Experimental Design Study pt.1 - The Micra Multiform

For 2021 I started to focus on doing more releases in tighter clusters. The demand and growth has been nice but I realized that more and more people are in the market for higher end products. I have even noticed that more companies are producing yoyos in titanium. I always said I would move on to other projects once other companies started producing the products i felt was missing in the market. The previous triple zero release was a massive success, and it was the largest run I have ever done. I feel like everyone who wanted one got one, even if it was only just.

Two years ago I started doing more experimental projects for the interest of design and manufacturing. I started doing weird profiles, often incorporating 3d printing parts so it could be feasible from a manufacturing standpoint. A lot of these are just one offs that I figured one day I would put it in production. This modular slimline was one of them - making it the first in the Design Study series.

I was originally inspired by a pretty rare yoyo that not many people would remember The Gorylla 616 by Hspin which was this crazy experimental yoyo that used this massive 16mm ball bearing. I remember using this at the world yoyo contest in 2008 - and being shocked at how much of a difference this simple diameter change made. I remembered before Yoyofactory pretty much standardized the C sized bearing, there were more smaller bearing yoyos available from manufactures like SPYY and Hspin which utilized D sizes. Even things like bearing width affected that kickback feeling that we have all become accustomed to - people who play 2A will understand this phenomenon very well.
 

With the Micra Multiform I wanted users to change that variable of bearing sizes and types in an aesthetically pleasing package. The "Classic" profile was inspired from the typical imperial shape which my mom even said "looks like the one I had as a kid", almost similar to a profile you would find at a toy store. The "Square" profile is a direct copy of the Alpina slimline released back in 2019 - partially because I wanted something a bit more modern but also because people have messaged me saying they really liked that design. 

The internal branding was a choice I made to keep everything subtle - almost like a "if you know, you know" kind of design choice. I felt that the design spoke for itself, that it really is so different from anything else I've seen that adding any external branding would just take away from the design. With this slab of machined billet titanium, there were challenges in keeping the finishes consistent -as this is a more experimental project I tried to make it as perfect as possible but I also know the difficulty of producing something as weird as this which I hope customers can understand as well. 

The red of the internal spacer system was not chosen at random. I have this obsession of using red with titanium - only because it is the spectrum of color that titanium can not be anodized in. You won't ever see red anodized titanium - so I always naturally gravitated towards that color when working with projects. The groove design element was inspired actually by two yoyos - the YYF Turntable combined with Doc Pop/Ferral Parrot's Yes Absolutely "End" yoyos. I originally had the design of these spacers as a big flat slab with no grooves, but I needed a way to take out more weight. I saw the YYF Turntables grooves which just looked so cool, thinking I'd add something similar to extract more weight. The lightbulb hit when I remembered the End yoyo with its super unique "Schmoove" rings that I loved back in the day. I remember adding these to yoyos myself on my lathe for peoples FHZ with claims and debates of "reduced friction" but in this application it is purely for aesthetics since the pads are slightly raised in this application. Funny how crazy schmoove rings were back in the day, it was almost a flex - back when there weren't these low wall competition yoyos we see today. 

Each spacer has two sides. A C-sized bearing and an A-sized bearing side. This spacer can be flipped around to use many different sizes of bearings all included with the yoyo. The feel of both bearings are so different - its actually incredible. I specifically love the feeling of the A-sized bearing, the smaller bearing really feels different and just spins for so long due to its smaller diameter balls in the bearing. Throwing it down with the A-sized bearing is extremely snappy and I will biasly claim that it is the most satisfying gravity pull you will ever experience. And for those with a strong wrist - yes it does loop. The change of a included longer axle allows user to switch to a full sized wide C-sized bearing which is comical experience combined with the imperial shape. Almost like what if a yoyo designed in 1960s had modern guts. Safe to say both models are much better experienced as responsive yoyos. 

The certificates this time around are something I spent a bit more time to perfect. I actually spent a lot of time to get these small documents right - I love these kinds of aesthetics that combine technical exploded diagrams and industrial design. There is definitely something beautiful in the technical aspects of this projects especially because it has so many parts involved. These documents also show the instructions and warnings since there are some quirks with this yoyo. 
 

All in all this project was overwhelmingly complicated. I am 99% sure this is a one and done deal so get them while you can. roughly 20pcs of each will be up on the website next week. The reaction to this project so far has been so cool to see - it gives me more confidence to pursue more experimental designs and push the limits of what is possible in this unique industry. I hope this also inspires other companies to push the limits too.