# Rubik's 360 tutorial(s)



## Muesli (Sep 12, 2009)

PART 1






PART 2






I FINALLY got around to it!


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## slowsolve (Sep 22, 2009)

Inspired by your "hot and cold" description I modified my own solution method, to solve first the hot then the cold colours. I immediately improved by personal best (single solve) time to 1m 13s. This involved a loss of stability error, where a bead I got out then fell back in to the core, so I think sub 1 minute is possible by my method, with no errors.

Your description is one or the more complete I've seen. Good job. But maybe you could add something:

a) The two plastic cylinders connecting the core to the middle are not simple axes. The core can rotate about 180 degrees about the middle, then it gets caught in a locking mechanism. If you shine a really bright light on your 360 puzzle, (and rotate it a little) you may be able to see something of this mechanism. This locking mechanism is vital, since it creates a little island of stability with the core hole at the bottom. Without it, it would be very, very hard to get beads out, and even harder to control where they went after that. This is what happens when you rotate the outer sphere through 180 degrees perpendicular to the black dome axis: the core sphere has then rotated the same amount and hits the locking mechanism, so when you further rotate another 180 degrees or so the core weight is locked in position and moves up to the top. Then you can get a bead out through the core hole which is now at the bottom.

b) I didn't follow in your description, after getting a bead to drop through the core hole, how exactly you move the bead to the hot or cold black line.
For instance, in my method I continue the rotation perpendicular to the black dome axis until stability is lost, so the core starts to rapidly rotate under gravity as the weight swings back to the bottom. At this moment, I reverse the rotation in a rapid movement. With practice this lets me get the bead out on the line chosen by the lining up of the hot or cold area at the back before I rotated the puzzle (through around 360 degrees to get the core hole at the bottom) around the axis mentioned. 

I then tilt the outer sphere and rotate about the middle axis quickly until the bead lines up near the black circle (which I have set near to the correct dome so I can tell which way it goes). A quick spin of the outer sphere and the bead drops through the middle hole and twisting the black dome catches and moves it into its dome.


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## Muesli (Sep 23, 2009)

I've also made a video with the complete explanation of how the 360 moves and it's specs etc.






I did briefly mention the locking mechanism, but with the method I describe you don't really need it. In my fast solves I just use it as a failsafe.

After allowing a ball to drop throught the black hole you turn the sphere carefully towards you. This should 'pin' the ball inbetween the core and intermediate spheres. The ball occasionally will fly up and drop in, but more often than not it will slowly move up. If you are lucky, the core sphere will spin around rapidly and knock the ball securely into the intermediate layer for solving. If it helps, once you have collected a ball in the core-black-hole very carefully rotate the entire puzzle towards you along the 'x' axis, the line of symettrey along the two black locking things. This is not the actual angle required, but it will do and finding the optimum angle from that position is not difficult.


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## Rubenx96 (Oct 14, 2009)

cool guide nicely done


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## Muesli (Oct 14, 2009)

Rubenx96 said:


> cool guide nicely done



Why thank yee. This is the technique I use for speedsolving too.


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## RorVovVovRor (Nov 2, 2009)

I solved the 360 in just under a week.


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## Owen (Nov 2, 2009)

I tried solving by brother's Rubik's 360, he got all the balls in but two, I got one more, and he freaked out. I tried getting it out for him, but I accidentally got two out, and he REALLY freaked out. I'm not touching that thing again!


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## Novriil (Nov 3, 2009)

I don't understand the "getting out of the core" part.. maybe I just need more practise but now I can't get the point of that.


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## Muesli (Nov 3, 2009)

Novriil said:


> I don't understand the "getting out of the core" part.. maybe I just need more practise but now I can't get the point of that.



Well, if you look at the puzzle you will see that there is an inner, inter' and outer sphere. The trick is to get the hole that is (normally) at the top of the inner sphere to the bottom of the inner sphere to collect a ball.


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## Novriil (Nov 4, 2009)

Musli4brekkies said:


> Novriil said:
> 
> 
> > I don't understand the "getting out of the core" part.. maybe I just need more practise but now I can't get the point of that.
> ...



I know that but I just don't understand how do you do it.. the way you described I just can't find a way to do it. :S


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## MichaelErskine (Nov 10, 2009)

slowsolve said:


> This locking mechanism is vital, since it creates a little island of stability with the core hole at the bottom. Without it, it would be very, very hard to get beads out, and even harder to control where they went after that. This is what happens when you rotate the outer sphere through 180 degrees perpendicular to the black dome axis: the core sphere has then rotated the same amount and hits the locking mechanism, so when you further rotate another 180 degrees or so the core weight is locked in position and moves up to the top. Then you can get a bead out through the core hole which is now at the bottom.



Hmm, this doesn't happen with mine: it's a genuine Rubik's 360 and as far as I know it's not broken. I'm having real trouble getting the damn thing to do anything!


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## James Ludlow (Nov 10, 2009)

Is there any way I can discharge what I can only assume to be static build up, and get my balls to stop levitating in the inner sphere? I spoke to Dan Harris and David Hedley-Jones at Uk Open, and yourself and Pete, but everyone was at a loss. I really don't wanna buy a new one, because it'll take getting used to again. I used Pete's at Open and it was a lot more free spinning than mine.


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## MichaelErskine (Nov 10, 2009)

msemtd said:


> Hmm, this doesn't happen with mine: it's a genuine Rubik's 360 and as far as I know it's not broken. I'm having real trouble getting the damn thing to do anything!



Aha! The innermost sphere exhibits the locking - this took some hours of frustration to discover!

I am now using what I can only describe as a "cheat" to trap a solved ball just outside it's dome and lock the middle sphere in position and to place subsequent balls into the core ball hole (using the middle axis locking feature just discovered).


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## MichaelErskine (Nov 11, 2009)

jamesdeanludlow said:


> Is there any way I can discharge what I can only assume to be static build up, and get my balls to stop levitating in the inner sphere?


Crazy! Please post some footage!


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## Muesli (Nov 11, 2009)

msemtd said:


> jamesdeanludlow said:
> 
> 
> > Is there any way I can discharge what I can only assume to be static build up, and get my balls to stop levitating in the inner sphere?
> ...



It's the weirdest problem. I reckon Rubik's should do something about it.


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## EmCube (Nov 11, 2009)

I really like the Hot and Cold description - although before I heard it I was calling them Masculine (Blue, green, white) and Feminine (Red, Orange, Yellow), I think both work?

The washing machine technique normally works well - (clearly not on saturday though!) but it's non-specific as you can't pick which ball comes through, you just have see what you get which is frustrating if a masculine ball comes into the feminine side. There is a move you can do to swap it over although I haven't mastered it, Dan has got it down - I've only ever done it by mistake when I haven't needed to!

I've got the static problem also, i thought it had just come from repeatedly doing the "washing machine", one of mine (the one I got earlier) is definitely worse than the other. It's almost like it needs some sort of keyhole surgery or energy release?

Thanks for the tutorial, maybe if I can get that technique down I wont be sitting there through two DNFs next time. 

Have lovely days!


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## Karma Cat (Nov 25, 2009)

Pretty good tutorial =)
Makes me think of buying one.


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## brickviking (Jul 31, 2010)

*Locking up the Rubik's 360°*

*Brand new to the 360°*

I have to admit that I too am having trouble jiggling the ball around the inside of the inter-sphere away from the ball-bearing around to a hole. Every time I attempt to do so, the stuffing thing takes off, and whoops, there's the ball back in the inner sphere. I independently discovered that there must have been a locking mechanism for the inner sphere, though I haven't found out how it works yet, so I'll view your last video in this thread. I'm just downloading it to the drive currently, as I've already grabbed the other two.

I've found that at least for my 360, there's also a locking (sorta) mechanism for the inter-sphere too, and it's controlled by the barrier pivot. I've found that if you shift the barrier pivot by about ten degrees, then the intersphere will not rotate as freely around the black axis. You can usually feel the barrier pivot lock things up if you've got reasonably sensitive fingers like mine.

Happy Solving!


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