Solving runix cube code#

To maximise gripping power I opted for two servos per claw, however this does lead to a difficulty when centering the cube and is something I might consider changing next time.

For servos I went for metal gears to prevent slippage as well as the highest torque versions I could find. This removes the torsion from the flimsy servo horns and directs it straight to the 1/4' drive shaft. To ensure this was not the case I went for a design that sees the main arms pivoting on substantial 8mm ABEC 9 roller-skate bearings and controlled via secondary arms connected by linkages. But even if the motor itself is accurate, problems will still arise if there is too much play in the mechanics of the gripper itself. This resulted in me using NEMA 23 stepper motors to turn the faces of the cube and because they are significantly over powered for the task in hand they can achieve this with ease. So this time during the design process I took steps to maximise the precision of the moving parts. The biggest problem I had with the Lego robot was the lack of accuracy the robot had when turning faces of the rubix cube which lead to the cube getting jammed up and the robot trying to rip its self apart. I designed it in such a way that none of the previous problems I had encountered could possibly re-emerge, and I'm glad to say none of them did! Here is the 'finished' robot solving a rubix cube in a mere 48 seconds. Having learnt from my mistakes last time I set about making a new robot, this time not from LEGO but using the 3D printer I had just got my hands on this has allowed me to create completely custom parts, much more suited to the task in hand.

However I faced a lot of problems and after several months of trying I deemed it not possible based on my hardware setup (although it must have been because he managed it!).

Solving runix cube code#

I quickly built the robot from his instructions and then got down to the programming, I decided I wanted to write the code myself rather than use his source code from the original project. This was when I came across the website by Hans Anderson he has designed robots that can mechanically display the time, solve sudokus and most impressively solve a rubix cube. After many random contraptions later and 3 years of competing in a robotics competition called The First LEGO League, I had gained quite a lot of confidence in the design and programming of LEGO robots. Starting off with the standard bricks I soon moved on to LEGO technic and then combined this with LEGO Mindstorms too. When I was young I spent a lot of time playing with LEGO.