I already had this cube, which is a sticker mod using ones from Oliver's Stickers:



But I wanted a more realistic one, so



This uses a white Diansheng 45mm cube as a base, and has add-on parts printed on Shapeways in WSF and designed in SketchUp. The finished cube is 54mm. I chose the colours so as to keep as close as possible to the Portal cube design, which means that the corner pieces have no orientation. I suppose I could have cut small windows in the corners so you could see the colours beneath, but I didn't, so there

great idea! I think I have seen some before, are you the first?
also, I think there is quite a market for this puzzle. But would it be legal to sell? the companioncube is actually patented

There is one on YouTube here, and that video is from June 2010. Also, in that video's description, there are links to similar puzzles from May and August of 2011.

Still, that's a nice puzzle Gus. Have you considered making the white color gray?

I looked at the YouTube one, but I think mine is much better

Well I suppose I could make it grey by dying it with very diluted black RIT dye, but not this one, as I have already coated it with superglue. BTW, I ordered this is WSF polished, but I was very disappointed with the results; it was still very grainy and rough in places, and even the best parts could not be described as polished.

As to selling it, if Valve are anything like a fruit themed toy manufacturer, then "cube" would already be patented, so there is probably no chance for this The parts wouldn't actually cost that much if bought several at a time (curse Shapeways new pricing structure!), but never mind.

Curse the new price structure? It's been like this for ages, the only change they made recently was to introduce a shipping fee and lower the prices for WSF materials a little bit.

But for this model the shipping costs are almost half the printing costs

Very good idea. I had my own idea for this that is a little different.... I guess ill it try if I can figure out 3d design software.

Also out of curiosity how much did the shapeways parts cost?

They cost $21 in WSF (+ p&p). But you also have to buy a white diansheng 45mm cube for about $2.50. I suppose you could use a normal sized cube, which may be cheaper, but the parts would have to scaled up slightly, making them more expensive.

Ok not as bad as i thought!
Thank you!

My design incorporates a 2x2 so the pieces would be smaller.


Somewhat related question: are there any good (free) design soft wares to use? Ive wanted to do this for a while....

I use Google SketchUp, which has severe limitations for puzzle design, but it is free! pm me for more info.