<edit>Video added</edit>

Well, after doing my half successful Megamorphix, I was inspired in some pms with Jason (Burgo) to try a flat faced Ultramorphix. I used a "naughty" 5x5x5 as the core, designed the extensions using SketchUp and printed them in WSF on Shapeways. After a surprisingly short time, I received these:

After dyeing the pieces using Rit dye + white vinegar, I truncated the donor cube:

Assembly was "just" a matter of gluing the 98 pieces onto the cube. I used strips of paper pushed between the cubies to help stop any superglue oozing (it is easier to remove glued paper than to separate glued plastic).




I designed the stickers and they were printed by Oliver.





Before I glued on the extensions I adjusted the screws on the cube and lubed it using Traxxas DiffLube. The result is that the finished puzzle turns very well, considering how many sharp edges can get snagged.

The puzzle is quite large, 176mm along an edge, and weighs 290g. Now for a Hexaphobic

I don't understand how to use SketchUp with shapeways... Help?

Just beautiful, Gus! Very inspiring

Whoa mama

It's beautiful! Was there a lot of paper that needed unsticking, or were you lucky enough that nothing leaked?

@JackRTully: pm me and we can discuss this.
@rline: thanks, it looks great next to my megamorphix
@Kattenvriendin: well, you know what superglue is like - there was lots of stuck paper, but it was quite easy to remove.

And much easier indeed than separating stuck pieces indeed.

Very nicely done, nice mod!

Looks awesome Gus! You hand cut your own stickers too, don't you? Great job all round.
EDIT, no, I had a closer look, they must be machine cut. The tips look pointy!

Awesome,,such a beatiful puzzle..
Looks very perfect and professional..
I wish someday I could reached that level..

Maulana

Gus, that is just stunning! Thanks for showing it!

Are you going to make it purchasable? I would love one of those - I have a 3x3 mass produced version and Traiphum's mastermorphinx. I would love a 5x5 version and this seems like a good bet!

Sigh! Just beautiful!

I will put the extensions up on Shapeways as soon as I get permission from the inventor, Chiou Sheng Wen (according to the museum).

Hey Gus, I love your work. How do you get past the whole no fillet thing on sketch up?

I use a Ruby plugin called Round Corners which is quite flexible and works well. Sometimes I have to manually tidy up the results, especially where 4 or more faces meet at once, but this is not too hard.

The biggest PITA is when I have to shell or hollow out the parts, which has to be done "by hand" in SU. There are a few shell plugins which I have tried, but I have yet to find one is is not more trouble than it is worth.

Wow.
Because if this really beautiful puzzle (and its images) I will enhance the entry in the museum.

Kudos.

You will have to take me under your sketchup wing haha

Gorgeous transformation! Fantastic work Gus.

Pretty incredible job you've done there. The build is so clean.

I've been trying to get in contact with Chiou Sheng Wen, the inventor of the Ultramorphix, so I can obtain his permission to sell the extensions on Shapeways. But no luck so far

I've spoken to Chiou Sheng-Wen and he has allowed me to sell my extensions on my Shapeways Shop. I have also uploaded a video to YouTube for your delight and delectation

BUMP!

After giving me permission to sell my Ultramorphix extensions, Chiou Sheng-Wen (judochiou625) asked me to build one for him, so I did, and for a short period I have two Ultramorphixes (?), so I took a picture of the brothers:
I hope he likes it!

here are pictures.

enjoy

Nice, that is a great collection, I am glad the Ultramorphix got to you OK. Now for my version of the hexaphobic ...