'Workbench' Overview

How the 'Workbench' works

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Before we move on... (2 basic concepts.)

• The Sledgehammer
• The Workbench

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Placing a cubie can affect other cubies, sometimes in unexpected ways. If we can manipulate cubies while containing side effects within a controlled area (the workbench), everything becomes much easier.

In simpler terms, by bringing both the desired cubie and its destination inside the 'workbench', we can swap the two cubies. Then, after moving the cubie to its final destination, we achieve both these objectives:

• The cubie is in its intended destination.
• Side effects remain confined within our workbench

This concept forms the core idea behind the 'Workbench' method.

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The method

The 'Workbench' method comprises three main steps:

1) Placing cubies in the 'workbench'

• Move the cubie to be placed from anywhere into the workbench. In the example below, the cubie OYG is already inside the worbench (just to keep things simple). Therefore this step is skipped.
  Look at Tutorial.'Workbench'.Positioning for a comprehensive example.
• Move the cubie in the destination position inside the workbench. (Point 'a' in the example below, the gray cubie at position: lub
• Swap the two cubies (Point 'b' in the example below)
• Undo the rotation at point 'a'. This brings the cubie from the 'workbench' to its final, correct, destination. (Point 'c' in the example below, the cubie: OYG moves from rdf, into the workbench at position: lub

example: To bring the cubie from the current position: to its final correct position: .

		Click these 3 buttons Reset Reset Reset
a)	M'	Brings the destination cubie from mub into the 'workbench' at position muf
b)	U   F'	The Sledgehammer that moves the cubie YG from rus to muf
c)	M	undo the first rotation and brings the cubie YG to its final position: mub
a)	B'	Brings the destination cubie from lub into the 'workbench' at position rub
b)	U   F'	The Sledgehammer that moves the cubie OYG from rdf to rub
c)	B	undo the first rotation and brings the cubie OYG to its final position: lub

Corners and edges share the same pattern, but they involve different cubies:

Corners Edges

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2) The 'Trap'

Step '1' terminates when, on the yellow face, OY and YG are correctly placed.

At that point there can be 2 possible main outcomes.

• 'Wrong orientation' analizes this configuration.
• 'The Trap' (when the Rubik's cube takes its revenge.)

There is a more elegant approach without the 'Sledgehammer'

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3) The final corners

Now it is time to positioning the remaining Corners. The problem is they are inside the workbench, that means: any action on any of them has side effects on the others!

This isn't a straightforward manipulation, and despite my extensive experience, it still makes me feel like someone is cutting the branch they're sitting on. But there is a solution I learned from the web that makes thinks astonishing simple.

The key of this step is the change in perspective, changing the workbench from the original to the NEW workbench.

Look at the page: '3 out of 5'

Working with the new workbench, will put in place the cubes on the yellow face and put the others, (inside the new workbench) out of place. Don't worry about that. This time the Rubik's cube will be much more friendly and when the last 2 corners are put in place, the Rubik's cube itself will put everything back in the right place.

Sometime, the last 2 corner are in place but not correctly oriented. In this case, it is better changing again the workbench from the NEW to the Last one workbench.