AKURA TI-7068 - A Hollow Ring Yoyo

by Jeffrey Pang September 25, 2024

A professional titanium yoyo on a white background

In January, I released the AKURA MG, a yoyo made from Magnesium. This material has a very low density and I talked about how it performs more like a plastic than anything else. But what made that yoyo really special is the aesthetic. I loved the lines on that yoyo. The proportions with the chunky rims were just perfect. One of the biggest aesthetic challenges though were that after the ceramic coating the lines were quite subtle which hid the design.

I set off with this concept to create a model that carried this design but with two goals in mind - highlight the unique ring design and to keep the proportions. Originally I wanted to make this model as a full aluminum yoyo but I quickly realized that going back to developing a Ti-7068 would just make it perform a lot better. This decision made the second part much more difficult - keeping the proportions.

As mentioned, Magnesium is super light, so the large chunky rims would make a yoyo like this way too heavy. I played around with the diameter slightly going for a more conventional 56mm size - but it was still not enough. The rim would become too thin and just looked like a generic yoyo from other available brands. I prototyped a few more and just didn’t find the proportions that good.

I developed the Fluid Print Dynamics Yoyos with holes back in 2014. I would 3D print yoyos with actual holes in them and see them before I started Luftverk. This thought popped into my head as an option to create a super thick chunky rim and just machine a hole inside.

You can see the cross section here. The Hole looks pretty significant but I can assure you the body has plenty of power.

In hindsight it is essentially a capped yoyo with such a big pocket of air. The ring sits beautifully flush so no one would actually know. With this pocket it feels slightly less rim weighted and actually plays similar to a yoyo with a double wall feature. The concave meniscus is highlighted with the parting of the machined titanium ring and the aluminum body.

The unique blue I chose took some trial and error but the green is directly lifted from the R34 Skyline “Millennium Jade” which I have also run in titanium before. Only a few of the silver and raw ones were made as A Grade - so I expect those will be the first to sell out.

The example shown here of the “Millennium Jade” which was first featured on a Triple Zero back in 2017. Blow is a nice comparison shot of the blasted AKURA vs the raw uncoated aluminum one:

Overall this was a pretty simple fun project of mine so I apologize if this blog is a bit short - Luckily somehow avoided any manufacturing hiccups. It has been a while since I have created a yoyo with this brutalist design language - something I think that has been missing in the recent years. I also wanted something I could work on while taking a break between the last plastic release and the Christmas season. To everyone thank you for your continued support. Crazy to think next year will be 10 years of Luftverk…

AKURA TI-7068 will be available on September 29th, 2024 10:00pm EST.

AKURA TI-7068
Diameter: 55.2mm
Width: 45.8mm
Weight: 66.5g
Price: $175USD


Jeffrey Pang
Jeffrey Pang

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