All,

I've very proud to present the finished Window Real5x5x5. I've been working on putting a 3x3x3 inside a 5x5x5 off and on since November 2006. This is my third such design and I this puzzle working as intended as well. The notion of a 3x3x3 inside a 5x5x5 was first published in a Cubism For Fun (CFF) article called Hidden Cubes by Tony Fisher in July 1989. It was Tony's mention of this article here which sparked my interest in putting a 3x3x3 inside a 5x5x5. The first simulator which would let you play with and solve this puzzle was the program CubixPlayer2 made by Per Kristen Fredlund and released in April 2004. To my knowledge this is the second physical/functional and stickered version of this puzzle. The stickering was completed July 31, 2014.

Some Links:
Tony's first mention of the Hiden Cubes concept here on the forums.
Version 1 of the Real5x5x5.
My presentation of the POV-Ray model for Version 2 of the Real5x5x5. Enjoy the 3D GIF animations.
The making of the Real5x5x5. This covers the conversion from POV-Ray to SolidWorks and also introduces this version 3 of the Real5x5x5.
Thread where finished Double Circle Real5x5x5 is presented.
Link to where you can buy this Puzzle on ShapeWays.
Watch a YouTube Video of the finished stickered puzzle.

The Puzzle has an 80 mm edge length and it weighs in at 172 grams. 90 grams less then the Double Circle Real5x5x5

Solved Solved (Back) Checkerboard Pattern A strait on view of one of the faces Mid 5x5x5 Layer Turn Mid 3x3x3 Layer Turn from top Mid 3x3x3 Layer Turn from side Some pictures taken during final assemble. The puzzle was taken apart again to place the stickers on the inner 3x3x3.
Enjoy...
Carl

Wow!
Let me be the first to congratulate you

Now, which one of your Real 5x5x5 babies is the more beloved one?

Well, you wait years for a real 5x5x5 and then two come along almost at the same time Seriously, this project must have taken an amazing amount of dedication (and I assume moolah). Kudos to you sir!

I love this, maybe more than the double circle version; as it is easier to understand. Will these be at the meetup on Thursday?

Amazing job Carl! There is a certain nice visual aesthetic to this one at the cost of mathematical precision because it doesn't have any new pieces pieces or show any orientation that isn't present on the normal 3x3x3 and normal 5x5x5.

With your Double-Circle Real5x5x5 I just love that all 125 pieces including the core are visible and unique.

Konrad wrote:Now, which one of your Real 5x5x5 babies is the more beloved one?

By me? I think my favorite is the Double Circle Real5x5x5. The mechanism is more complex (funner to design) and it turns just a little bit better. It uses 12 screws, not 6 like this window version, and this allows a little better tensioning of the entire puzzles as a result. On the window version the 5x5x5 layers turn great... almost too good. The 3x3x3 layers are very sensitive to alignment and since the 5x5x5 layers turn so easily they can turn themselves out of alignment while one is trying to turn the 3x3x3 layers. I also like the fact that the Double Circle Real5x5x5 is a Super3x3x3 inside a Super5x5x5 without the need for special super stickers. One could get super stickers for the window version but even then the central 1x1x1 cubie is still unstickered. So from a mechanism point of view I'm not sure I can call this a Multi-5x5x5. From a puzzle solving point of view it would be a multi-5x5x5 though. That is just my preference. The Window version however has only 131 parts in the Shapeways model (actually 132 as I include a spare of the smallest part) so it will be a fair bit more affordable then the Double Circle version which has 281 parts.

Carl

JackRTully wrote:Will these be at the meetup on Thursday?

Yes, I plan on having both with me at the Thursday meetup. I should have several other puzzles as well.

Carl

Carl for the alignment issues, have you considered adding a "clicking" mechanism to the 3x3x3 to help keep it aligned? I'm imagining something like: Where the red is material you'd remove from the corners and the Blue is material you'd detach from the corners and instead attach to the edges. A bump out by 1mm to maybe 2mm should do the job nicely.

I think adding something like this would keep the inner 3x3x3 better aligned and also prevent the outer 5x5x5 from having the tendency to drag the 3x3x3 with it.

Brandon Enright wrote:I think adding something like this would keep the inner 3x3x3 better aligned and also prevent the outer 5x5x5 from having the tendency to drag the 3x3x3 with it.

Interesting suggestion... but I don't think that is where the alignment issue lies. The 3x3x3 itself on the inside is very well behaved. Its the outer 5x5x5 pieces, most notably the wings and the x-centers that tend to catch and they tend to catch on the 5x5x5 t-centers and 5x5x5 edges. The entire puzzle is held together with 6 screws and these adjust the tension on the inner 3x3x3 directly. The only way to tighten the 5x5x5 layer is to over tighten the 3x3x3 layer and even then its still turns too freely. It should get better as it gets broken in more and the alignment isn't that hard to manage if that is where your focus is. Splitting our focus between talking and trying to keep the puzzle in frame tends to enhance the issue.

Carl

Puzzle has now been added to my Shapeways shop:

http://www.shapeways.com/model/2344979/ ... 5x5x5.html

Carl

This is a beautiful puzzle! I like the look of this thing much better than the original Real 5x5x5. Great work, Carl!

This mechanism reminds me of the E-Cube 5x5x5

Can you provide some more info?

E-Cubes Designer X wrote:This mechanism reminds me of the E-Cube 5x5x5

Well I did reverse engineer your 5x5x5 to make the DoDep kit. That is discussed here:

http://twistypuzzles.com/forum/viewtopi ... =9&t=26446

This is a natural extension of that work as I wanted to add in the 3x3x3 face center piece, which is missing in the DoDep kit and I believe from your 5x5x5 as well. And I wanted to make the inner 3x3x3 visible. This was inspired partially by TomZ's MultiDodecahedron. That is the first puzzle I'm aware of that added a window to the face center to enable viewing of the interior pieces.

The next natural extension to this is to make the puzzles that are the Multi- and Super Multi- DoDeps. I've already calculated the number of permutations for these puzzles here:


I feel this is different enough from a 5x5x5 to constitute a new puzzle so I hope you don't feel I'm stepping on your toes. That certainly isn't my intention.

Any chance you are going to the TP meetup in London this week? Not sure where you are located so I'm not sure this is likely... but I would love to meet you someday to discuss twisty puzzles and twisty puzzle design.

Carl

Kattenvriendin wrote:Can you provide some more info?

http://twistypuzzles.com/forum/viewtopi ... =9&t=26410

This is his 5x5x5.

Carl

Ah thanks. I hope any and all issues can be sorted.

I have decided that, since it is not going to be used for speedcubing, i am fine with calling this design yours. Sorry for any confusion!

P. S. I am in Wisconsin, so it's too far away!

This is a really cool puzzle! Out of curiosity, do you have any pictures or videos of it scrambled?