I doubt any player in the world would complain if Diamond changed their cushion design to perform exactly like a GC. When the top pros play on the All Japan Championship (still played on GC) they play jam up. The current pro event right now is on the Predator table. On the stream, it looks like the cushions are playing great, and the players are playing great. (Yes, I know there were early issues with these tables 2 years ago that were transport and tipping on their side related.)
Diamonds catch phrase is/was “designed by players for players”. I can’t believe “players” let these cushions out the door 30 years ago, or today.
When Diamond improved the black marks on the balls everyone was happy. When Diamond changed from red to blue everyone was happy (except for some red owners who felt slighted, and that’s understandable). If Diamond today copies the GC design exactly, I again think the vast majority of players would welcome the change.
I doubt any player in the world would complain if Diamond changed their cushion design to perform exactly like a GC. When the top pros play on the All Japan Championship (still played on GC) they play jam up. The current pro event right now is on the Predator table. On the stream, it looks like the cushions are playing great, and the players are playing great. (Yes, I know there were early issues with these tables 2 years ago that were transport and tipping on their side related.)
Diamonds catch phrase is/was “designed by players for players”. I can’t believe “players” let these cushions out the door 30 years ago, or today.
When Diamond improved the black marks on the balls everyone was happy. When Diamond changed from red to blue everyone was happy (except for some red owners who felt slighted, and that’s understandable). If Diamond today copies the GC design exactly, I again think the vast majority of players would welcome the change.
I, personally, can’t stand Diamond tables. I hate the rails, and I hate those deep shelves in the pockets. If a ball is that deep in between the rails, they should go in the pocket, point blank. Doesn’t make sense to have that many balls bobble out of the pocket just because the shelf is super deep. IMO, that’s a design flaw. If you can’t play position on another ball because the ball you’re shooting at is sitting that deep in the pocket, that makes no common sense. It simply ruins the game and takes joy away from something that’s supposed to bring joy from making accomplishments on the table.
Yeah valley tables with pockets the size of bushel baskets are great for the game. best 7 foot table money can buy. I don’t seem to have a problem controling the ball on them and either do other good players. Maybe you need to spend time practicing instead of crying on az lol
Haha! Yea that’s it. I never mentioned valley. I challenge you to go watch a match before Diamond took over the industry and a modern game. What you will see is shooter playing harder. Moving the cue ball more with stroke. A modern day game is a putt putt game. Sad and pathetic at the same time. Not totally about pocket size as much the rebound of the cushions. If they had made the tables with superspeed cushions no player would have complained. The banks wouldn’t be short or pinball on you. 100 years of Brunswick and the standard ruined overnight by a new manufacture.
Haha! Yea that’s it. I never mentioned valley. I challenge you to go watch a match before Diamond took over the industry and a modern game. What you will see is shooter playing harder. Moving the cue ball more with stroke. A modern day game is a putt putt game. Sad and pathetic at the same time. Not totally about pocket size as much the rebound of the cushions. If they had made the tables with superspeed cushions no player would have complained. The banks wouldn’t be short or pinball on you. 100 years of Brunswick and the standard ruined overnight by a new manufacture.
I completely agree with this person. Great assessment. I remember having to have the skill to move the rock around with English and finesse, instead of letting raggedy ass springy rails do it for you. That’s what took skill. Not super fast cloth and even faster rails.
Unique material – experienced process
The strips obtained by molding have a profile with a more regular geometry. That is why we use this method instead of extrusion for the manufacture of the KLEMATCH cushions.
The cushions’ profile regularity obtained by molding allows players a game with greater accuracy. A molded strip manufactured from the finest rubber mixtures like a KLEMATCH cushion, allows players to combine performance and accuracy for optimum satisfaction with a maximum service life.
this page says a bit about types of rubber and the molding process.
Research the types and uses of rubber molding. Learn about neoprene, foam rubber, grommet edging, silicone rubber, and the other types of rubber molding.
www.iqsdirectory.com
here is some comparison between natural rubber and synthetic rubber
Whether you’re a company leader who’s choosing materials for your products or a consumer who’s making buying choices for your household, learning about your options is the first step.
www.yulex.com
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I cant' speak for this particular manufacturer, what we do know is that natural rubber has some different properties.
I worked in a plant that recovered printing rollers , I used to remove the old rubber and prep the core and put it into molds. It was pumped from a drum and cooked in an oven in the mold
the OEM rollers were, I believe, mainly natural rubber, one of the properties is that it is slightly porous which gives it a grippy feel, like an elastic band or a pencil erasor. The synthetic rubber is less prone to attack from the chemicals, solvents and is cheaper to produce as it can be molded easily. It's cheaper and breaks down less quickly from ozone.
natural rubber is from rubber trees, most others are from the petroleum industry.
what I have seen is that the friction difference is substantial , so if a roller is driving paper you want that grippyness, If it's slick like an O ring, it wont drive paper so well. the slickness of the synthetic rubber was a bit of a disadvantage but it can be molded as heat cures it once in a mold.
One example where the grippynes matters, is a folding machine where paper is being driven by rubber rollers. If they are slick rollers made from basically rubber like plastic, they loose their capability of having drive as soon as they get dusty.
I noticed that when looking at rubber for pool tables, there is a lot of offshore stuff made of synthetic rubber, cheap stuff from china , It can be molded cheaply. I believe that making pool table cushions by extrusion, like in the brunswick video requires a much higher cost equipment setup than a simple heat activated molding process,
this video shows the Brunswick Superspeed manufacturing process, you can see how costly and unique the equipment required ot do that is.
If you are choosing a manufacturer for pool table rubber I'd take into consideration their process and what type of rubber they are using, some companies may be secretive about their proprietary processes.
I have occasionally looked into having real rubber rollers made, where synthetics would not work well , an example is driving wood through a thickness planer. It needs that grip that natural rubber provides. a slick synthetic roller will get covered in wood dust and slip.
It is expensive they have long wait times and I once went to the plant and was interested about their process but they wouldn't let me see inside, protecting their proprietary process.
I wont speak for or against a particular manufacturer, I just think they type or rubber you choose and weather of not it is natural rubber is important. when I see its made by a molding process and not an extrusion machine, it lead me to think this is using a synthetic but that may not be completely justifiable. a chemical scientist that studies rubber types and has in depth knowledge of different manufacturing types would definitely be able to shed more light on why certain types of rubber are best for pool table cushions.
If you are ordering rubber through online dealers, id just be a bit cautions that the rubber you are getting is the type of rubber most suitable. If it's incredibly cheap it's likely made by a molding process and not natural rubber.
i suspect that the machinery that Brunswick is using , although very dated looking, may still be in use and without knowing more I'd be a bit more tempted to go with that type of rubber or a manufacturer using similar extrusion equipment. Natural rubber, not plastics.
Its a big subject, I dont know everything, I'd like to learn more. I believe the type of rubber and the process used may have a large effect on its bounce characteristics.
One thing Im curious about, how much is the type of rubber affecting the drive between ball and cushion, when you spin balls into a cushion? The cloth separates the two, does the grippyness matter ?
Yup! Has nothing to do with armor all, or any other chemical. These are fixes for a PROBLEM that everyone ignores. Yes, humidity and temperature play a part but, not nearly as big as the cushions used. All this talk is fluff in defending of the cushions or manufacture.
I doubt any player in the world would complain if Diamond changed their cushion design to perform exactly like a GC. When the top pros play on the All Japan Championship (still played on GC) they play jam up. The current pro event right now is on the Predator table. On the stream, it looks like the cushions are playing great, and the players are playing great. (Yes, I know there were early issues with these tables 2 years ago that were transport and tipping on their side related.)
Diamonds catch phrase is/was “designed by players for players”. I can’t believe “players” let these cushions out the door 30 years ago, or today.
When Diamond improved the black marks on the balls everyone was happy. When Diamond changed from red to blue everyone was happy (except for some red owners who felt slighted, and that’s understandable). If Diamond today copies the GC design exactly, I again think the vast majority of players would welcome the change.
I completely agree with this person. Great assessment. I remember having to have the skill to move the rock around with English and finesse, instead of letting raggedy ass springy rails do it for you. That’s what took skill. Not super fast cloth and even faster rails.
“Crushing people” is your words, not mine. Nice try. But I DO appreciate the compliment that you knew I was a pretty good player who beat most people. Thank you!
“Crushing people” is your words, not mine. Nice try. But I DO appreciate the compliment that you knew I was a pretty good player who beat most people. Thank you!
You do realize I ONLY quoted "your words", right? So yeah, I'm well aware that those were my words. I know you're new here, but one of the forum's unofficial rules is that you can't say how hard something is in a thread while simultaneously talking about how great you are/were.
You do realize I ONLY quoted "your words", right? So yeah, I'm well aware that those were my words. I know you're new here, but one of the forum's unofficial rules is that you can't say how hard something is in a thread while simultaneously talking about how great you are/were.
Yup! Has nothing to do with armor all, or any other chemical. These are fixes for a PROBLEM that everyone ignores. Yes, humidity and temperature play a part but, not nearly as big as the cushions used. All this talk is fluff in defending of the cushions or manufacture.
Honestly show me a non heated, non 3C table that does anything by system. You will not find a table that does anything on system, you must adapt. The systems are a baseline and you make up the difference. The better the player, the faster they adapt to conditions. Speed, spin, aim. Diamonds are consistent and can be counted on, they may be different to the "system" but so is every other pocket billiards table on the face of the earth.