All,

I'd like to introduce my newest puzzle. This is the Doctor Cube. Like the Doctor Skewb it is a slice-turn-only mixup puzzle. Others have been asking for a Doctor Skewb with a real Skewb core, Bram being a prime example, but I decided to go an easier direction. No one has yet made a Mixup Cube without a real 2x2x2 (or Fused Cube) core. So thus is born the Doctor Cube.

VIDEO

3D PDF

Solved


After 1 Turn


After 2 Turns


Partially Scrambled


Nearly Solved. Just one edge pair in the wrong orientation.


This puzzle was hinted at here.

Since this is a slice turn only puzzle, two opposite pieces are in effect locked together to form one piece. So you can view this puzzle as having 3 pairs of opposite face centers and 6 pairs of opposite edges. This is the x=9 moveable pieces mentioned in the hint. Each piece/pair has 8 (x-1) possible orientation though as stickered that full orientation information is only seen on the edges. And I have 9 (x) stickers on each face. Jared pointed out that this property is shared with the Junior Pyraminx. I could also point out that both puzzles have 2*sqrt(x) faces. I found that interesting. Granted the Doctor Cube is a bit harder then the Junior Pyraminx but its actually the first puzzle I've designed that I can solve on my own. This will likely be the easiest puzzle I'll design for some time.

This puzzle was also a testbed for an idea I've had which I should be able to use to improve the Thorny Cube. It wasn't till I made this puzzle that I fully understood the "reason" Oskar is talking about here.

VIDEO

3D PDF

Enjoy,
Carl

P.S. If someone wants to remove the background from these images PLEASE pm me.

Awesome puzzle Carl! I was just thinking whether it would be possible to make a Doctor Thorny Cube, by which the circles are attached to the middle layer. I'm not sure if it's possible, but it would be a nice combination of your puzzles to see.

Nice puzzle Carl. I really like the back to basics feel this has. Would this be considered a doctrine puzzles? If it is I wonder how many other puzzles were made with out ever having a doctrine puzzle made first.

Yes. Though the Mixup Cube is also a doctrinaire puzzle.

Carl

I believe I have seen a spherical version of this somewhere, but at the moment, the best I can find is this.

And there are NO stored cuts.

For Andreas, the edge length is 60 mm and the puzzle weighs in at 44.9 grams.

Carl

That turns really nicely, Carl. Seems like you're getting the hang of Solidworks!

-Eitan

The Doctor Cube is now for sale on Shapeways. You can get it here:

http://www.shapeways.com/model/407559/

I've also cleaned up some of the above pictures this weekend. I'll try to get the last 2 this week.





If there is interest in dyed, assembled, stickered, and broken in puzzles please PM me.

Carl

Finally got the last 2 images cleaned up today.




However it looks like Andreas beat me to the punch. I notice the entry in the museum already has cleaned up copies of these images. Oh well, its been nice practice with GIMP. It still take me over 30 minutes per image so I still feel there has to be a faster way.

Carl

In photoshop I might use the magic lasso or the magnetic lasso for these images, it would probably take me 5-10 minutes to get it perfect. Does GIMP have a similar feature?

GIMP has a lasso but at present I'm still tracing out the object manually at 16x magnification of the original image. I haven't come across a "magic" or "magnetic" feature yet but I've just started using it.

Carl