For the uninitiated, a megaminx is a version of the rubik’s cube for the dodecahedron. I finally got hold of one, but unfortunately before I was able to solve it, it came apart as you can see in the picture below. (click to enlarge)
I now want to consider the internal structure of this puzzle as seen in the photo. The most striking aspect of the engineering of the puzzle is that the centre piece contains a screw. Immedialy, this appears odd to me, since if the centre of each face is screwed in, then the rotation of faces will either tighten or untighten the screw.
Surely then, this is a bad way to design the puzzle. As it stands now, I don’t even know how to get all the pieces in their proper place, let alone fix everything so that I have a working megaminx.
Ceci n'est pas un blog 
January 9, 2008 at 9:51 am |
It seems to me that the exposed circle is the bit that is supposed to turn, and it is only because the screw was loose that turning the face resulted in unscrewing the piece (assuming that is what happened, you never explained how the piece came out in the first place).
All you have to do is take is apart, glue/screw the piece in, then put it back together again.
January 9, 2008 at 9:56 am |
Note: I played around with it before I gave it to you, and each face turns in both directions for at least 5-6 turns. If what you say is true, judging from the thread of the screw, I would’ve either completely unscrewed it, or reached a point where I simply could not turn it any more. I am convinced that the circular bit you have exposed will turn when you turn the face.
Take it apart, examine what happens when you turn a face, and report back to us. 🙂
January 10, 2008 at 8:46 am |
There are a few issues. Firstly I don’t know how to put the rest of the pieces in after the centres. As for the screwing/unscrewing, when I screw in the dodgy face, continued clockwise turning is always possible, but as soon as I move anticlockwise, unscrewing results.
Who is us?
And for the good of all readers, you should state where this megaminx came from.
February 29, 2008 at 6:44 pm |
[…] To continue the story from last time, I followed this piece of advice and bought a new megaminx from Mefferts Puzzles. I can already say […]