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Author Topic: Taka's Yen Spin Kickstarter  (Read 2633 times)

ta0

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Taka's Yen Spin Kickstarter
« on: July 30, 2020, 11:30:14 AM »

Taka has a Kickstarter for a micro bearing finger top:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spingear/yen-spin-the-spin-top-made-in-tokyo-with-ball-bearing

Just 25 mm (1 inch) diameter and a total weight of 22 grams, but can spin 8 minutes with a flick of the fingers.

You can still get into the Super-Early Bird for 40% off (today is the first day and I bet these will be gone in a few hours).


« Last Edit: November 23, 2020, 07:49:54 PM by ta0 »
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Taka

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Yen Spin,my new creation launch at Kickstarter!
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2020, 12:26:15 PM »

I work with NSK and CNC factory in Tokyo,made precision ball bearing finger top.You can do many tricks.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spingear/yen-spin-the-spin-top-made-in-tokyo-with-ball-bearing/



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Yoyo,Koma(Kyoku,Chonkake,traditional,all kind),Spintop player.
Taka from Tokyo

Texture

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2020, 08:10:54 PM »

 :o These are NICE! I'll definitely back this.
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Larry D.

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2020, 10:44:18 AM »

Congratulations Taka!!!

It appears that this project if FULLY funded!

The site is showing:
¥1,623,570
(pledged of ¥150,000 goal)
409 backers
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the Earl of Whirl

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2020, 03:39:17 PM »

Go Taka!!!  Congrats to you.
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ta0

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2020, 11:10:06 PM »

The goal to get funded was relatively modest ($1,500) and he achieved it in just 12 hours! He ended up with 10 times more ($16k) and 409 backers! I think I was backer #5  :) . A good thing is that contrary to some other Kikstarter projects, he had the manufacturing in place ready to go and he will deliver the products in time.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2020, 11:12:14 PM by ta0 »
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ta0

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2020, 09:13:43 AM »

I knew that quality on a project by Taka would be good, but this on the latest project update is what I call overkill:



These are the steel balls for the tips. Look at the error spec: 0.2 μm!  For comparison, a covid virus is 0.1 μm long!
3/32 inch - 2,381.25 μm => 0.008% precision!  :o :o :o
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Jeremy McCreary

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2020, 11:35:05 AM »

I knew that quality on a project by Taka would be good, but this on the latest project update is what I call overkill:

These are the steel balls for the tips. Look at the error spec: 0.2 μm!  For comparison, a covid virus is 0.1 μm long!
3/32 inch - 2,381.25 μm => 0.008% precision!  :o :o :o

Excellent tolerance! LEGO parts are good to ~0.01%.
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ta0

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2020, 12:08:34 PM »

LEGO parts are good to ~0.01%.
I had to look it up. According to a 2010 Lego Company Profile, "In the manufacture of LEGO bricks the machine tolerance is as small as 10 my (0.01 mm)." Does 10 microns on the investment mold translate in 10 microns for the plastic parts? Over a 10 cm long plastic part (to obtain 0.01%)? Over hundred of thousands of molding cycles? It's difficult to believe. But I'm sure LEGO bricks work well because they are extremely precise for molded parts.
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Jeremy McCreary

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2020, 12:44:03 PM »

LEGO parts are good to ~0.01%.
I had to look it up. According to a 2010 Lego Company Profile, "In the manufacture of LEGO bricks the machine tolerance is as small as 10 my (0.01 mm)." Does 10 microns on the investment mold translate in 10 microns for the plastic parts? Over a 10 cm long plastic part (to obtain 0.01%)? Over hundred of thousands of molding cycles? It's difficult to believe. But I'm sure LEGO bricks work well because they are extremely precise for molded parts.

Good find and good point. 10 microns is 0.01% of 100 mm. While many parts are larger than that, they're definitely in the minority WRT all the geometrically distinct parts produced over the years.

The 0.01% figure is widely quoted in LEGO circles but perhaps overly optimistic in the general case.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2020, 12:46:55 PM by Jeremy McCreary »
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Jeremy McCreary

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2020, 01:09:08 PM »

I work with NSK and CNC factory in Tokyo,made precision ball bearing finger top. You can do many tricks.

Well done, Taka! Just pre-ordered a black one. Can't wait to play with it. :)

Have been experimenting for some time with LEGO tops with rotors spinning freely on their "central axles". Stem and tip assemblies are kept aligned with the central axle but need not be keyed to it. Turn out, lots of play value lurking in this seemingly simple mechanical arrangement, and you've taken full advantage here. Of course, you wring out a lot more play value, as air and bearing resistances bring my tops down much sooner than yours.

It's fun to hand tops like this to people as "puzzle tops". Some stop twirling the stem and spin up the rotor itself after only a few tries, but many have to be shown. A smile and dope-slap usually follows. Then they want the top back to play.

Some victims find this one a little more puzzling. The black rotor and the red gears all spin freely on their axles. The sliding gray dog clutch is keyed to the stem, but engaging it with the central red gear doesn't lock the rotor to the stem. It just forces all the gears to spin with the stem as the rotor spins relative to all of them.



That's a fun and often unexpected visual effect, but it doesn't increase effective rotor bearing resistance enough to get the rotor up to critical speed by twirling the stem alone. Love the looks I get when the victim tumbles to the clutch only to find that the mechanical puzzle remains unsolved. >:D
« Last Edit: August 19, 2020, 03:44:16 PM by Jeremy McCreary »
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ta0

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #11 on: August 19, 2020, 02:23:00 PM »

Love the looks I get when the victim tumbles to the clutch only to discover that it doesn't solve the mechanical puzzle.
I can see how this one can be puzzling for the unsuspecting!  >:D
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Jeremy McCreary

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2020, 05:50:06 PM »

Love the looks I get when the victim tumbles to the clutch only to discover that it doesn't solve the mechanical puzzle.
I can see how this one can be puzzling for the unsuspecting!  >:D

Spin time depends mainly on the rotor's initial charge of angular momentum. Accordingly, spins longer with clutch disengaged  (42 vs. 36 s).
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Jeremy McCreary

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Re: Taka's Yin Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2020, 12:13:26 PM »

Hooray! My Yen Spin coax top is about to ship!

PS: The top's English name is officially "Yen Spin", not "Yin Spin". Correct this thread's title to facilitate future searches?
« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 12:19:35 PM by Jeremy McCreary »
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ta0

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Re: Taka's Yen Spin Kickstarter
« Reply #14 on: November 23, 2020, 09:43:01 PM »

I received my two Yen Spin today, gold and pink gold.
Great quality as expected  8) and the ball bearing are not only smooth as butter, but really silent.  :)
 
The axes slid in and out without locking into the bearing. I could spin the tops like that, as there is a stop on the side of the tip, but I wanted to fixed them, so I looked at the assembly instructions on the website. It suggests slightly nicking the axis with pliers, so the bump grabs the inside of the bearing. But the "slightly" part is no exaggeration. I thought I had been careful but when I tried to put back the one I nicked, I had to press quite hard to install it. Now it's probably installed permanently.
The real bad news is that it's affecting the bearing: that top now spins considerably less than the untouched one if I hold them by the axes.  :'(
On the other hand, the spinning times on the table are not affected much, what proves that even for such high-end ball bearings, the friction at the tip (on a hard surface) and the air drag (for such a small top) are much less than the bearing friction. In fact, while on the table it easily spins 5 minutes, on the finger my record was just 15 30 seconds!  :o My conclusion is that the benefit of a ball bearing is mostly in allowing several starting methods but not in spin times.

Taka did a great job with this Kickstarter and I'm looking forward to the next one.

PS: The top's English name is officially "Yen Spin", not "Yin Spin". Correct this thread's title to facilitate future searches?
Done!

Update:
I could take out the nicked axis and the bearing is working fine. I will probably sand the axle and then use Loctite or a small O-ring to keep it in place.

Update 2:
After sanding a bit the axle (spinning it on a drill), it now fits securely but with little force on the bearing  :)
My spins on the bearing have increased, and now my record is 1 minute on the finger.  8) Perhaps the bearings need some break in.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2020, 02:59:46 PM by ta0 »
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