Equipment & Parts List

96 D32 Neodymium magnets (100 pack recommended)

12 D62 Neodymium magnets

27 3/4" or 19mm dice (30 recommended)

High Strength & Quick Drying Glue or Epoxy (transparent or translucent)

3/16" split point drill bit

3/8" split point drill bit

Scrap Wood or Metal to make a Die Jig

Carpenter's Square

Drill Press with stop

At least 3 clamps - more is better

Shop Vac

Standard head screwdriver

Update (2007-07-20)

Update (2007-07-21)

This project is a modified version of gfixler's Magnetic Acrylic Rubik's Cube , and uses red translucent dice instead of clear acrylic cubes. I give credit for the dice idea to ella and andyholloway, who were going to build a dice cube, however I do not know if they ever finished.I will assume, if you are reading this, that you have already read gfixler's Instructable . The primary purpose of this instructable is to highlight some of my modifications on his idea. So if you are planning on building one of these, I recommend you go and read his now.The non-symetrical nature of some of the die patterns gives the dice cube an extra element of strategy not present in regular Rubik's Cubes. This variable of rotation is an aspect of the " sudocube ," but the dice cube is easier to solve, because each face contains identical figures, and every cubie is unique--two properties of the original Rubik's Cube that are not carried over to the "sudocube."It's been a while since I've been around here; lately my internet has been sporadic at best, and nonexistent at worst. But I'm here now and I'll try to get caught up. I've noticed that the same questions tend to come up again and again in comments, so I've decided to answer some of those here.All in all, the cube cost me about $60, although at least a third of that was for shipping and handling, as well as the drill bits that I bought specifically for it.Many people assume that the cube spins just like a normal rubik's cube (I did too at first), but in reality, the faces move in more of a snapping motion, which is quite satisfying, though it doesn't lend itself readily to speedcubing.If you take the time to analyze the magnet orientations and polarities, you will probably come to the conclusion that creating a 2x2x2 cube with dice and magnets is impossible. Indeed, any magnetic cube with an even number of sides presents some interesting problems, but they aren't insurmountable ones. You just have to think outside the box (or in this case, the cube). I am in fact, currently making at 2x2 cube. I started a few weeks after I finished the 3x3, but I haven't worked on it since then until today. That being said, I should probably have it finished this weekend. I believe that a 4x4 would also be possible, though more difficult and certainly quite heavy. Anything higher than that is probably a pipe dream. (probably)Well, I finished the 2x2 cube this morning. It's really not a lot of work once you have the jig finished. In fact, it was more fun to make the 2x2 than the 3x3. That said, the end result for the 2x2 is less cool than the 3x3, and in retrospect, making the 3x3 is much more satisfying in the end. Anyway, check out the 2x2 cube