world’s smallest metal rubik’s cube is so tiny it may need tweezers to move or rotate

world’s smallest rubik’s cube by Megahouse and Iriso Precision

Megahouse and Iriso Precision Company team up to produce the dubbed world’s smallest metal Rubik’s Cube in time for the 50th anniversary of the 3D puzzle. This one’s so tiny that the gamer might need a pair of tweezers to move or rotate it. All of its parts are made by cutting metal using the machine company’s equipment and ultra-fine trimming processes. As a result, the duo has achieved an approximate size of 1/1,000 of a regular 3×3 Rubik’s Cube.

Each square on the main body of the dubbed world’s smallest metal Rubik’s Cube is 0.16 cm x 0.16 cm x 0.16 cm, while the length of each side is 0.50 cm. The inside of the puzzle toy is still similar to the original Rubik’s Cube, so it has movable parts that can rotate and shift around despite its miniature size. These needed to be cut and shaped precisely to maintain their targeted size while allowing the gamer to still turn them. The companies say that these parts are manually assembled by hand rather than by a machine to precisely put them together.

all images courtesy of Megahouse Corporation

‘micro cutting’ involves shaping microscopic-scale parts

Producing the world’s smallest metal Rubik’s Cube, which the Guiness World Records acknowledged in August 2024, can come with a few hurdles. For Megahouse and Iriso Precision, it’s making sure that all the tiny pieces can move and rotate freely. It may sound simple, but looking at the Rubik’s Cube, which has almost the same width as three rice grains, that might just be the opposite. When the corporation and machine company assemble it, they carve out each part and fit it together one by one.

In this way, the middle part has the ‘cross’ design of the Rubik’s Cube, so the other parts move or rotate. The technique used is called ‘micro cutting,’ which also involves shaping microscopic-scale parts. On top of this, the location where the cutting happens, as well as the cutting conditions like temperature, pressure, and vibration, must be tightly controlled. These factors can also make the assembly process a bit more complicated if not followed.

RUBIK’s logo engraved in the middle of world’s smallest metal cube

RUBIK’s logo engraved on the world’s smallest metal cube

The companies say that when working at such a small scale, it’s also hard to see what is being done while cutting, so the craftsman must rely on data and their mental image of the final product instead of focusing on and watching the process directly. Thanks to Iriso Precision’s machines, they’re able to produce parts for the world’s smallest metal Rubik’s Cube as tiny as 0.0001 mm. ‘The thickness of a human hair is approximately 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm, but we are able to work with a precision of even 1/100 mm, so we use this technology to create each part,’ the teams say.

To challenge themselves even further, they’ve managed to engrave the RUBIK’S logo at the center of one of the sides, which might be challenging to see with the naked eye considering the toy’s miniature size. The dubbed world’s smallest metal Rubik’s Cube also comes with an aluminum base or case, which is a lot bigger than the cube itself. It mimics a trophy with the cube sitting in the middle of it and a serial number printed on the bottom plate. So far, the world’s smallest metal Rubik’s Cube is priced at 777,777 yen (or around 5,250 USD), excluding shipping fees.

the world’s smallest Rubik’s Cube is so tiny it may need tweezers to move or rotate