actuators for kowal's p360 mod

[RobotronNut]

i'm eager to try kowal's p360 actuator mod.

does anyone know where i can find 14mm and 13.5mm actuators?

these would be metal tubes with the following specs:

    length: 0.678" (17.23 mm.)
    inside diameter: minimum 0.371" (9.43 mm.)
    outside diameter: 13.5 mm = 0.5315" = 17/32" (also 14 mm = 0.5512")

the closest i could find locally were "bronze sleeve bearings" and "bronze flange bearings", 3/8" I.D., 1/2" O.D. - i measured the actual inside diameter at 0.371" and they fit nicely over the stock p360 shafts (as well as some original wico shafts i have), but their outside diameters were exactly 1/2" (12.70 mm.), which is too narrow.

i looked thru the mcmaster-carr website, but couldn't find anything that looked like it would work.

if nobody here has access to something appropriate off-the-shelf, i'll go find a machinist next wk...

btw, if anyone has or is making shorter p360 shafts that fit my slikstik balltops, i might be interested in buying a couple from you.

[Kremmit]

Get the too-narrow ones and wrap them in masking tape until they reach the required diameter.  Magic marker the tape black when you're done.

[Luckydevil]

Put me down for two if you have them made.

[destructor]

does anyone know where i can find 14mm and 13.5mm actuators?

Hehe, it's kowal's 'product'. You can made easy these actuators. Use turning-lathe

[kowal]

does anyone know where i can find 14mm and 13.5mm actuators?

someone with your familiar/friends has to know turner. Bay stainless steel rod (diameter 16mm), carry him drawing and he this quickly it will execute. How you will be dust happiness, she will demand several beers

never destroy original actuator (you can want to him to come back).

[RobotronNut]

Get the too-narrow ones and wrap them in masking tape until they reach the required diameter.  Magic marker the tape black when you're done.

sorry, that would go against my irresistable compulsion to over-engineer everything. 

Put me down for two if you have them made.

i don't have any machinist friends, and walking in the front door of a reputable machine shop with a small order, i'm paying time and materials, which could get expensive, so i'd rather not make any extras, sorry.

btw, i measured my slikstik p360 shafts, and they're thicker than the stock p360 shafts. the stock shafts measure 0.368 and the slikstik shafts measure 0.373, so i've bumped up the inside diameter for the actuators i'm ordering to 0.375, which is what the stock p360 actuators are, as far as i can tell.

FYI, here's what i've ordered from a local machine shop:

    length

[Kremmit]

P360 actuators are supposed to block light- that's why they're black.  Stainless *may* reflect it and give you odd directional signals.  You may have to paint the pretty stainless a boring black!

[RobotronNut]

P360 actuators are supposed to block light- that's why they're black.  Stainless *may* reflect it and give you odd directional signals.  You may have to paint the pretty stainless a boring black!

apparently kowal used stainless successfully.

i'll have them do a matte surface, rather than bright polished, and i'll probably go over them with a black sharpie, as you suggested above.

[dpz147]

I'd be interested in your feedback.  When do you anticipate receiving them?

If they are that much better, I'm sure people would be willing to pay for them...I know I would.

[RobotronNut]

i expect to receive them in a week.

[RobotronNut]

i got the actuators from the shop today and am trying them out,
together with some shorter shafts (4" wicos, with the small p360 spacers).

there's definite improvement! in robotron, i can control the position of my character much more precisely and shoot diagonally more easily. i set a new high score, and my typical scores have gone up a bit.

the actuator diameters i have are "small" (0.531), "medium" (0.541), and "large" (0.551). i think i'll end up preferring "medium", but i need to do more testing...

[destructor]

If your shaft (with balltop or battop) has light weight try to change spring to lighter too Don't try make it with SlikStik heavy shaft with heavy megaball.

[RobotronNut]

i've experimented some more with the actuators, and i've concluded that i like the "medium" ones (0.541 outside diameter) the best.

with the small ones, there is just too much diagonal. i'd occasionally have the sensation of being "stuck" in a diagonal when i didn't want to be. the small ones favor the diagonals over the cardinal directions. the medium actuators feel like they are close to even, perhaps favoring the cardinal directions slightly.

unfortunately, the medium ones do have a slightly larger dead zone in the middle, but overall they play better, and i get higher scores in robotron with them.

by the way, i used a black sharpie pen to blacken the outsides of the actuators, and it appears to have worked well, although the actuators are so smooth that i still get some reflection, but much less than before i used the sharpie.

overall, i'm very pleased with this mod. thanks to kowal and his translator!

[RobotronNut]

If your shaft (with balltop or battop) has light weight try to change spring to lighter too Don't try make it with SlikStik heavy shaft with heavy megaball.

i haven't yet decided which shafts / balltops to use, but when i do, i will take your advice about the spring.

thanks.