i have a puzzles from shapeways in the mail i was thinking does lubix work with shapeways puzzles?

Yes, I have heard it does work well.

I use a silicone spray available via Ebay here in Germany (Teslanol).
Lubix may be better, but my experience is that I need a lot of silicone until a Shapeways puzzle turns smoothly.
I guess that Lubix is much more expensive than my silicone spray.
I have no personal experience with Lubix.

In any case, lubrication is quite essential for Shapeways puzzles.

As a speedcuber I want to recommend you Reely differential oil. It is basically the same as Lubix but much, much cheaper. You can find it at - - Conrad
http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/2326 ... .ASTPCCP13

There are several different viscosities available, from 1000 to 50000. Also, Reely make "bumper" oil as well as this "differential" oil rated between 50 to 1200. Have you any experience of any of these products?

I got a bottle of LOSI 100 Certified Silicone Shock Oil, from the hobby store here and I like it better then Lubix. Works great in bigger puzzles like the V-Cube 7. It is not as thick as lubix.

I have Traxxas 30K diff oil and it works really good on all of my puzzles. The only shapeways puzzle that I have is a 20mm 4x4 and it worked good on that. I haven't tried Lubix on any of my puzzles but I'm pretty sure that it's just about the same.

The viscosity isn't really making much difference. I use 5000 and I can't see a difference to Lubix

Thanks for the hint! I'll try the Conrad stuff.
Konrad

Tom, have you heard anything about how it compares to silicone for shapeways puzzles?

Dan Fast (crazybadcuber) has claimed it works very well: http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=CHRazG8kfhY

Personally (though I never tried) I don't think too highly of lubix: the seller has created a lot of hype around the product but I am not sure that it is substantially better than other silicone products. But it is substantially more expensive, just because of the branding.

I would just like to clarify here, silicone oil (lubix, traxxas, silicube, atomic lube, calvin puzzles lube, pinoy lube etc etc), is all the same stuff. Lubix was the first to do it though, then came traxxas and that's because somebody found out that's all lubix is, is pure silicone oil and so is traxxas. This is when traxxas came onto the market.

As for Lubix, when I went to a local hobby shop I found a variety of silicone lubricants that are used for RC cars, which is what Traxxas is intended for. I found a giant bottle of another brand for like 5 bucks. I've tested it and it's exactly the same viscosity and feel as lubix. Accept this giant bottle holds over 100 dollars worth of lubix in it.... for 5 bucks. So I boycott lubix from that point forward. The markup on their product is outrageous!!!

That all being said, any kind of silicone oil lubricant works well on shapeways puzzles.

Here's a warning - ONLY put it at the bottom of the stem of cuboids, or in puzzles that aren't shape shifters make sure you put it down inside the puzzle. NEVER put silicone oil near the outside of the puzzle. What happens is that it dries up. It doesn't dry up on speedsolving 3x3's and stuff beause no air can really get in there. The pieces are touching and in between the pieces is the silicone. Very little room for air. In a shapeways puzzle where the surface is bumpy, air can get in there quite easily and it dries up the silicone. Then when you start turning it, it breaks off and with more turning turns into a fine powder. The puzzle still turns ok and the powder will stay inside the puzzle and seems to still act as a lubricant somehow, but if you put the lube too far the the edge of the puzzle the powder starts coming out and your nice black shapeways puzzle (if it's black) will always have white powder on it, falling onto your lap, desk or where ever you may be solving. I learned this mistake with my 5x5x9 Cuboid and now I have to take it apart because there is a tremendous amount of white powered around the puzzle, inside and out.

Anyways, I hope this clears everything up with the lubix and shape ways.

My advice, use very little, you'd be surprised how fast the puzzle will get good, stay good, and only lube near the center of the puzzle =)

Hmmm... Well I don't have any shapeways cuboids (yet), but I do have some other shapeways puzzles. Lubix works pretty well, however, it's really made for ABS. You're not going to see the same (proportional) results on SLS that you would on ABS.
Personally, I like to use Maru on SLS. It is just a thin liquid, and disappears. It really, really works it's way around the puzzle, and you only need a few drops to lube an entire puzzle.

I've been a die-hard Lubix user for some time now. I am fully aware that it is a scam, and it's just silicone, but oh well. I guess it's a psychological thing.

-Doug

This.

I don't have the slightest clue what's in it, but it works magic on Shapeways puzzles. 2-3 drops is usually plenty for small puzzles, and it can easily turn a puzzle that barely turns into one that is buttery smooth.

I just thought I'd share with you who are wondering about silicone oil lubricants and shapeways puzzles what happens to the lube and how dirty the inside of your puzzle will become. In my previous comment I mentioned what happens to lubix in shapeways puzzles.

I used more than I normally would in this puzzle because the breaking in process was really brutal on this one and the top and bottom layers (1&9) are still vey hard to turn. I am going to clean this puzzle out and assemble it again and try some different lubricants this time. See if that makes a different.

Again though, this is just because I added to much and in the wrong place. I have used it on every single other shapeways puzzle I have with no white powder and with great success.

Hi Dan,

Are you sure it's dried lubricant and not some nylon powder residue leaching out of the holes designed into the puzzle? It just looks like a lot.
BTW I'm jealous of the 5x5x9.

Hmmmmm interesting thought. Well that might be the case because after taking it apart fully there was a LOT in the very center of the mechanism. I'm not extremely experienced with cleaning and dying puzzles so that might be it, however even in some of my puzzles that were cleaned and dyed by Tom Z that I have put lubix in have also come up with some white residue but only in the area where I've put lubix. Before I put the lubix in there, it was not a problem.

In this case I think the lubricant is trapping the powder. You notice the powder in the lubricated areas because the lubricant is binding the powder and keeping it in one location.

It can really be mind-boggling how much powder continues to be released from pieces after they've been through so much. I've died pieces for more than an hour in boiling water and then days later had clumps of un-dyed white powder coming out of pieces. The powder clumps so well that it can prevent water from breaking up the clumps and dye from penetrating.

I'd suggest dyeing+cleaning in 3 phases. 1) Air compressor. 2) boiling, very soapy water. 3) boiling water with a tiny bit of soap and dye.

The very soapy water helps penetrate and break up the clumps of powder that survive the air compressor.

Wow, I was under the impression that I got all the power out. I guess not. Well if this is the case I feel a bit of a fool speaking in this thread like I know what I'm talking about HAHAHA Well, we learn new things everyday. I thought maybe it was during the break in period the pieces rubbing against each other have maybe worn down that released some powder from the sides of the puzzle. Hmmm... well either way I'm cleaning it all right now haha.

You can use too much silicone oil but it's almost impossible on a Shapeways-printed puzzle. The pieces are so porous and they have so much surface area that almost an unlimited amount of oil will soak in / spread around the pieces.

If you go really crazy with silicone oil you will get a powder-like substance after it has dried but the particles are so small you can't see them. The only way you can tell they are there is that they catch the light and create a sparkle.

thanx guys for all that.
if you were thinking here is the puzzles i bout http://www.shapeways.com/model/778409/s ... 2.html?li=

i'm new to cad so its nothing much i wanted to make sure that the pole turned smoothly in the shaft.