Modding Cube (probably Zhanchi) with magnets?

[Maccoboy]

Hey, not sure if anyone has tried this before, i havent been able to find anything yet but,

i want to put 48 neodymium magnets inside a cube (probably a black zhanchi) so that it would turn more accurately, i know this probably wouldn't make it any easier to speed solve and would almost definitely make it competition illegal but i think it would be a really cool mod to do and a nice collection piece.

im going to make a few drawings and upload them this weekendish of what i think would work best.

just wondering if any of you have tried this or have any ideas on how to do this? my thoughts so far are to glue the magnets inside each piece and hope for the best

also one more note, if this works i would consider selling them as a collection piece and it would be great if you could you tell me weather you would buy one and how much you would consider a reasonable price?

 

[panyan]

sounds very interesting, id like to see the arrangements of N-S that your going to use

 

[googlebleh]

Interesting, I had this same idea awhile back. But like you, I thought it might make the puzzle illegal so I abandoned it.

One thing to consider while doing this is how strong the magnets need to be. Neodymium is pretty strong, so while it would prevent misalignments, idk if that would make the puzzle harder to turn.

Another thing is that this idea would be most useful on big cubes because I don't think 2x2x2 and 3x3x3 need any help staying in alignment because of their incredible corner-cutting. Again, just my opinion.

I do think it's a good idea to glue the magnets inside each piece. I'm just not sure which is better: in the corners or in the edges O.o

 

[Maccoboy]

@googlebleh
i was thinking the edge pieces and the center pieces, 4 on each center and 2 on each edge and as long as i dont go too strong (n52) it should be ok, plus i plan on using pretty small magnets so shouldn't be too hard to turn at all

 

[Maccoboy]

@panyan
yeah i was a bit confused about this while trying to work this out although i managed to find someone who made an all acrylic and magnet cube and they described the polarities in they're notes, so ill probably use that as a guideline

acrylic and magnet cube: http://www.instructables.com/id/Magnetic-Acrylic-Rubik-s-Cube/

 

[Maccoboy]

just found these and they look like they would be perfect,
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/280892396262?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

 

[panyan]

I wonder if its possible to buy a DIY ZhanChi and then glue/melt the magnets to the inside of the pieces

That way when you assemble the cube the pieces wont look like theyve been modified in any way which means the cube characteristics wont change

 

[Maccoboy]

I wonder if its possible to buy a DIY ZhanChi and then glue/melt the magnets to the inside of the pieces

That way when you assemble the cube the pieces wont look like theyve been modified in any way which means the cube characteristics wont change

yeah thats exactly what im thinking, I've got a sticker-less zhanchi spare so im gonna take it apart and give it ago, should be unnoticeable from just looking at it

 

[panyan]

Sounds really good, keep us posted with photos of how you made it

Also a video of how it turns afterwards please

 

[speedpicker]

How about placing the magnets so they also help reduce friction? imagine an arrangement like this between an edge and centre for example:

Edge
..N.......... N..
........N........
Centre

The idea here is that the centre is repulsed equally by the two edge magnets, but to move left or right would increase repulsion (since magnets get closer) so it will remain aligned. When turning the cube, you will get this slight gradient of force required as you turn, but as soon as you exceed a certain angle, it would try to realign itself due to the effect already mentioned. The benefit of this is that all the pieces would constantly repel each other, thus reducing friction and resulting in a net effect similar to maglev trains, which have virtually no friction between rail and train.

You could have a similar arrangement that kept corners aligned with edges, whilst keeping them separate. The only downside is that the cube would be more prone to popping due to the outward force of the magnets, but would be far less prone to lockups by virtue of the tendency of the pieces to come into contact with each other far less. I would hope for a "floaty" feel to teh cube, which Ive always wanted to try.

This is an idea I had a long time ago, but never got around to making.

 

[panyan]

Edge
..N.......... N..
........N........
Centre

I cant see it offering an advantage over the current plan:

Edge
........S......
........N........
Centre

 

[speedpicker]

Because in the current plan the magnets attract, this will necessarily increase friction between the pieces as they will be pulled toward each other. In my scheme they will repel, but the aligned position will be the point where they repel the least, thus it will want to be aligned, but friction is reduced.

Repulsion > Attraction

 

[speedpicker]

Theoretically, with enough magnets of sufficient and balanced power placed in the cube you could reduce friction to practically zero, just air resistance, but it would still align and remain so unless turned due to the effect I outlined.

 

[Maccoboy]

thats a really good idea and im definitely gonna give it a go, although because the center pieces are pretty small there is very limited space inside meaning the magnets would be very close. This means that to get a layer to stay lined up perfectly it would have to be perfectly lined up otherwise it would just overshoot and stay misaligned.

good concept though i think it just a concept

 

[Maccoboy]

Sounds really good, keep us posted with photos of how you made it

Also a video of how it turns afterwards please

definitely, will do

 

[Youcuber2]

Really interesting, reminds me if ball bearings in a pyraminx. That could also be another way to do it if you are looking for an accurate turning cube

 

[Maccoboy]

Really interesting, reminds me if ball bearings in a pyraminx. That could also be another way to do it if you are looking for an accurate turning cube

you know i've actually really wanted to do this for a while although its a bit too hard for me to do

 

[IamWEB]

Despite not having my own input on furthering this idea, I wanted to note that this is a very interested idea. I'm curious to see how this works out in terms of diagrams and videos. Also, good luck!

 

[jonlin]

Interesting, I had this same idea awhile back. But like you, I thought it might make the puzzle illegal so I abandoned it.

This does not change the basic concept of the cube in any way, therefore it's not illegal.

 

[Maccoboy]

This does not change the basic concept of the cube in any way, therefore it's not illegal.

thats actually a really good point, next time im at a competition ill make sure to ask