How Rubik's Cubes are made

About 500 million Rubik's Cubes had been sold by January 2024, and each has a hidden six-armed core.

stations: 7
things upstream: 73
raw sources: 21
steps from the ground: 10

The short version

A Rubik's Cube is made of molded plastic pieces that turn around a hidden central core. Factories mold the core, six center caps, twelve edge pieces and eight corner pieces. Colored stickers or tiles are added, the pieces are snapped and screwed or riveted together, and each cube is twisted and checked.

Mold the plastic pieces

Molten plastic is injected into steel molds to make the core, the corner pieces and the edge pieces. Each piece is designed to interlock with its neighbors while still sliding past them.

Goes in
ABS plastic
Make the center caps

The center of each face is a single square piece fixed to the core. These six squares give the cube its structure, and they never move relative to one another.

Goes in
ABS plastic
Add the color

Each face gets its color from a sticker or a colored plastic tile. Modern cubes use a fixed layout, with white opposite yellow, blue opposite green and orange opposite red.

Goes in
Ink
Fit the pieces around the core

Workers fit eight corner pieces and twelve edge pieces round the core in the right pattern. Their shapes interlock so the cube holds together without falling apart.
Fix the centers

Older cubes used a screw that could be tightened or loosened to alter the feel of the turn. Newer official cubes use rivets and cannot be adjusted.

Goes in
Screw Steel
Test the twist

Each cube is turned by hand or by machine to confirm that every layer rotates freely.
Box it up

Cubes are scrambled or set to the solved state, then sealed into cardboard boxes or clear packaging.

Goes in
Cardboard box

End of the lineRubik's Cube

Worth repeating

Erno Rubik's Hungarian patent for the cube was filed on January 30, 1975.
Every legal scramble is solvable, but no move can swap a single pair of pieces or twist a single corner.