Working Rubik's Cube on Google SketchUp

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This Instructable will show you an easy way to make working, solvable, Rubik's Cube on the free 3D Modelling program, Google SketchUp.

What you will need:

- A computer capable of running Google SketchUp

- The free program Google SketchUp, which can be downloaded right here: http://www.sketchup.com/

Have Fun!

Step One: Making the Segments

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Start by opening a new file, and making a 1x1 square with the Rectangle tool. Using the Push/Pull tool, extrude this square into a 1x1x1 cube. Use the Paint Bucket to paint each face the colours Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange and White. Once this is done, select the whole cube, right click on it, and select "Make component". In the component menu, give the cube a name, such as "Rubik's Cube Segment", or anything you can remember. Make sure you've checked the box "Replace section with component", and click "Create". You have now created your first cube segment.

Building the Cube

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Now that you have your cube segment as a component, it is time to copy and paste them together into a 3x3x3 cube. Select the component you have just made and copy (using Command+c for Mac, or Control+c for Windows), and paste it (using Command+v for Mac, or Control+v for Windows), to make another. Use the Move tool to grab this by a vertex and move it to another vertex on the original segment so they are joined together. Do this again to create a row of three segments. Now, deselect, and select the entire row, and copy, paste and move it twice to create the bottom third of the cube. Now, deselect and select the entire bottom third, and copy, paste and move it twice to complete the design of the cube.

Black Lining Around Segments (optional)

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Now, something you could've done earlier, but I chose to do now, is make the black lining around the coloured areas. To do this, you need to select a segment of the cube, and move it out into the open, where you can edit all faces of the cube. Select the segment, then double click it to edit it. The great thing about components is if you edit one, all similar components will also be edited. Now in the edit mode, use the Offset tool to to create a smaller square inside each face of the segment. It helps if you select the area you wish to offset, type in "0.97" and press enter, to quickly create the lining on each face. Now, using the Paint Bucket, color each face of the lining black and move the segment back into the cube.

Creating the Axis Points.

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Now that you have a model that looks like a standard, 3x3 Rubik's Cube, it's time to work out the rotation of the cube, so it can be mixed up and solved. What you need, are axis points for the cube to turn on. There are many ways to make these, but the simplest solution I could think of was using the Line tool to draw an X in every centre cube, so the intersection of the two lines would serve as an axis point. once you have done one of those on the centre cubes of each face, you are done building the cube.

Rotating and Playing With the Cube

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Now lets mix up the cube! First, save it in its complete state, and do not save it again unless you are confident in your solving abilities. To rotate the sections, select the nine cubes that make up the section you want to rotate and use the Rotate tool (or press Q) to rotate the selected section, using the the centre of the X as the axis (It's tedious, I know, but it's the only way I could think of to rotate the sections). Deselect and try this on another face, and keep rotating the sections until you think its jumbled enough. Now you can use the same technique to solve the cube! Either use your own technique, or an online guide to solve it. If you are really stuck, go back to your save and try again, or undo each action to see how it is solved by going backwards. Stopping the rotation once at a 45 degree angle and then rotating the full ninety can help you see each separate rotation when you undo your rotations.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your cube!