Talked with a guy in the mall after he noticed me yoyoing. He happened to be a machinist who said he’d thought about making one out of carbon fiber. I thought to myself, “Surely that would be way too light,” but then it got me thinking. Could it be done with some weight rings? Is CF injection molded or shaped otherwise? Could it be turned on a lathe?
Hmmm. Maybe. I’m not an expert at this stuff; I don’t really know anything about this. That would be really cool to have a carbon fiber yoyo. I’d like to see if it were posible!
There was a yoyo called the Rev G that was carbon fiber with metal rims. Unfortunately, the design was generally regarded as terrible, so it didn’t really go anywhere. Shinobu/S.Kon (the famous modder) also made at least one design with carbon fiber that I’ve heard worked great. I think he used metal rims and maybe metal hubs in his design.
S.kon has made a few carbon fiber yo-yos. They use a carbon body with metal hubs and metal rims… they work very well, but they honestly don’t offer a ‘major’ performance boost of any kind, they’re just really cool.
However, CF is a very expensive material to manufacture and it needs to be done in very large quantities to be even remotely affordable.
S.kon has the advantage of being able to do the work himself due to his expertise in the field.
Kyle
First, expensive. Second, going to be a pain to design it just right.
Of course it probably would be priced a lot higher than performance would justify due to the price of making CF. but it’d be pretty sweet.
How about a metal yoyo, with carbon fiber rims. Sort of like YYJ’s plastic/metal combination, but instead of plastic, you have metal, and instead of metal rims, you have carbon fiber rims.
Because that’s pretty much backwards of the weight distribution you want for stability and improved spin. The metal (heavier material) should be on the outside.
That’s true, I didn’t think about the weight distribution.
Carbon fiber is probably hand laid and woven. I have a few car parts that are made from carbon fiber. Strong as steel and about half the weight.
In which case on top of how expensive it is, it’d be a pain to machine or shape.
Carbon fiber has to laid and pressure molded.
Right… it’s not a simple process. You need molds, you need to lay it properly, you need to cure it under the proper heat and pressure for the proper amount of time.
Then you still have to machine the rough edges and fit it to metal parts like a hub and rims… which also have to be precision machined.
It’s like combining the costs of a injection molding PLUS the costs of precision machining… results in very expensive parts, especially in low quantities.
Kyle
It will probably be very expensive. Carbon fiber arrows typically cost around 60-100 just for 6. So going yeah expensive.
but I could be like the phenomizm how the metal part is for center weight and the rest is plastic.
Yes, I’ve seen that one and always wondered about the weight distribution. Seems backwards.
Bringing the weight in from the rims can get you a faster spin and a faster unwinding on the throw. In the case of the Phenomizm, some rim weight is sacrificed for a faster spin/throw but it still has the weight somewhat away from the axle. I figure whether this is better or not probably depends on the yo-yoer, the strength/technique of the throw, and style of play. Not sure who it suits best, but I’m sure there are trade-offs either way.
That yoyo is known as the worst yoyo ever.
But, it’s pretty cool looking. Maybe if it was made as a display piece it would be better, but not really a good play choice.