I 3D Printed a Christmas Bauble Rubik's Cube (and I can't solve it 😭)

[@smidge-J]

I'm a speedcuber, I like to think I'm pretty decent at solving patterns like this, I'd love to give it a go

[@WumbologyPHD]

Do you know any speedspherers?

[@HypertheoreticalBalderdash024]

give it to this guy

[@grantcatdone3417]

Ok? Print one yourself you bum😂

[@Kittycat_animate]

I can solve a 3 by 3 in 15 seconds i would love to try this

[@jon007agent]

give this guy a go

[@octodionis]

In my experience, the best way to set up a Fusion object in order to make it easy to colour in Bambu Studio is to just offset any surfaces that need to be a different colour by a tiny amount (even 0.001 works) Then, using the fill tool for colour painting takes a few minutes at most

[@crashmode3401]

I’m a nurse at a hospital and we have 3 rubiks cubes on my unit, also at least half a dozen nurses and other staff that can solve them. I would love the opportunity to throw in a little more caos with your super difficult puzzle. Happy Christmas

[@patrik5123]

Are we sure we want _professional life savers_ pre-occupied with this insane thing, though? 😀

[@superslimanoniem4712]

​@patrik5123 trust me, there's plenty of random moments of downtime.

[@JLProPhoto]

While it isn't automatic, to separate out different multi-color parts from Fusion to go into a slicer: you can make sub-Components of multiple bodies which have appearances assigned. Due to the way Fusion's browser hierarchy works, bodies within a component are considered part of the same object. To speed up color assignments in the slicer name all the bodies in the components as their color before saving, then save each component as a separate 3MF. This probably could be automated as a script for a complex part. When you get the file into the slicer, you can shift-click all the bodies (grouped by name) and assign a color to the group in the browser. At least, that's my method for Prusa Slicer. I can usually get a multi-color print set up in a few seconds once I import them from Fusion. Prusa Slicer is really annoying when you load in multiple files at once, since it's either all joined or all separate, with no in between that I have found. Edit: To clarify the Hierarchy, here's a simple example: Assembly (the full fbx) - Component 1: (save as 3mf) - Body (Color 1) - Body (Color 2) - Component 2: (save as 3mf) - Body (Color 1) - Body (Color 2)

[@colkielly7574]

Really easy to solve, remove screws, disassemble, re-assemble in correct order, reinsert screws. I remember “solving “ an original rubrics cube by a similar method.

[@6yjjk]

When I was 8, I peeled all the stickers off and put them back. Got in a lot of trouble. Creativity is undervalued.

[@Space_US]

even then, he said that it was difficult to assemble and had to resort to the cad

[@nidhu595]

as a replacement for meshmixer you can use blender. In blender you can parent all the parts of the pieces and then spread them out as if you were spreading them on a build plate, then just export them as .stl (not sure if you can export 3mf from blender, i doubt it) and import them to bambu studio, choosing to import them as indivisual objects

[@MatterMage]

there is an addon for 3mf available.

[@v3nzo302]

I know this will probably go unnoticed but you actually inspired me, among other STEM youtubers, to continue my studies in this field, so i wanted to sincerely say thank you. Also it's so cool to see you merge one of my other passions into your projects. My 3x3 personal record is 7.66 seconds and i would love to be picked for the cube's giveaway, it would truly make my day. If you happen to see this, Happy Holidays from Italy! (Also you could solve it too, as you know it's not different than a 3x3 rubik's cube and it wouldn't take you more than a week to learn how to solve it consistently ;))

[@guscrossing]

Pretty sure you can export selected parts or components to 3MF. After importing to the slicer, each 3MF would be an object that contains parts, so it's easy to group and manipulate.

[@TheSephiCloud]

In Fusion, you can assemble the parts you want to print as one piece as a Component. Then export the whole file as a STEP and import in orca. Now you can "Split to parts" (Not "Split to objects") each part individually and then assign the filaments, exactly like you did at 6:40 (This sadly only works one layer deep, components within components aren't translated properly)

[@MatejCharbusky]

I believe solving this puzzle wouldn't be too different from solving a ghost cube for the first time. There would be a lot of trial and error in trying to figure out which piece goes where but it's doable. I really like these 3x3 mods

[@hesgrant]

Exactly what I was thinking

[@a-bell]

But here's my question, could I now explore microscopic worlds?

[@MakersMuse]

Yes, you may :)

[@Space_US]

@@MakersMusewhat’s the song called

[@CubesMadeEasy]

That green and white one is absolutely gorgeous 😍 This seems like it would be pretty interesting to solve, would love to give it a try at some point.

[@joshuakrieger4398]

Happy holidays everybody 😊 The only thing that makes the "cube" harder to solve than a standard 3x3 Rubik's cube are the centers, that have a specific orientation in this case. That being said, it's still quite easy if you pay a little attention and know what youre doing (but then, most things are in yhat case😅)

[@peteikin1461]

I think my brain is hurting... A LOT!!! Awesome effort in both design and printing/assembling, and will undoubtedly be entertaining for the few among us with the brainpower to solve that one!

[@andrewkilpatrick9845]

Incredible! Love your channel and content! Keep up the good work.

[@SomeOtherGuyOrPerson]

Love the bauble! I struggle hard enough with a regular cube to know not to bother trying to solve this one! I never found meshmixer intuitive, but I figured out an alternative workflow that works for me. If you group the bodies as components in Fusion, export as a step file, and import that in Bambu Studio, it retains one level of grouping. I use it all the time to handle multi-part multi-colour projects. For the bauble, I would have tried making a component for each segment, and inside each of those a component named for the colour to be used. Export each segment as a step file and drag all the .steps into Bambu Studio. Scroll through the object list ctrl+clicking on like colours and changing the filament of them all to the desired colour. Maybe not the most efficient, but it means I can get away learning one fewer applications. One downside is the conversion from step to a mesh within bambu studio doesn't seem to be tuneable and I've had some models with large, swoopy curves come out with visible triangles in the final print, and silk filaments are so unforgiving with that sort of thing.

[@BradfordBenn]

7:27 I agree with some multiple material printers wasting filament, why I stepped away from Bambu to Prusa. Same challenge with separating objects and parts in Prusa Slicer What I have been doing is creating multiple selection sets and the n saving as mesh incrementally. Fusion will only export the visible items in a 3MF file. Same in STL. So I export multiple times to get multipart objects that I can arrange on the bed. It would result in needing 9 exports but think that would be faster. One could also use components but I found that more cumbersome.

[@mikehale81]

Great project and you obviously put way too much time into it. Love your persistence! Could I help your efforts buy purchasing the 3D print files? Cheers.

[@flymypg]

Been thinking about this. What about making the "sphere-o-cube" more accessible by using 8 subtle surface textures in addition to the winding lines? This would allow solution by touch alone, even when the visible pattern confounds the process. Which fingertip-sensitive textures could work? I'd need to run that past a few folks who read Braille (though Braille itself won't work, as the pattern needs to be recognizable in any orientation).

[@reddcube]

In Fusion can components help when you’re trying to separate the puzzle. With each of the “cubies” being its own component.

[@BandsawsAt45Degrees]

The final result is stunning! Fun fact, the pattern makes this harder to solve than a standard Rubik’s Cube. The centres now have a orientation which isnt present on the standard puzzle

[@MiniLuv-1984]

You patience and persistence is legendary. All the best for the festive season.

[@jtd8719]

Happy season to you, Angus! Looking forward to more in the coming year.

[@DaVinci1_0]

nice print! thanks for sharing!

[@cbadcruiser]

I’m really in to Rubik’s cubes and years ago I designed a 3D printable mirror blocks cube (does not need different colors to print) whose file is sadly locked inside a rusted thumb drive that no longer works. I would love to give this cube a shot at solving.

[@Puzzlers100]

3x3's are quite easy to solve, but idnetifying parts from the swirly pattern would be annoying, and you do actually have an extra complication relative to a normal 3x3 because you also need to rotationally align the centers.

[@kevinj9059]

With reference images/video it wouldn't be hard for a novice (myself included) to solve. Without knowing the end state it would be extraordinarily difficult. I'd love to give it a go.

[@xl000]

if you think not having colors is a problem , look at this: mirror cube it looks crazy hard at first when it's scrambled, but you quickly learn to read the heights as colors...

[@neebick]

I’ve had good luck placing parts into multiple components then exporting as a step file. That seems to maintain multiple layers of groupings while separating in the slicer. Only issue I get sometimes is the slicer conversion of step files isn’t always as smooth appearance wise as exporting from Fusion.

[@guslarscheid3606]

My brother has recently gotten into solving Rubik's cubes, he's getting his time down all the time. I know he could solve this. I would really enjoy watching him try to figure it out. Good work on this!

[@MakeKasprzak]

This is lovely. I don't have a multi-material system for any of my printers, but this legit makes me want one

[@BaioWithMayo]

Hey there, for multi color I do this for my business and have done it through fusion. Its not a perfect but the method is effectively - Group the same color objects in fusion folders, hide the rest of the model, export that color, then inverse it for the rest of the model. Once in slicer I just import or "add to" the model and it all lines up. Now for yours where you cut it and it creates a million different parts, step one of grouping the same color in Fusion gets more difficult... Maybe that helps and can be a lightbulb for a better idea!

[@hollowedge8307]

Using the rubix cube mechanism in a battle bot might be an interesting concept.

[@arpy4428]

Would love a chance to solve it! My fastest 3x3 time is 00:29

[@Lassie23]

Mine is 34 seconds

[@BM-yy8db]

That thing looks like a nightmare to solve. I bet my puzzler friend would like it. The green one is very pretty!

[@jucanavazreque3429]

Very clever to use the random spline for the pattern. I always forget those exist because they are not the usual parametric element. As for the complexity of the puzzle, the center orientation and the spherical shape could be the main issues. I have a cubic Earth "globe" puzzle and although the method is similar, I can confirm it differs in a couple of steps from the usual cube. I'd love to give it a go! :)

[@makedaevilmage]

Ohh man, I taught myself to solve a 3x3 cube back during covid in 2020, mainly because I was bored and had one near my couch lol. Since then, I usually carry one of two (also a 5x5) in my backpack all the time and been practicing almost daily. I can solve it pretty fast now, around 90 seconds on average. Nowhere near a world record, but then again a lot of people can't even solve one in the first place. Since then I also been practising some other puzzles like a 4x4, 5x5 and the pyraminx. I'd love to give it a go on a spheracle bauble (yes, it's a funny word haha). I think your design looks really festive and I'd love the puzzle challenge ;) Greetings from the Netherlands, Menno

[@josephjones4293]

Slicer for fusion is another great abandoned autodesk project. I use it all the time to slice models for cnc cut patterns…

[@tomthebadasscat]

Merry Xmas, Angus and thanks for the interesting vid. 👍🎅🎄🦘

[@lizrrdbreath]

you can export components for 3d printing in fusion

[@howtoguy17]

Idk why I'm still subscribed

[@nathangerken4384]

I've actually gotten pretty good at solving rubix cubes in weird ways. I tend to do things like solve it in the super flip, or, particularly with 5x, solve it so that there are fun patterns. I feel like I could probably solve this one

[@KaidoLP]

Inside of fusion you can group the body's into components which can than be exported one by one as multi body 3mf files. It's work but might be the fastest option

[@sophosdolos]

Love the video and design of the bauble. My teen son loves 3d printing and is willing to try and solve it.

[@Zeldur]

I'd love to have a crack at attempting to solve it. I learned how to solve rubix cubes from Dan Brown's youtube videos about 14ish years ago now. I still remember how and am trying to figure out how the corners would work with this one XD. I may try to do this and just paint the stripes since I don't have a bambu or a multicolor system.

[@virtualbeast1228]

I reckon i could give it a shot. Ive solved quite a few similar twisty puzzles (a few so rare they dont even have a web presence).

[@S85B50Engine]

Can't be that bad, the hardest part is getting your hands on it. You should put some keyboard lube in the mechanism to make it jam less.

[@comma1981]

Happy holidays! Great video.

[@SystemsPlanet]

You convinced people that 3d printing is too complicated

[@raymondsanderson304]

The Original Rubiks Cube had coloured stickers NOT moulded/fabricated plastic colours, they were easy to remove and place in the right order.

[@rickseiden1]

I would use visibility to export the parts. Make one piece and the pattern parts through it visible and then everything else not visible, and export the entire thing to a 3mf. Rather, rinse, repeat.

[@Chesburbger]

you sound like mumbo jumbo

[@AllanScheSar]

If you found another, new mesh mixer please let us know I'm looking since years for an alternative.

[@nowymail]

Solvable in like 10 minutes with the beginners' method. It's basically a super cube, where each piece has its place and orientation (including the centers that in a regular cube don't have specific orientation). The green bauble looks better. The turning quality can be improved with careful sanding. edit: I think it's possible to make the surface smooth and glossy by coating it with UV resin.

[@AllomantiCuber]

hello, I design 3d printed rubiks cubes, thank you for making this video

[@Cubing_Burger]

That cube looks like hell to solve with all those patterns. Luckily I'm into that. Tell you what: I'll make sure I can solve it within 5 minutes (or less if you tell me to) if you send me this

[@rhyboy1]

Thank for consistently enjoyable content.

[@Itchy_Ninja_Go]

for sure i can solve it. plenty of practice with the ghost cube. that thing is evil. I really want to get into multi color printing but haven't seen one that has sold me yet.

[@liamspence9763]

You should make this into a Treasure Planet Map!

[@The3DPrintingGrandad]

This is really cool. I don't have the time at the moment to make one, but maybe in the future.

[@KitesAndDarts]

I can for sure solve it. It would probably take me 6 hours, but it would be fun.

[@HuntersOA]

Blender does cover "some" of meshmixers features, albeit, some times in a very convoluted way. I've migrated to mac a few years back - and there is no compatible version of meshmmixer for M series processors. Sooooo... I had to improvise. Luckily, for most things I was able to work with blender - but boy do I miss meshmixer...

[@Otamatone_Productions]

THE INTRO IS BACK!!! I CAN FINALLY EXPLORE MICROSCOPIC WORLDS! edit: ITS IN THE VIDEO TWICE!! WHAT A TREAT!

[@BerserkingKantus]

All you have to do is finish one side then figure out how each side needs to be rotated like solving a picture cube.

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

I definitely couldn't solve it since I also can't solve a standard 3³ Cube, but I know someone that would most likely be able to

[@AJAX_3D]

Doesn’t just exporting as a .step file and then opening the step in the slicer do exactly what you want? I think the parts might have to be in assemblies though.

[@Technodono]

In theory to fix the splitting issue you could try hiding and assembling each chunk of the 3x3 after the split to objects operation. Once split, From the objects tab selecting everything & right clicking should show a make printable option which you can disable to clear the workspace of clutter. With the assumption that the cube parts were number logically (e.g. parts 1-3 made up the whole top right 1x1 block in the 3x3 cube). You could select those parts in the object tab, make them printable again and right-click -> assemble. Repeating this process for each 1x1 of the cube should get you essentially what your looking for. Wether assembling each part that makes up the 3x3 is faster than other methods I'm not totally sure of but once they are the parts can be easily auto-rotated and positioned without fear of them splitting apart.

[@Jarko1401]

I think it would be easy to solve. Unfortunately I don't have 3d printer that could print it in a way that it would be usable. On the other hand after i solve it once it will probably just lay somewhere and take up space. PS you should make one signed by you and send it scrambled already

[@stroidzz873]

I solve using the CFOP Method and once got a time of 14.something seconds. I can solve up to 7x7 and pentaminx, picture cubes like your bauble it's that hard, it just takes time. I would really like to attempt to solve your bauble if you haven't chosen someone yet.😊

[@cmdraftbrn]

24 years the solved cube evades me. without breaking it and doing a reassembly

[@bluerider0988]

In Solidworks you could just have made a configuration showing only the sections you want. Then save that as a stl. You essentially make a configuration for each part. Ive never used mesh mixer so I'm not sure if that's easier or harder. Not sure if Fusion has the ability to do configurations of models.

[@JLProPhoto]

Fusion has configurations in the paid version, but there's also better ways to handle the whole multi-color output method in Fusion than using configurations. Fusion's component system kind of negates the need to isolate each quadrant into its own configuration. At least for this example.

[@realgoose]

While I don't think I could solve it... maybe, but probably not. My 16 year old son could 100%. He has about as many cubes as he is old and enjoys figuring out new moves to help solve specific orientations quickly. This would make for a great gift for him!

[@skelehedron3070]

Im into speed cubing, but this would be a nightmare to solve, just due to how similar each piece is

[@hesgrant]

I could definitely solve it, but I would leave it solved after that 😆 I much prefer Rubik's cube variants that don't require specific orientation of the centers. Really awesome design though!

[@Alchemistake]

do you really need mmp for this? it looks like same can be done with a sharpie after printing the same file without the second color so sharpie lies in the groove.

[@kirianf9072]

Where can i get the files for this exact Ball, to print on my Bambu Lab?

[@OneSolidCube]

Does fusion combine work? 6 x right turns isn’t it?

[@el3print]

Couldn't you just slice it in Fusion itself? I didn't try it with multiple colour but materials (and thus color) should stay up to the end of the line to gcode. Just needs a regenerate when changing the model. Another way is not to print multicolor but leave the gaps for the lines in and fill them with a 3D-pen. This is ofcourse the easiest solution also avalable fo people with single-color-printing only. And, could you change the design to be print-in-place maybe? That would solve a lot of issues, but needs to break free after printing. Maybe 2 or 3 print-in-place prints.

[@TheFishTankChannel]

care to share the .3mf file from the final print you did?

[@reddcube]

I definitely could solve the puzzle. The difficulty is probably similar to a ghost cube.

[@TKs3DPrints]

i have to agree 1000% about meshmixer it was a great loss to the community.. and would be awesome if they brought a new updated version..

[@MolotMakesThings]

I can't solve it. If you would send it to me, I would try, and try, and try and fail. Don't send it to me unless you want to punish me ;)

[@brycemoore3057]

Long time fan, would love to solve this and add it to my cube collection. :)

[@chuckthetekkie]

The only way I can solve a Rubik's cube is to take it apart and put it back together. Technically I am "solving" it just not in the intended way.

[@markogra8235]

please try cotangent! it's from the original creator of meshmixer after he left autodesk edit: might be bitrotted but worth a try if you're on windows. rewriting meshmixer in rust or something might be a fun project with all the papers ryan schmidt has on his website

[@ThatKaseyDoggo]

I might have found the puzzle to stump Doug!

[@freescape08]

I could solve it! No guarantees that I wouldn't resort to labelling the pieces once I discover what goes where though... 😅 My visual recognition skills are based primarily on color, then tint, then size, then shape, then texture/pattern. So it won't be a world record.

[@OZtwo]

Windows has such a mesh utility as well: 3D Builder.

[@Logan43121]

ive been cubing for years lemme try

[@JonathanGallegos-li6eu]

Maybe I can’t do it, but I want to give it a try

[@DedekindPuzzles]

Great video! As a puzzle designer, bringing more attention to the puzzle part of the 3D printing community is appreciated

[@RoosterMega]

Cookiecad is so nice but the price can be brutal. Worth it though.

[@SteakToad]

Never solved a rubix cube, but like Patrick I'll idiotically solve it anyways, Im up for the challenge

[@Leo-ct9pm]

I think I can solve it. I'm a speedcuber, 22s average on 3x3. I like twisty puzzles.

[@JustinDrentlaw]

Damn, I'm sad to hear that Meshmixer is now abandonware. I use it so often for 3D printing.

[@dim1723]

Mesh mixer to the rescue!

[@robertzarfas9556]

Could I solve it? Yes absolutely. But this puzzle is in a category of rubik’s mods along with bump cubes, ghost cubes, et c. that I call “poor communicators.” It’s not that they are any harder than a regular cube. It’s just that from the scrambled state they do a poor job creating a visual expectation of what the solved state should be. That doesn’t make it a bad puzzle by any means. Just not the sort of puzzle I enjoy solving. 😅 Awesome video though, and I miss mesh mixer too.

[@adminadmin8992]

Can you share step file?

[@TheSecurity16]

Kiddo will likely be able to solve it but me not a chance

[@fredericthalheimer3811]

That an amazingn idea. I would really like to solve it. I just got another strange shaped rubiks cube for christmas and started to hack it displaying digital numbers on it. I really like the twisty rubiks puzzle on your linked hompage. The idea to make it into another toy is very intruiging. I which you a nice end oy the year anfd a good new year