July 25, 2023
Description
The Kinetic Cube is the result of challenging myself to create a print-in-place version of Henry Segerman's Geared Cube Net: https://youtube.com/watch?v=T3CkqXycT9w
The cube is fun to play and fidget with, as the faces move easily in an unexpectedly predictable way. They all move in sync from being a flat staggered line of squares, and perfectly meet at the same time to form a cube with crisp edges. When unfolded, the model lays perfectly flat, and has little notches to ensure it can't be bent the wrong way. When folded up, I've made sure to keep two of the faces flat, such that the cube can sit flush on a desk, whilst the others have the protruding bevel gears necessary to achieve this mechanism.
The cube prints in place with custom hinges and bevel gears. The tolerances are quite small and need to be printed with 0.4mm nozzle or smaller with ideal layer heights of 0.08mm or less.
I'd recommend a small outer brim to reduce likelihood of the corners of the cube curling up.
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial — Share Alike