While I've been waiting patiently for my Qubami pieces to come from China (they are due to arrive tomorrow, FINALLY!), I thought I would have a go at my first ever mod.

I wanted to try something simple, with no cutting, sawing, grinding, sanding, or any other dangerous activity, but something interesting, so I decided to try an idea I posted some time ago in this thread.

So here is THE MOLECUBE, named because it looks a bit like a molecule (which I like because I studied biochemistry and work in pharmaceuticals), and also because it has more permutations than the number of atoms/molecules in the universe squared:

Alas, it is built!

Nice first mod, Kelvin! Now to make one out of Qubamis

wow
this is your first mod!!!!!!!!!
genius!

Just 8 cheap DIYs, 24 blank dice (18mm, to allow adjacent layers to rotate without catching the stickers), and a pot of superglue - nothing that deserves any big credit.

I just felt like making something a bit wacky.

which molecule is that?

Cubane, of course!

Superb name.
At first I thought the links might be 1x1x2 but I prefer the idea that they're glued.

Wow, i love this! Next you need to make a version with swappable layers!

Brilliant! Amazing first mod, very unique and creative.

(PS. I can't wait for my two qubamis!)

Now speedsolve that thing!
A thank you for remembering everybody to my old thread.

Yes, it's a good example of how creative ideas can come about by combining ideas from different sources. In this case I combined your interesting bandaging idea with my background in chemistry and molecular structures.

Just out of interest, where did your original bandaging idea come from? It would be interesting to create an "inspiration tree" showing how the idea evolved from very different sources...

Wait for CFF #80. There you will get the answer. I am planning to post its main content here, too. But first I need to finish another mod...

Looks awesome! Very intresting, Great build!

So it's made now! It seems difficult to solve. It's made using mini-cubes, right? It would be huge it it wasn't. I think we should make a naming standard for these. This would be the 2x2x2 variant, and the normal 3x3x3 would be the 1x1x1!

In fact these are just normal cubes - so it's huge.

As Andreas finally convinced me in the original thread (see link in top post), you can still solve the individual cubes independently even though they are connected by bandaged connectors, so it's not as difficult as it looks.

Meh, I prefer puzzles which are difficult but look easy...

Are little 1x2's functional because it'd be even cooler.

I almost forgot to ask, is it possible to move the connected sides? If it's at the same time or not?

Very nice first mod! Simple, elegant and it even has a relation to science!

I wonder if it would be easy to calculate the exact number of positions. Jaap?

Yes, just look at the last picture in the OP.

...If you made these out of your Qubami puzzle bases, that would be awesome. Plus, that way you could use the holes in the centers to stuff connecting rods in. The rods wouldn't have to have stickers, unless you wanted to add them for challenge

Of course you'd have to sell them for about $300 each but I think if they were available, there are definitely people who would buy them. Oh, and you could do a "half" version too, with four cubes in a square.

Idea for a sticker mod - only put stickers on the outermost faces. A little more manageable to solve that way.

No, they're just a couple of dice glued together so they're bandaged, but that means you have to twist layers in adjacent cubes together, making it slightly more tricky.

See above: they turn together.

(4.325 x 10^19)^8 x 4^12 = 2.54 x 10^161. See link in OP.

I agree this would look quite nice (perhaps even more like a molecule), but the Molecube was just a silly idea I had, so I probably won't do anything further with this. Although I'm thinking of using this one in a viral video for Qubami...

Just another qustion:
You could have used only one cubie between each pair of cubes without affecting the functionality. Was it a matter of taste or had you the transient state in the last picture in mind?
And I still want to see you holding it.

I did try it with just one cubie connecting each pair of cubes and yes, it turned just fine. But I didn't like the proportions and it was hard to see the internal faces, so I settled for two.

You'll have to wait for the video...

Aw, poop. I'll have to make one myself, then.

...How big is the hole on a Qubami center?

It depends which part of the hole you mean: 7.5mm for washer; 3.2mm for screw; 5.0mm for spring.

When I first saw the title I thought it was like 'mowl-cube' not 'moll-i-cube'. I thought it was a reference to the mole as in the unit - I'm stupid.

That thing is even scarier than a Qubami.

Victory for Molecube!

Alex

Actually i was even dumber, i thought it was mole as in the mole creature that burrows under the ground.

The hole on the very outside that is covered by the sticker. What's the diameter?