So im doing a project for a technology class and i chose to do the evolution of the yoyo. Do you guys know of any sources where i could find out some details?
Maybe here?
This is a pretty good overview of yoyo history up to about the early 90s: http://www.yo-yos.net/Yo-yo%20history.htm
There’s not much there about the development of the industry after ball bearing axles became prevalent, but it covers a lot up to that point. Tom Kuhn would also be a good figure to research. His No Jive 3-in-1 and Silver Bullet 2 designs in particular were both pretty important in modern yoyo development. You might also want to try contacting some manufacturers for interviews. I think YoYoFactory’s adjustable response system (401k, Velocity, etc) is a particularly interesting technological advancement, and YoYoFactoryBen seems to be pretty accessible, so that might be one possibility to pursue.
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I did a project similar to this and the ancient Greeks had terra-cotta yoyos.
http://www.yoyolady.com/history.htm
I think that since the ball bearing has become standard, the next step seemed to be the response systems.
Now that we’re all pretty much standardized on rubber or silicone response systems for the most part, it seems that now shapes and materials are where the evolution is. I don’t see titanium being mass market. 6061 and 7075 aluminum seem to be the way to go. With the ultra-wide shapes and now this new under-cutting trend, along with CLYW’s Chief-type “ring within a rim”, we’re going to see interesting changes taking place.