Earlier this week, we were able to produce some of the actual yoyo parts as shown below! Unfortunately, right after we got this, the ENGEL machine broke down. So we had to explore and re-set-up on the other injection molding machine: The BOY-22A.
While this is super exciting, we realized that the "metal" piece (circular hollow ring) and the bottom of the top piece (circular filled green piece) is not snug enough, so we are modifying the latter piece so that it could expand for a better fit. For this, we would just simply need to add an additional tool path and run the code for the core piece on the CNC machine.
Next, we had an issue with the "metal" piece runner system. We realized that it was not sturdy enough (it would need to be deeper and wider because currently it is bending the plastic piece instead of pushing it out). We figured that the best approach is to add an additional tool path to modify that feature and put it to the test.
By Friday, we were able to solve the problem with the fit by adding the additional toolpath to the mold and also produce the metal band which proved difficult to injection mold and eject from the machine. At some point, we had to blowtorch it to melt it off the mold because it cooled completely by the time we tried to remove it. It was a bit easier to remove from the mold when it was still warm which explains why these parts look a bit bend out of shape. We increased the holding time and for the extra material, we are considering to reduce the velocity.
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