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Magnets Discussion and Help thread

chron0s

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Feb 20, 2017
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Two updates:

Got the Xman galaxy v2 megaminx M and the magnets look like 3x1s (thanks xyzzy for the correction). The pieces have slots and are much thinner where the magnets nest so hard to compare strengths to a hand-magnetized regular v2. Very cool puzzle!

On magnetizing a little magic - a while back I put in N38 4x1.5, lubed with angstrom. Cube felt a little quick so I added a bit of 10k on the pieces and that seems to have settled it down. Good choice for this cube strength wise.

Got a labs version of the little magic - its AWESOME. Looks like 4x2 magnets in there, my guess is N35. A little stronger than my choice and I think better (they are 10% stronger if my theory is right).

I preordered the Yuxin Huanglong 3x3 and I'm really looking forward to it - I'll magnetize it myself with 4x2 N35 for starters. The little magic responds really well to angstrom lubes, I added them to my labs version along with 3 drops of lubicle 1 and it made it feel more buttery and smooth.
 
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xyzzy

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Got the Xman galaxy v2 megaminx M and the magnets look like 4x1s.
My trusty stainless steel ruler says 3×1.

On a mostly unrelated note, have people tried magnetising the internal edges of a 4×4×4? I was wondering what to do with the extra 3×1 magnets I had, and I thought they might fit in the tiny gap in the Wuque's internal edges. They do; in fact, it looks like 5×1 or 6×1 might fit too. Instead of having 2 magnets per wing for the inner layer, this would have 2 in each of the 12 internal edges and 1 in each of the 24 wings.

Doing this seems to get rid of the bumpiness with normal magnet placement, where the magnets actually repel mid-turn, although it's hard to say for sure since the magnets I'm testing with are pretty weak to begin with. (I literally cannot reliably distinguish it from a non-magnetised layer in a blind test, derp.)

(I probably should buy some magnets to test, but I have no idea where to get them other than buying them online, and I don't like buying things online.)
 

chron0s

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ah thanks for the correction xyzzy! I updated the original post.

Huanglong hopefully arriving tomorrow. I may dive right in and magnetize it when it gets here.
 

chron0s

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Magnetized my Huanglong 3x3 stickerless I preordered from the cubicle - I used 4x2 N35s from gaussboys. Set it up with lubicle black on the core, gravitas on the tracks, a generous helping of dignitas on the pieces and internals. Broke in and added two drops of lubicle 1, some silk, and a little bit of 30k to slow the cube down and add some weight. Easy cube to magnetize, though you have to put the magnets between the grooves in the corner pieces (I forget to check if 5x1 would fit but 4mm might be a max diameter) and they need to sit a bit closer to the core compared to some other cubes.

I'm happy with the strength but want to try 4x1.5 N38 in another one - I personally wouldn't want a stronger magnet. Interestingly I like my magnets a little bit stronger in the little magic, whatever the cubicle puts in I prefer slightly to 4x1.5 N38.

Hows the Huanglong? I'm a huge fan of the little magic and this cube improves in every aspect. It still has the quick, light turning of the LM but adds stability, better feeling, better shades, and easier to hold on to. If you like the little magic you'll probably be a fan of this cube as well. I'm not using ball bearings in the corners (I preferred the feel of it without, even with magnets). Since getting this I just put my other cubes away (SM, GTS2M, Little Magic M) - I just want to solve on this. This is the one for me.

I have the M version coming whenever the cubicle ships it, and another non magnetic that I'll magnetize - will put notes here.
 

One Wheel

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FWIW: I pulled apart an SCS Supernova Wuhua v2 M and took some measurements. The magnets used are 4x2mm for both outer slices, 3x3 on the inner slice. Plastic thickness is about 0.09" on all layers, compared to 0.065" on the outer layer of my Wuji. I can measure my Wuhua v1 later, but I suspect Qiyi replaced inner bracing with wall thickness for v2 to facilitate magnets. I'm guessing the Wuhua v2 could accommodate magnets as large as 5x2mm in the corners, and 6x3 elsewhere, not that you'd actually want to use magnets that big.

Edit: sure enough. Wuhua v1 plastic varies between 0.065" and 0.070".
 
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teh yoshi

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Hi everyone. I'm in the process of creating a magnet guide spreadsheet that includes magnet recommendations as well as plastic thickness measurements. Hopefully it'll give you an idea of which magnets to get for whatever cube.

I don't have a lot of cubes in my possession, so I was only able to record the thickness of the ones I've got. If anybody can, help me fill in some measurements, preferably in mm. And feel free to lend me some magnets recommendations and other things to note while magnetizing certain cubes.

Please let me know how it looks and if it helps. Thanks!
 

One Wheel

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@teh yoshi that looks great! We need something like this. Just a couple of notes:
1. Especially for suggested magnets, it might be nice to have a way of noting who suggested those magnets.
2. Maybe make a way of noting other measurements. As I think I've mentioned, in the Wuhua v1 3mm magnets would be tight, but the v2 could accommodate up to 6mm diameter in the edges.
3. More columns for big cubes. I use at least 3 different types of magnets for a 6x6 (corner-outer wing, outer wing-inner wing, and middle slice).
4. Now specifics. I recommend the following:
Yuxin Blue: 4x2 n38 (or n35) outer, 4x1.5 n38 (or n35) inner.
Yuxin Purple 5x5: 5x1 n52 outer, 6x1 n48 inner. Sounds strong, and it's not subtle, but this cube has really thick plastic, I think it's a great balance, and probably the best 5x5 you can get.
 

Sergey

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teh yoshi, about plastic thickness - IMHO, different versions of the same model may have different thickness (f.e. stickerless vs. stickered version). BTW thanks for spreadsheet.
 

One Wheel

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teh yoshi, about plastic thickness - IMHO, different versions of the same model may have different thickness (f.e. stickerless vs. stickered version). BTW thanks for spreadsheet.
Have you measured that? The scuttlebutt I've heard is that the dye in the black plastic somehow makes the magnets feel weaker. I would think that they would use the same molds for all colors, since the molds are the really expensive part of mass producing puzzles.
 

teh yoshi

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@One Wheel Thanks for the feedback. I've already taken some suggestions to consideration. As for the big cube columns, I fear that this spreadsheet might get already unwieldy at this point, and make other columns unnecessarily wide. I can either put different order of cubes in separate pages or make notes of more measurements/recommendations in the notes section. I'll see how this develops when I get more suggestions.

Also, the digital calipers I've got has low batteries, and the button battery is so specific I can't find it at my local computer store. I guess I can't get more measurements until some other time. :\

Also, has anybody got some list for what strengths factory-magnetized cubes use? I'd love to add those in the notes section.
 

One Wheel

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@teh yoshi I like the idea of different orders of cubes in different tabs. That could work really well.

When I bought calipers I was worried about batteries, so I got these. They only measure inches, but you can get similar metric ones. I would recommend dial over digital.
 

teboecubes

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Hey, I just got my first magnetic 3x3, the GAN air sm. I’ll have an unboxing of it up soon. I can see where all the hype around magnets has been coming from; it does make a difference in stability and prevents overshooting and lockups.
 

Sergey

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Have you measured that? The scuttlebutt I've heard is that the dye in the black plastic somehow makes the magnets feel weaker. I would think that they would use the same molds for all colors, since the molds are the really expensive part of mass producing puzzles.
No, I did not do this. Maybe I'm wrong. I viewed this on someone's video but cannot remember exactly.
 

teh yoshi

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For magnet placement where should it be, as close to the core as possible or as far as possible?
Copout answer: It depends. From what I've heard, having magnets closer to the core means faces will snap sooner, and the magnetic feel might be softer/weaker. Having them placed away from the core as possible should result in more accuracy and stability.

Realistic answer: Away from the core. Usually inside the edge pieces you can find a sort of "corner" at the floor, the side wall, and the protruding plastic that's for attaching the other edge piece, that you can anchor your magnet to every time, so it'll be consistent throughout all the pieces without the need of having a master magnet to refer to.

Just follow whatever magnet tutorial you can find for your cube, and you'll do fine.
 

teh yoshi

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Yuxin Blue: 4x2 n38 (or n35) outer, 4x1.5 n38 (or n35) inner.
Yuxin Purple 5x5: 5x1 n52 outer, 6x1 n48 inner. Sounds strong, and it's not subtle, but this cube has really thick plastic, I think it's a great balance, and probably the best 5x5 you can get.
Would you recommend the same magnets to the YuXin Cloud 5x5? Are they comparable, magnets or otherwise?
 

chron0s

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I got a second Yuxin Huanglong 3x3 from the cubicle - this time, I magnetized it with 4x1.5 N38 magnets. Feels _awesome_ - strength wise this feels like a commercial GTS2M. This fits my preference better though the N35 4x2s I put in the other one work very well. I'm not using ball bearings and haven't tried them in this yet.
 
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