Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Tomlesz]

I'm starting a new Kickstarter campaign for a spinning top turbotop tomorrow, Tuesday at 3 PM EST. There are many discounted Early Bird specials

youtube video


Kickstarter campaign
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2134320489/1433929284?token=5be18609



Thanks
Tom

[ta0]

Very nice looking finger top! And also quite unique!
Manufactured by casting? That is interesting for such a small and complex piece.

I bet any lifting effect will have a negligible effect on the friction of the tip and be much less than the extra air drag produced by the turbine.
But the transparency and the strobe effects can be very attractive.
I have a top that blows some air on the ground: the craftsman sold it to me as a sweeping top 

The early bird of $26 for the stainless steel top is not bad. Is standard shipping included in the price?

[Tomlesz]

thanks ta0, I appreciate your comments.
shipping within the US is $3 for one turbotop

[Tomlesz]

I just posted an hour long assisted spin test on our Kickstarter site with a video:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2134320489/turbotoptm-a-mesmerizing-spinning-top-with-turbo-b/posts/1205873

[ta0]

Congratulations on a kickstarter campaign that is doing very well.

I am sure your assisted spin will generate a lot of interest.

I guess I can disclose that the spin of the top is being regenerated by blowing air on it (you told me in an email but I would have figured it out). Now it really honors its name as a TURBO TOP! 

Top spun by blowing air on them have a long tradition. We commented on two of them here: (air)blow top and flying top. Perhaps more related, there were several tops given away by Cracker Jack as prizes that were started and kept spinning by blowing on top of them:



The Toycrafter used to offer a version made of paper.

You asked by email about a spinning record. The Guinness Book of World Records has accepted a couple of top spinning records where energy was supplied from outside, including the current one using a whip top in which the top is whipped to keep it going. I doubt they will accept a record using a compressor. On the other hand, it has also accepted a record for a battery operated top, so you never know (I suspect that it helped that the record breaker was Vietnamese). Personally, I think ITSA would not accept a record with a compressor doing the blowing but probably we could accept one which was kept going by lung power 

[Tomlesz]

The flying top looks awesome!

Yes, this is correct, it's air.

[Tomlesz]

We have just crossed the $50,000 mark, which calls for a Celebration Air Dance!

I have been learning how to control turbotops with a mini hand-held fan, which also keeps them spinning for as long as one wishes to play the game. The possibility of controlling turbotops in their never-ending air assisted spins opens up many new opportunities for us; we'll share some ideas soon.

The video was filmed today and it features two turbotops; one of them is upside down to make it more challenging. I can now control (let's say attempt to control) one trubotop in a group without affecting the others. We'll post more videos of the games we can play using this method in future updates.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2134320489/turbotoptm-a-mesmerizing-spinning-top-with-turbo-b/posts/1212417

The spinning time for the turbotop without any outside source is at least 30 minutes when one exhales on top of the turbotop from time to time.

The turbotop is a new type of a top, with a turbine. The function of the turbine is an integral part of our top. I kept the turbotop spinning exhaling on top of it for over 30 minutes without any strain. Very little air flow is required for such small objects to keep spinning.

We believe we can keep the turbotop spinning exhaling on top of it for hours.


Today we entered an official application to break Ashrita Furman Guinness Record for the continuous spin of a spinning top. I believe I can exhale for 7 hours in direction of the turbotop to keep it in motion.

Breathing and exhaling is allowed during the spinning competition and the direction of exhaling is not specified in any rules we know. I believe the Guinness Record Organization will accept our application to challenge Ashrita Furman record.

I was spinning turbotop by exhaling in relaxed fashion for over 30 minutes without any strain. I believe I could continue such activity for 7 hours.

[ta0]

If you get the Guinness Record by breathing on the top every 20 seconds it may also be the record for the less strenuous record breaking! 
The Earl will be envious!

Congrats on breaking the $50K barrier and the 700 pledges with 25 days to go!

[the Earl of Whirl]

First of all, congratulations on hitting 50,000.  That is, indeed, worthy of a celebration.  Actually, it is worthy of many celebrations and dances!

As far as your thoughts and efforts toward a long spin and a possible record, I am anything but envious.  I have always felt that record should be held by someone who cares about top spinning or, even better yet, someone who is a member of this forum.  Good luck with your attempts.

You may want to refer to the thread about the longest spinning top.  Your first goal is not the seven hour record but some attempts much shorter than that to work out some kinks.  There will be a number of unknown challenges that will come up in your record attempts.

[Tomlesz]

@Earl
Thanks -- actually it's almost 60 now.

I am a designer and my passion is focused on creating products. I don’t pretend to know anything about your spinning top world. I admire an amazing level of skills required to handle the tops you use, but I could never compete with any of the members of this forum.

I absolutely agree that the record should be held by someone who belongs to the spinning top group or better yet, to this forum.

The turbotop is a new type of a spinning top. The turbine is an integral part of the turbotop which changes the performance and characteristics of this specific top.

I received some comments asking me to separate the “turbine” aspect of the turbotop and provide spinning times assuming the “turbine” part does not exist. I must object to such approach. It would be like asking users of the Korean top to put the stick down. I voice no objection to anyone blowing air out of their lungs at their tops if they want to compete with me.

Thank you for your comments about the training to this event. I was an alpine ski racer all my life, so the concept of training for events is quite familiar to me. This may take some effort, but I truly don’t think it will be as exhausting as my training for an IronMan event 2 years ago. I kept the turbotop spinning for 30 minutes blowing air out of my lungs without getting tired at all, but tops do fall suddenly so training will be required.

AN OPEN PROPOSAL FOR THIS FORUM

I filled an application to the Guinness Records Organization to break the record for spinning a top. I believe they should give us the chance to enter the competition with the turbotop and I believe the turbotop has a chance of breaking the last record.

I agree with Earl that I do not represent well the spinning top world and such records should not go to designers, but to people who participate in spinning top events.

So this is what I offer: I will provide 3 training turbotops, free-of-charge, to each of the first 5 members of this forum who will provide an official response from the Guinness Records Organization specifying their entry into such event. We’ll use the honor system; I will assume that such members will participate in the event. They will receive the first production samples of turbotops, months/weeks before everybody else.

I will be ready to compete in this event. If anyone qualified would like to take my place, I’ll step back and enjoy the fact that (hopefully) the turbotop is the longest spinning top.

The Guinness Records entry forms: there are two types of entries: the regular and the expedited one (a very expensive one). We will only accept the regular entries to make it fair for everybody who would like to use a free entry form.

[ta0]

I picked up two of these "cyclone" tops at a local toystore :



They were the last 2 they had ($2 each). They are made by Kid O Products and they are copyrighted 2012. Here is the manufacturer's page:

https://kidotoys.com/products/spinning_tops

When I saw them I thought they could work as plastic turbotops, but that is not the case. The cross section of the vanes is vertical, not slanted, so it won't blow much air and you cannot keep them spinning by blowing on them. They do look somewhat transparent at certain angles and they spin well.

[Jeremy McCreary]

Elegant design, impressive aerodynamic performance, Tom!

Wondering if, for record purposes, a version without vanes below the rotor would spin longer? By smoothing the rotor undersurface, that would likely reduce aerodynamic braking torque on the rotor between blows.

However, that would also narrow your turbine "blades". The net effect of narrowing the blades on the accelerating torque due to blowing is harder to predict but could well be favorable.

For example, when it comes to wind turbine blades, narrower blades increasingly outperform wider ones at tip speed ratios (TSRs) above 3 to 4. In that aerodynamic regime, it's also better for blades to taper tipward, as yours already do.

TSR == (undisturbed upstream air speed) / (linear speed of blade tips) = U / W R,

where W is rotor angular speed in rad/sec, and R is blade tip radius. A similar scaling probably applies to your tops.

[robtsou]

Sadly, it appears this is a dead KS campaign.  No updates since August and, as far as I can tell, no shipped product.  Tom doesn't appear to be replying to requests for information either

[ta0]

Sadly, it appears this is a dead KS campaign.  No updates since August and, as far as I can tell, no shipped product.  Tom doesn't appear to be replying to requests for information either

That is a real bummer! I noticed that the personal page linked from KS in not active. You may want to try to contact him through the forum.  He raised quite a bit of money. He should give a partial refund or at least explain where the money went and why production failed.
I had my doubts about the feasibility of casting such a small and intricate piece. Because of that reason I ended up not "supporting" the campaign.

[Turegano]

woooow   nice  look  and  veri nice  video