Alternating Cube was suggested by Bram Cohen at the
Twisty Puzzles Forum as follows: "Hey Oskar, can you design a 2x2x2 which must alternate clockwise and counterclockwise quarter turns?".
For the
original prototype, Bram suggested to use the core of
Alex Black Hole as a basis. To this, Oskar added the concept of the
Enabler Cube. One corner, the "enabler", moves through the core in a CW-CCW fashion. The mechanism inside the core pins one of the corners to the core opposite of the "enabler".
Now, there is a new prototype with a new, improved mechanism. The new prototype has a little switch, which enables either only right-handed turns or only left-handed turns. It switches after every turn.
Watch the
YouTube video.
Read at the
Shapeways Forum.
Read more at the
Twisty Puzzles Forum.
Please order a 3D-printed do-it-yourself puzzle kit from Shapeways at this page (check with Oskar about screws and stickers), or
contact Oskar directly if you are interested in obtaining a fully colored, stickered and assembled sample of this puzzle.