Just thought I’d share my thoughts on a 3D printed yoyo prototype that @Kray and I designed and made together.
As a lot of you know, Kray has made some excellent 3D printed YoYos and has a keen eye for yoyo design. Knowing little about the properties of the plastic used and the manufacturing process of 3D printing myself, I got in touch with Kray to see if he thought this might be a good way of making a fixed axle yoyo.
Now, I’m a big fan of fixed axle YoYos, and one of my favorites is the 2014 eh. I find that the shape, weight and size work very well and it is my ideal fixed axle yoyo. Another favorite yoyo of mine it the Yweti. I love the comfy shape and it surprised me how similar it is to the eh (and also the FHZ, my favourite plastic). These two YoYos really influenced the initial design process for this fixed axle throw.
After some discussions on size and weight, we came up with this design:
Kray sent me a couple of halves straight off the printer, and I got to work on giving it a clean up. I wanted to maximize the spin time and reduce the risk of string breaking, so I made sure to make the catch zone as smooth as possible. I mounted it on a lathe and using a combination of acetone and sandpaper, I managed to remove a lot of the print lines.
As you can see, we settled on a 4 hole response system. I thought this would work best for this design as I know starburst responses can wear out and wasn’t sure how accurate the print would handle them.
Another thing I wanted to do was to try and paint it, so after I was happy with the surface I appled some paint.
I used acrylic spray paint and went for a speckled effect and the plastic accepted the paint well.
After a clear topcoat was applied I let it dry and here is what it looks like:
I’m really happy with how the paint job turned out and it should be hard wearing enough for modest bangs and scrapes.
After the paint work it weighs 50.20g and has a diameter of 54mm, a width of 35mm and a gap of 2mm.
But, how does it play?
The shape is comfy and fits the hand snuggly. The stainless steel axle allows for long spin times and adds a little more weight to the center of the yoyo. The response works well and comes back to the hand nicely with a tug.
Hidden within the yoyo, Kray managed to place extra material towards the rims that help with spin and also adds durability to the rims just in case.
I’m not a great looper but it handles them well and I’ve done some of my best loops on this thing.
As it stands, I think this yoyo is great. The size is perfect for your pocket and the sturdy plastic would make it great for EDC. Because of the materials used, it doesn’t need any maintenance and it should last for years and years of play.
Overall, I really enjoyed the part I played in the design of this yoyo and it was a pleasure to work with Kray! I’m looking forward to future projects!
