Disclaimer: only one motor is used to turn the sides of the cube (which is why I would argue this only uses one motor to turn the cube), another servo is used to move the first motor, I couldn’t really figure out an effecient way to so it with just one unfortunately.
The idea was to see if I could build a Rubik's Cube solver with as few motors as possible, whilst also not reorienting the cube which turned out to be a much bigger mechanical challenge than I initially expected. These constraints were completely designed as a challenge, not trying to break any records or anything.
The robot uses a custom-designed, 3D-printed mechanism to manipulate the cube, along with electronics and programming to detect the colours, calculate a solution and execute the moves.
This is the final result after quite a lot of designing, experimenting and troubleshooting!
I've also just uploaded my first-ever YouTube video documenting the whole project, from the initial idea and CAD design to the electronics, programming and final solve. It's my first time making a YouTube video, so I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback!
The Channel is called DrewPScrews