I will age myself by telling you that I remember when the Rubik’s Cube came out. It was an amazing Christmas gift and I, like many people in the world, had no real idea how to solve it. I remember getting frustrated with it probably sometime in the early new year, and then figured out how to take it apart and ‘fix’ it, rather than solving it 🙂
But now, with 3D printing, boffin Matthew Bahner has recreated the Rubik’s cube, the best selling toy of all time, into large versions (the V-cube) and the smallest cube puzzle in the world at 3.4cm.
Bahner’s V Cube, the original Rubik’s Cube and World’s smallest cube.
While creating earlier versions closer to Rubik’s original, manufacturing issues meant that altering it slightly would make it work. Stickers were created by Olivier’s stickers.
I think this is a great application of 3D printing technology, allowing the revisioning of objects that we have had a particular relationship with. How many times have you thought “If only it could do x, then it would be awesome.” Well, get out there, get access to a 3D printer and see what you can do 🙂
3d Printing the Future 