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[mailman]

Jose, as our resident expert on 3D printed tops, I'll direct this question to you:

Where should I start in finding 3D printed top designs?  I will be taking an orientation class a week from today at our public library.  They have a 3D printer that the public can use, if one has taken this class.  As a user of the machine, one pays ten cents per gram of materials used.

I'm not much of a computer geek, and know nothing of computer code.  Ideally, I'd like to start with smaller projects, like buttons, for instance, or perhaps new crowns for my Spintastics QSHs.  Then, later, I like to try to make some tops.

How much do I need to know, or where is such information available?

Thanks for any advice you can offer....

[Diz]

Can 3D printers print in more than one color at once? For example could you print out a top with the classic spiral pattern on it (or in this case in it?)

[jmadrigal]

Jose, as our resident expert on 3D printed tops, I'll direct this question to you:

Where should I start in finding 3D printed top designs?  I will be taking an orientation class a week from today at our public library.  They have a 3D printer that the public can use, if one has taken this class.  As a user of the machine, one pays ten cents per gram of materials used.

I'm not much of a computer geek, and know nothing of computer code.  Ideally, I'd like to start with smaller projects, like buttons, for instance, or perhaps new crowns for my Spintastics QSHs.  Then, later, I like to try to make some tops.

How much do I need to know, or where is such information available?

Thanks for any advice you can offer....

Good to hear your going to print some stuff. I don't know of any place to get a decent top so that's why I make my own. I will send you a pm when I have a bit more time.
Jose

Can 3D printers print in more than one color at once? For example could you print out a top with the classic spiral pattern on it (or in this case in it?)

Yes Diz, it is possible to print in multiple colors. There might be machines out there that can mix materials at the same time but I don't know off hand. For printers that consumers can afford there are few options. There is the Prusa machine that is about 1100 for the machine with four color option.


There is also this one but it is a bit more money
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Dragon-BDFPKH1728-B-FirePrint-Business/dp/B01BLAKF16

[ta0]

Cool top toy on Thingiverse.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2579345

Very nice! Not only because it's very top related and functional, but because the video shows all the design steps on Autodesk Fusion.

He makes the trigger and the pin as separate parts. I understand that the pin needs to be printed with the layers parallel to the length for strength but I don't understand why the trigger plate couldn't have been printed in the same direction.
EDIT: I thought a little more about this, and perhaps the trigger plate is also stronger when printed this way, as the horizontal force of the pin wouldn't tend to delaminate it.

Of course, a better design would have been a hollow top

Can 3D printers print in more than one color at once? For example could you print out a top with the classic spiral pattern on it (or in this case in it?)

With a spiral, you have two colors on every single layer. So, unless the printer changes colors on the fly, it would slow down the printer (like the Prussa machine) a lot. There are some expensive (industrial) machines that can do that.

[Renee]

That's pretty cool.  Makes me wish I had a 3D printer.

[Jeremy McCreary]

Cool top toy on Thingiverse.

Cool top starter! I've made many a starter for my LEGO tops -- some electric, some spring-powered, most hand-powered -- but never a rubber band-powered starter.

Off to make a LEGO top and starter using this launch method....

[Jeremy McCreary]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you were willing to share the 3d model of the tops you printed that works well ? My father did print one that was on thingiverse but it's awful.. it's way too much top heavy. I have to play more but except throwing it with the string wrapped to the top it's impossible to boomerang or anyting !

Can't speak to the 3D printing part, but I do see some design issues.

1. Agree, the top looks "top heavy". More specifically, the "aspect ratio" given by

A = (max radius height when top is vertical) / (max radius)

looks too large for a throwing top. Increasing A increases any top's responsiveness while decreasing its ability to hold an axis. The designer has to play this trade-off carefully.

2. Increasing A also increases a top's "critical speed" (above which the top is stable on its tip), and that can really cut into spin time.

3. The kind of surface roughness I see in the photo can add dramatically to the top's total aerodynamic drag. Increasing total drag can greatly reduce spin time in 2 different ways: (i) Drag is a major contributor to spin decay rate after release from the starter -- fingers, string, etc. (ii) For some starters, drag can also be the main limit on release speed.

My experience with LEGO finger tops is consistent with all of the above. The same should be true of throwing tops.

[studio42]

Of course, a better design would have been a hollow top

It was semi-hollow. He had an internal waffle/honeycomb kind of pattern thing inside to give strength to the threaded area. I'm sure if he did the top as a single part instead of two it would have had the results more like what you think it should have. I also think in this case, the two-part design allowed him to better control how he wanted the weight as well as keep the somewhat mechanical parts in the crown(the ratcheting portion and the hook for the rubber band) able to be replaced when and if they break as opposed to trashing the whole top.

It looked bulky and heavy to me. Then again I'm more concerned about the acrobatic tops we're all throwing.

[jmadrigal]

So I gave the top gun a go. It came out Ok but I wasn't satisfied.


So I made it bigger! This would make Dirty Harry proud.

[mailman]

Very cool!  Can that top be played with a string?  Boomeranged?

Somehow I suspect you must have tried it....

[ta0]

Fantastic! 

No doubt 3D printing is a revolution!
The pin that holds the rubber band to the top on my vintage Whirl a Top broke some time ago. It can still be used (the rubber band wrapping over itself stays put) but it's not the same. With 3D printers if something breaks you just print it again!

[jmadrigal]

Very cool!  Can that top be played with a string?  Boomeranged?

Somehow I suspect you must have tried it....

Yes it can. Not a bad shape but a bit of vibration due to the three piece design (I think). Not noticeable at lower speeds.

Cool gun ta0. Didn't know this type of gun commercially available. 3D printing is great for making new parts when something fails.
The larger top took me a couple tries. Got a clogged tip about 8 hours in. The smaller gun took three tries to get a usable part. Every new part is a learning process.

[ta0]

Cool gun ta0. Didn't know this type of gun commercially available.

You can see that rubber band top gun in action on the second collective video at 5:37.
youtube.com/watch?time_continue=337&v=7cDHDXtu5Yg

[paxl13]

Hi y'all, it's my father printer. He printed a couple of throw top but nothing really came out proper. There is the tip problem too! I have to start trying to make some design. I've shot an pm to jmadrigal to see if he can start me off!

Thanks a lot
paxl

[jmadrigal]

Paxl13,
I am glad you want to get started printing. Depending on your experience i would recomend printing something simple to start. I would get some cad software and try making somthing simple to print. Google Sketchup is free. I am happy to help and give sugestions to help you on your way.
With that said, I do not share designs that I sell. I could send you one of my earlier designs but part of the power of printing is customizing your tops to your playing style.