I dont believe they go through specific process of masking or anything around bearing seats. The pieces (pyramatte?) in the tumbler are large enough that they dont do much damage.
I think, don’t quote me, but i have seen it a few times.
I checked out that pyramatte process and it is almost exactly the same as the tumbler that I have. I will take a picture on Saturday. Also, if machining the plastic hubs goes well I will see if I can find a large enough piece of aluminum and machine a solid aluminum hub with bearing seat. Then I will toss that into the tumbler and let it tumble for a few hours. I can inspect it and what it looks like.
I really wish the machine shop wasn’t closed for the holiday. I would have spent all morning there making yoyos. 
Josh
I’d like to say… You’re awesome! You obviously love what you do. I’m glad that both you and the community can profit from this. I probably won’t have anything to send. Except my respect for you.
Here’s a nice video I found of the process
Can’t wait!
All,
I did a test cut today and the results are promising. I used a model of a yoyo very similar to the megatron. Here is a picture. It is pretty close up shot so the surface looks less smooth that it really is. Also, I suspect that aluminum would be smoother than this plastic is, because PVC is not really the best plastic to machine. Also, once machined I can toss the aluminum versions into the tumbler and get them really smooth.
http://www.joshupdyke.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Hub01.jpg
It took about 45 minutes to machine this part. The code was far from optimized and I learned a lot. I think it can machine at about twice the speed as I had it set for and also I had it removing a lot more material around the outside. I think once optimized I can cut that down to around 15 min. Which means I could do about 1 hub ever 30 min or so.
I was gonna cut some more pieces but the files I brought with me to the shop wouldn’t open. So I had to come home. I am gonna get them ready and go to the shop tomorrow and try to finish the hub. More pictures to come later.
I also sand blasted one of the yoyos I got and am gonna powder coat it tomorrow as well. Pictures coming soon.
Josh
Mmm that looks pretty promising!
That looks like it can only get better! You should try making a OD Project. The CNC Mill code was given out to the public for anyone to use and make there own!
Agreed, it would be a good way to actually try and see how you’re machines work without having to actually create different designs.
Hello again,
As promised here are some more pictures. Today was another productive day. I was able to finish machining an entire yoyo and it only took me 4 hours. lol. There was a lot of learning and I have got a list of things to do differently for the next one. The yoyo turned out okay. I am not jumping up and down excited about it, but it does show a lot of possibilities. So here are somethings I learned:
- The bearing seat came out pretty good. The bearing fits in well and spun without any problems.
- The cpvc is not the best plastic for this. It machines okay, but not as good as other plastics. If I start making plastic yoyos I will have to do some research to find which plastic they are made from.
- The fixture seemed to work pretty good to machine the reverse side of the hub.
- The axle threads could be better. The plastic didn’t hold the thread very well, and there was not much material for the treads. I think using an end mill to drill the hole and get a flat bottom would be better than a normal drill. Also, I didn’t have a bottoming tap so the treads didn’t go deep enough.
- The yoyo was designed to be made from aluminum, and making from plastic caused it to end up really light. I think plastic yoyos need to have more material left to give it some weight.
Here are some pictures of the yoyo.
http://www.joshupdyke.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_0580.jpg
http://www.joshupdyke.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_0587.jpg
Here is a video of the machining if anyone wants to see it.
The surface finish should be better with the aluminum and I will be able to tumble them smooth too.
I also powder coated my first yoyo. I was mailed a gnarwal that had been played so much the anodizing had started to come off. Andrew asked me to do one side in orange and one side in black. So here is the results of that.
Here are some pictures.
http://www.joshupdyke.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Powder04.jpg
http://www.joshupdyke.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Powder08.jpg
I think the next step is to get some aluminum and try machining a solid aluminum version. I am looking forward to seeing what all of you think about this.
Josh
2 Likes
Looks Great!
Are those powder coated bearing seats I see?
THE HORROR
jupdyke, I would recommend picking up some Delrin. It is the most commonly used plastic for machined yoyos. Acrylic is also used, but really only by 3yo3.
Seconded. Delrin is good stuff. Plays smooth as a dream (if designed well of course) and has a really nice frosted white look when machined.
Yes the bearing seat is coated. The bearing still sits down in it just fine and if needed you can remove the coating from the bearing seat. I think moving forward I will try using a rubber washer to cover up the bearing seat. The only issue with that is making sure the rubber can handle the heat from baking it. If anyone has powder coated yoyos and has any advice to give me, I would love to hear it.
As for the Delrin, I have worked with it before and the only reason I used the CPVC was because I had a bunch of scrap of it laying around. I wanted to learn as much as I could with this material. I am glad that Delrin came up as a common material for yoyos becuase it machines really well and is easy to work with. The cpvc chips a little.
Josh
Indeed!
Pm mullicabob, he may be able to help. He’s a Powder Coating King.
1 Like
Make a video of you throwing the yoyos
Also, several people have mentioned the one drop project and how the design is available. Can anyone point me to a link or something. I tried searching for it it and didn’t find anything easily. Maybe I am searching for the wrong terms.
Josh