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"Has Anyone Tried...?" Thread

Sion

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I see this question pop up a lot, and decided that we might as well experiment with using a thread that consolidates all the questions like that in this thread? Feel free to ask anything you want; Hopefully you get a response. If not, However, feel free to try it and tell us what you think!

Use this to ask for opinions on puzzles, WCA Performance Modding, Lubing certain puzzles, and anything else that pertains to cubing!
 
C

Cubinwitdapizza

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Ok. This is a question that many people probably haven’t tried (because no access to a 3D printer) but has anyone tried 3D printing a cube? And if so was the performance good?
 

Sion

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Ok. This is a question that many people probably haven’t tried (because no access to a 3D printer) but has anyone tried 3D printing a cube? And if so was the performance good?


Actually, I have quite a lot of experience with prototyping speedcubes using 3D printers.

As of now, the technology isn't good enough to make something on par with something injection molded, but if you have designing experience, you might be able to design your own cube with decent performance and 3d print that.

That said, the cheapest option (FDM/Fused deposition modeling using PLA filament) usually results in much more brittle puzzles that really don't respond well to lube (You will likely experience a couple breakages on cubes printed using FDM), so I'd only recommend that for novelty purposes or very early-stage prototyping. Not just that, they will be very loud and scratchy, and you will need to sand them down to mitigate this; excessive sanding might hurt the performance, so be mindful of that.

If you order SLS parts off of Shapeways, you will be able to make something that is more realistic and competitive with injection molded cubes. That said, it's exceptionally expensive (~$300 USD per cube). So I'd recommend that if you are prototyping a cube near the middle-end of development. If you were looking for something to use in a competition, this might be the better bet, but it is an admittedly massive investment. Not to mention, they do like to collect heavy amounts of dust and residue, so they aren't exactly pretty after a long while of using.

In both instances, both will have some added performance issues, such as extra catching due to rougher textures and a much sandier feel, though with neater turning, it shouldn't be a significant issue.

Tl;Dr: It is possible to 3D print a speedcube, though if you want something viable, you will need to fork out a pretty penny.

Edit: I highly recommend you put three drops of any silicone lubricant once assembled; these cubes are bone dry once assembled, and will preform poorly.. they will get significantly better once a small amount of lube is added.
 
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Zain_A24

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Ok. This is a question that many people probably haven’t tried (because no access to a 3D printer) but has anyone tried 3D printing a cube? And if so was the performance good?

I've been wanting to 3D print a cube as part of a personal/engineering project but I would assume that there would be a lot of friction between the pieces if the FDM process is used (layer by layer printing). It would probably be quite heavy as well. It would be difficult to balance weight and strength of all the parts, but will be something I will be trying out in the near future.

Edit: Wrote this whilst Sion was writing theirs. Couldn't agree with you more Sion.
 

Reizii_

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I actually have two questions.

Has anyone tried making a square-1 mod that's like a Rubik's Tower/2x2x4?
Has anyone tried making a Rubik's Clock that uses magnets instead of bumps as the alignment mechanism?
 

White KB

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Has anyone ever...
eaten a cube? (Don't try it if you haven't)

I know there are videos of people using editing or something like that to make it appear that they are eating a cube, but have there actually been medical cases where someone actually consumed a Rubik's cube of any kind?
It would be kind of cool if there were someone who did it.
It would also be kind of disturbing...
But still kind of cool.
 

Sion

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Has anyone ever tried to magnetize a cube released before 2015? If so, what's it like?
 
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