If you’re unfamiliar with Beyblades, they’re a simple toy. They consist of spinning tops, which are designed to “fight” in arenas by knocking each other around. While the off-the-shelf models are deemed safe enough for children to play with, [Jon Bringus] decided to take the danger level up a few notches with some custom launchers of his own design.
[Jon]’s project started with some of the early metal Beyblades, which are traditionally launched with a small geared ripcord device. He soon realized he could up the action by doing one simple thing—spinning the tops far faster than the manufacturer ever intended. More rotational speed equals more kinetic energy equals more legal liability fun, or so the equation goes.
The design for [Jon’s] “WMD Launcher” is straightforward enough—he combined a lawnmower pull starter with a 12:1 geartrain to turn the Beyblades at truly ludicrous speeds. It’s basic engineering — a couple of 3D-printed gears do the job — but the results are hilarious. The tops begin to emit loud noises as they turn in combat, and some move so fast and erratically that they won’t even stay inside the arena. Protective eyewear is virtually mandatory. Files are on Printables for those eager to build one at home.
Yes, ruining a game of Beyblades is as simple as building an irresponsibly fast launcher. You needn’t even use some fancy brushless motor to hurt yourself — just a little gearing is enough to cause havoc. We’ve featured similar work on this topic before, too. Video after the break.
Excellent project, I am surprised how clever the design is.
“Ah, let this rip! Ludicrous Speed, GO!”
I’m wondering if the intermediate shaft is even necessary, assuming you made a ring gear with internal teeth * you might be able to fit the whole thing inside the plate too.
At that point it’s purely a flat surface with 2 bearings as well, greatly simplifying the structure.
*To preserve the direction of rotation
Delightfully irresponsible, and also one of the rare times when the narration actually added to the enjoyment of the presentation. Bravo.
Didn’t know about Beyblades.
We had “Battling Tops” when I was a kid. Beyblades look to be basically that, with a lot of attitude.
Didn’t know about Beyblades.
We had “Battling Tops” when I was a kid. Beyblades look to be basically that, with a lot of attitude.
I think it’s actually a smart idea, except for the fact that the school is probably going to ban our little fellas from taking any Beyblades
SUPER DUPER ULTRA MEGA FLASH LAUNCH!!
I really wish he didn’t swear in the video. I work at a STEM middle school, and these are the exact kinds of videos that I would love to show to my students to try and get them engaged/inspired into engineering. Engineering so incredibly divorced from their interests these days.
Please add razor blades!
Jon you sneaky devil you! To get 2 mill views and not give any credit to the real author of this concept is cunningly deceptive. For those who actually follow beyblade history and wondering, this design was taken from mechanic papa who invented the gear magnifier back since at before 2019. I’ll go as far to say you took credit deliberately because even the backstory you claim is lies. You don’t casually come into beyblades and randomly start taking gears of different sizes without any understanding about gear ratios or the real purpose behind why mechanic papa came up with the design he did. There’s a good reason you used metal beyblades and anybody using the original design knows full well the original launcher outright breaks the plastic versions. You wouldn’t know this without having seen his design and related videos, so yet another reason why I know for a fact you’re taking credit for work that isn’t yours. For those that were fortunate to use the real launcher back in the day, the original design was to see just how high of an RPM could be obtained and moreso intended for custom-made beyblades that wouldn’t break (at least for the dual gear version which had the higher rpm capacity). It also uses metal gears for a reason, but as I’m sure you worked out or should I say skimped out, it’s much harder to replicate and put together than it seems, which is evidently why you went the el-cheapo 3d printing route using stock model gears… You also shortcut some other key areas that improved it’s performance and the string style pull was mostly so you could reverse direction easily for left spinning gears more easier than a pull start recoil version. The original also used a long handle was so that the beyblade could be aimed in the stadium better without hitting your competitor on launch. How do I know? I’ve been making these for awhile now and I know the in’s and out’s of the original design and history it came from… don’t take from other people’s work and claim to make something new without credit!