Journal 3
A High-tech Rubik’s Cube
I really like speed cubing, which means solving Rubik’s cubes in an extremely short time. Recently, I found a high-tech Rubik’s cube which is designed for advanced speed cubers. Thus, I bought that cube. This cube has lots of cool features, including spring compression adjustment system, mag-lev system, and magnet strength adjustment system.
Pic 1: cubes without
spring compression adjustment system
Pic 2: spring compression adjustment system
Pic 3: cubes with
spring compression adjustment system
A Rubik's cube's tension is controlled by the screws and springs. When you adjust the screw, the spring's compression changes simultaneously(pic 1). This Rubik's cube provides a special system called” spring compression adjustment system”(pic 2). It looks like a blue ring in the center pieces. When you turn the ring counterclockwise, the blue ring rises, and the spring’s tension become tighter. However, the screw's tension doesn't change(pic 3). This cube provides 9 different settings. I personally prefer the lowest setting because it provides less friction when turning this cube.
Mag-lev system, or magnetic levitation system, is an innovative system that appears in Rubik's cube's structure in recent years. Many Rubik's cube producers replace the springs in their flagship cubes with 2 ring-shaped magnets. The magnets repel each other in the center pieces. The best thing about the magnets is that the friction between the layers becomes extremely small. Because there is nothing rubbing inside the center pieces, the friction of each layer becomes lower. Thus, you can turn this cube effortlessly. However, the 2 magnets are much heavier than a spring, so the cube becomes heavier. When I got this cube, I couldn’t control this cube well when turning fast. I thought I was turning air! After several practices, I started to get used to this crazy fast cube.
Normal spring system
Mag-lev system
magnet strength adjustment system
Normal magnetic cube
(magnets aren't adjustable)
A flagship Rubik’s cube's standard equipment is the magnets in the corner pieces and edge pieces. The magnets can make the cube become much more stable when speed cubers rotate cubes extremely fast. The cube I bought has magnets inside it. In addition, this cube has a special system called “magnet strength adjustment system”, which means the magnet strength is adjustable. If you turn the system clockwise, the magnet strength becomes weaker. This cube provides 5 settings. Interestingly, if you adjust the system to the weakest setting, the magnets’ strength becomes extremely weak. The feel of the magnets almost disappears!
As for the performance, this cube is out of my expectation. With spring compression adjustment system and magnet strength adjustment system, this cube has at least 45 kinds of settings. After I got this cube, I loosened the screw for 360 degree, adjusted the magnets to the “2” setting, and added some lubes on the internal pieces. I didn’t adjust the spring compression adjustment system because when I tightened the system, the cube’s turning feel become very weird. The cube was already extremely fast before the adjustment. After the adjustment, to my surprise, this cube became much faster than before! This is the fastest cube I've ever used. I like fast cube because I can do some hard finger tricks quickly and effortlessly on it. But, this new cube was too fast for me! Sometimes I couldn't control this cube when turning fast. After several days’ adaption, I found that if I rotate this cube gently and fast, the cube will be controllable. Now, this cube becomes one of my favorite cube. I recommend this cube to those who really like fast cubes.
References
J Perm. (2018). 為什麼所有魔術方塊都需要像 GTS3 的彈簧系統. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1d9ZvoaqEw
J Perm. (2021). NEW MAGLEV SPEED CUBE | MagLev MoYu WeiLong WR M 2021 Review. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuKJZMEuj9M