Wikijunior:How Things Are Made/Toys/Rubik's Cube

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Rubik's cube is a toy puzzle designed by Erno Rubik during the mid-1970s. It is a cube-shaped device made up of smaller cube pieces with six faces having differing colors.

What do we need to make this thing?


The individual pieces that make up the Rubik's cube are typically produced from plastic. Most of the plastics used in a Rubik's cube are thermoplastics. These compounds are rigid, durable, and can be permanently molded into various shapes. The plastics used in the Rubik's cube are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and nylon.

What is the step by step process?

 * Step 1: The plastic pellets are transformed into Rubik's cube parts through injection molding. In this process, the pellets are put into the hopper of an injection molding machine. They are melted when they are passed through a hydraulically controlled screw. As the screw turns, the melted plastic is shuttled through a nozzle and physically forced, or injected, into the mold. Just prior to the arrival of the molten plastic, the two halves of the mold are brought together to create a cavity that has the identical shape of the Rubik's cube. Inside the cavity, the plastic is held under pressure for a specific amount of time and then allowed to cool. While cooling, the plastic hardens inside the mold. After enough time passes, the mold halves are opened and the cube pieces are ejected. The mold then closes again and the process begins again.


 * Step 2: The Rubik's cube parts are taken to an assembly line. The individual cube pieces are put together. Starting with the nylon core, each ABS center cube is connected to the core.
 * Step 3: After assembly is completed, the cubes are put in their final packaging. This can be a small box that has an instruction booklet (as shown). The package serves the dual purpose of protecting the Rubik's cube from damage caused by shipping and advertising the product.