Ultra Long Spinning Top

This ultra long spinning top design is inspired by the world record designs by James at HiPer Tops (https://www.hiperspinningtops.com/). I had no access to his design details, so my design is a best estimate from viewing his fabrication videos.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

For these ultra tops to achieve high spin times, the tips need smoothing to remove artifacts left behind by the 3D printing process. It will require your iterative effort to smooth the tip and retest the top to get spin times as high as possible. As an example, the model from the uploaded print profile achieved a spin time of approximately 3 minutes without tip refining (used as removed from the printer). However, after 4-5 cycles of smoothing and retesting, I was rewarded with 8+ minute spin times. I hope others will take the challenge to push the times even higher!

PRINTING:

After testing different layer heights, I settled on 0.12mm for the uploaded profiles. A few tops printed at 0.2mm layer height did not seem as well balanced, and 0.08mm layers did not seem to offer any benefits over 0.12mm.

I have printed the top from both PLA and PETG, which have similar densities, and seen generally similar results. PETG does have a bit higher lubricity, so I may give it some additional tries with this final design to see if I can push times higher.

The top needs to be printed at 100% infill to give it sufficient weight for long spin times. I have test printed the base at infills ranging from 25% to 100%. At 100%, I've noted less movement in the base as the top spins, due to the extra weight, and this is what I have included in the print profile. If you want to shave some time off the printing, you can also run the base at 25% infill and add rubber feet to help reduce movement.

100% infill can lead to higher chances of warping in general, and I achieve the best results with this model in PLA when I use a 55C bed temperature and the Aux fan turned off (0%). Even using the Bambu SuperTack build plate, the higher bed temperature yielded better results.

I included shallow recesses on the surface of the top to create eight pie shaped sections. This feature is there only to allow easy color changes of the top surface (printed face down) if you desire. I think it makes viewing the spinning top more interesting. To color the top, just select the top and use the paint can “Fill” option to color the various wedges. I have uploaded profiles using either 1 or 2 colors, but with an AMS, there are numerous other possibilities.

Because the handle needs to be printed standing on end, it needs a brim, but no other supports or brims are needed for the model.

ASSEMBLY:

The handle and top are threaded for attachment. The handle should thread in easily and requires only about one revolution to thread completely into the top. The threaded section is short, and I have not had an issue with cross-threading, but just make sure the handle collar sits flat on the top when tightened (shown below) to avoid excessive wobbling. Make the handle snug but don't over tighten to the point of stripping the threads.

I have used all of my tops successfully with the handle just threaded in, but you can use a drop of CA glue if you want a permanent connection. This may be more important for lefties to avoid having the handle unscrew when you spin the top since they are right-hand threads.

TIP & BASE REFINEMENT:

As I mentioned above, it is critical that you are willing to work on smoothing the tip to get long spin times. Smoothing the spinning surface of the base also helps, but work on the tip has the greatest effect. For the tops I have printed, I used 400 grit sandpaper to do most of the shaping/smoothing of the tip and the base, then used a piece of paper towel or crumpled paper to give a little polish to the contact surfaces. I typically repeated this 4-5 times before achieving my best spin times. I have not done an exhaustive study to see if other methods are better, but this method has yielded 8+ minute spin times with several tops.

SPINNING THE TOP:

Spinning the top is not difficult but does actually require some practice. Typical tops that we all know from childhood generally have their tips at the lowest point of the top, making it possible to spin them on any flat surface. These tops have a center of gravity quite high relative to the tip, which causes the top to fall over more quickly as the RPMs decrease. Ultra long spinning tops, such as this model, have a recessed tip that allows the center of gravity to be much lower relative to the tip, which allows the top to continue spinning at much lower RPMs. However, the geometry of ultra long spinning tops necessitates that the top be spun on a base with an elevated center. My, and most people's, first instinct when spinning an ultra long spinning top will be to spin as hard as possible, like the tops we are all used to spinning on large flat surfaces. The key for ultra long spinning tops is to spin as hard as possible but still with enough control to keep the top on the base. I find that applying a little downward force on the handle as I spin the top helps keep it on the base. At the beginning, it will feel like you are not spinning the top very fast, but learning the balance between speed and control is where the practice comes in.

THE CHALLENGE:

With practice and refining of the tip, I believe most people should be able to achieve over 5 minutes with this top. The highest I have managed to achieve with a PLA top printed using the uploaded print profile is 8:35 (undocumented) and 8:21 (documented). The full video for the later is posted below. It's all for fun, so I encourage others to use whatever means they see fit to achieve even higher spin times (higher density filaments, better tip smoothing methods, slicer changes, etc.). If you achieve even higher times (which I expect), please document the spin and share what you've done to achieve your spin time. As I get feedback, I'll keep track of results and update the post periodically.

FEEDBACK:

I've spent a large amount of time on the model and printing countless versions as I worked through refinements. If you like the model please consider positive feedback/rating and even a boost.

If you run into a problem with the model, please explain what is happening and if you changed anything versus the uploaded profile and description above. I read all user feedback on my models and do my best to offer help with problems that people encounter. I also use this feedback to improve future versions of the model. Please don't leave a 1-2 star review with no explanation or simply saying you can't achieve high enough spin times. If you do, I will report the review for removal.

I hope you will play with and enjoy this model!!