V-Cube

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Revision as of 12:50, 19 April 2014 by ThomasJE (talk | contribs)
Verdes Innovations S.A.
Vcube_logo.jpg
Company
Founded: 2000
Location: Greece
Years Active: 2008-present
Areas served: Worldwide
Website: [1]
Production
Products: V-Cube 2, V-Cube 3, V-Cube 4, V-Cube 5, V-Cube 6, V-Cube 7, V-Cube 8


V-cube is a brand of cube puzzles which started selling cubes in June 2008. They mass produce and sell 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, 7x7x7 and 8x8x8 puzzles, but they have designs and patents that go all the way to 11x11x11.

V-cubes were invented by Panagiotis Verdes and are produced by Verdes Innovations S.A., Verdes's company located in Greece. The design of these cubes is completely new and different from all pre-existing designs, as it is based on the cone and as the pieces hook together instead of simply being held together by the centers. In addition, the plastic used for the V-cubes is a bit more elastic than the normal plastic for cubes. This leads to better durability, stability during speedsolving and pops and also a slightly smoother feel.

V-cube were the first company to ever mass-produce the 6x6 and 7x7 puzzles, and were at one point the best cubes for big cube speedsolving. However, Shengshou and Moyu have cubes that are much more widely used because of their quality and low price compared to V-Cubes; and these have led to V-Cubes being rarely used.

Products

V-Cube 2

The V-Cube 2x2 is seen as a good 2x2, but is not the best for speedsolving. It has a core similar to a 3x3, with many inner edges. The black V-Cube 2a is generally regarded as the best of the V-Cubes, although most people prefer the WitTwo v1, Dayan Zhanchi 2x2 or the Moyu Lingpo. These are considered to be better cubes because of their speed, corner cutting and resistance to pops.

V-Cube 3

V-Cube released their first 3x3x3, the V-Cube 3 in January 2012. Like many V-Cubes, it is also available as a pillow-shaped version, called V-Cube 3b. The V-Cube 3 is available assembled and DIY, which comes with 3 sets of springs with different tensions.

The mechanism resembles a lot of the new DaYan cubes, including use of "torpedoes" to prevent popping. This caused a lot of controversy; especially as V-Cube previously filed a lawsuit for patent infringement against Dayan and because of questions regarding the matter being avoided on their Facebook page.

Although V-Cube 3 has been rated as a decent cube, many reviewers and cubers still prefer Dayan and MoYu cubes because of smoothness and somewhat better corner cutting.

V-Cube 5

Upon its release, the V-Cube 5 was considered to be the best 5x5 on the market. However, newer releases are considered better cubes. The mechanism incorporated new principles which allows it to have low friction but also to remain intact even when several pieces are removed; meaning a particular algorithm or step can be completed, and them the pop repaired.

V-cube 5x5 can cut corners without being broken in or lubed at all; however this puzzle needs to be broken in to make it easier to turn. Because of this, some people prefer the ShengShou 5x5 because of its lower price.

V-Cube 5

V-Cube 6

This cube has a clicking mechanism to keep a hidden inner layer it has from coming out of alignment; however it does pop quite frequently. This puzzle does require breaking in & lubrication, but the outer layers are considerably faster when this is done, Out of the box, it has a tendency for minor lockups, and to improve the performance, it needs be modified. Also, with modification, the clicking in the middle layer can be removed. This puzzle is less popular now because of the rise of Shengshou cubes.

V-Cube 6

V-Cube 7

V-Cube 7 is much like the V-cube 5 in mechanism, but the outer layers are much smoother and the inner layers require more effort to turn. The V7 is also untensionable; meaning the cube cannot be tensioned. There is however a modification that can fix this.

The pillowed shape is to hide the fact that the outer layers of the cube are a little larger than the inner layers; otherwise the outer layers could just fall out. Shengshou however, mass produce a cubic 7x7; and this is considered by many to be the best 7x7 on the market.

V-Cube 7

Modifications

The V-Cube 5, 6, and 7 all have several modifications; the most notable of these is Memyselfandpi's V-Cube 6 mod. It helps make the layers smoother and completely gets rid of the clickiness. It was also part of the mod to put dirt into the cube, although it is not recommended as it makes the cube harder to turn. The V-Cube 5 and 7 mods are mainly sanding down the bumps on the pieces. Memyselfandpi has videos of these mods on Youtube.

History

V-Cubes were initially announced in 2003 as Olympic Cubes.[2] It was initially believed to be spam on the Yahoo! speedsolvingrubikscube forum. Although patents were announced in 2004, there was little information about V-Cubes even in early 2007.[3] Later in 2007, prototypes of V-Cube 5 through 7 were sent to Frank Morris, the world record holder for 4x4 and 5x5 at the time.

Patents and controversy

The V-Cube is protected by patent in many parts of the world, which has led to some controversy regarding knock-offs. Even puzzle types that are not available, such as the Maru 4x4x4, are considered in violation of patent, as the mechanism is inspired by V-Cubes. See for example this Speedsolving.com thread.

They have also criticized because of poor customer service on their Facebook page regarding questions about whether their V-3 DIY had torpedoes inspired by Dayan.

The US patent can be found on Google Patents.[4]

See also

External links

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