This 3X3 puzzle cube features snap-in coloured face plates and hidden magnets that give it a smoother motion and snappy alignment. It can still be printed and assembled without the magnets, but the turning performance will be much sloppier. Uses 48, 4 mm diameter by 2 mm thick neodymium magnets. No glue required.
I intend to release another cube in the future with some new ideas and higher end components so let me know if there are some improvements you'd like to see.
Build Notes
Make sure your build plate is clean and has good adhesion. This model has lots of small pieces with small contact areas. Brim or support shouldn't be needed if you have good plate adhesion. I recommend using the smooth high temp plate or cool tack plate and washing it with soap and hot water.
Be very careful with magnet alignment. There are 48 opportunities to install one backwards. Edges should repel other edges and corners should repel other corners, but edges and corners should attract each other.
The centers and the face plates all snap into place with an audible click. It may take a bit of force to install some of the centers into the core.
The centers and center faces might not be able to be removed after they are installed. But the rest can be disassembled if you are careful. The edges can be popped out of the cube at a 45 deg angle. And you will need a pen knife and a thin flathead to pry out the other face plates.
Print profiles use print-by-object. This uses an AMS to batch up different coloured faces on one plate with minimal filament swaps. You can still print the faces without an AMS but you'll have to separate them and print one colour at a time.
If you have two similar colours, it helps to put them on opposite sides. Traditionally these pairs are red-orange, white-yellow, blue-green.
Assembly
History
2024-10-10: Rounded off center piece and center face to reduce catching.
Murata
