push them far enough to levitate. The edges attracted before the levitation. You'd have to play with strength and distance a lot to even get close.
The MGC Repulsion already has magnets that repel. It’s an odd feeling.
 

Gerry

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Anyone know a reliable place to get magnets in bulk? TC and SCS sell with glue and tweezers, or just a few at a time. I'm thinking like 100 of 2 to 4 different strengths. I want to experiment. Not going to use superglue. Something medium strength. Strong enough to hold magnets in place, but easy to pop back out and not damage the plastic. Maybe like the flour water glue recipe. Should hold long enough to see if the idea works, but not permanent if the experiment fails.
 

One Wheel

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Anyone know a reliable place to get magnets in bulk? TC and SCS sell with glue and tweezers, or just a few at a time. I'm thinking like 100 of 2 to 4 different strengths. I want to experiment. Not going to use superglue. Something medium strength. Strong enough to hold magnets in place, but easy to pop back out and not damage the plastic. Maybe like the flour water glue recipe. Should hold long enough to see if the idea works, but not permanent if the experiment fails.
For magnets I've had good experiences with Gaussboys. I'm not sure what to tell you about glue.
 

Zain_A24

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Anyone know a reliable place to get magnets in bulk? TC and SCS sell with glue and tweezers, or just a few at a time. I'm thinking like 100 of 2 to 4 different strengths. I want to experiment. Not going to use superglue. Something medium strength. Strong enough to hold magnets in place, but easy to pop back out and not damage the plastic. Maybe like the flour water glue recipe. Should hold long enough to see if the idea works, but not permanent if the experiment fails.
In aliexpress you can get some cheap magnets. Not sure on quality though. But if you wanna get them from ali, order them stronger and bigger than you want because chances are they'll be half a mm smaller.
 

SH03L4C3

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Location
The orange centerpiece from your main 3x3
Anyone know a reliable place to get magnets in bulk? TC and SCS sell with glue and tweezers, or just a few at a time. I'm thinking like 100 of 2 to 4 different strengths. I want to experiment. Not going to use superglue. Something medium strength. Strong enough to hold magnets in place, but easy to pop back out and not damage the plastic. Maybe like the flour water glue recipe. Should hold long enough to see if the idea works, but not permanent if the experiment fails.
not really bulk, but cheap
You can get everything you need here:
 
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