Aramith Tournament Magnetic Cue Ball ( Whats Up with this)

manwon

manwon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey folks, I need some help.

I have been under the impression that the reason that you get a true roll from the Aramith Tournament Magnetic Cue Ball is that it is not plugged.

I have been selling these balls from my Pro-shop since their introduction at the BCA and APA Nationals in 2003.

The other day a customer brought me a ball that had jumped off a table and bounced on a cement floor.

The surface section of the ball had broken in two places 180 degrees from each other and exposed what appears to be a plug that runs through the entire ball.

I am including photo's of this ball and another ball that has been cut in half.

The ball that was cut in half was done in 2003 to show customers that these balls were not plugged, and that the Magnetic part of the ball was the black line around the outside of the ball.

The other ball pictured is the ball in question that broke, and that shows the plug on both sides.

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Please give me any insight that you have on this subject!!!!!!

Thanks in Advance!!!!!!!!!

Craig
 
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I've never used these balls, but from looking at the pictures, I don't see a plug on the broken ball. If you look at the boundary of the break, you see a dark border. That is what would be exposed on the ball you have cut in half if it broke in the same manner. I think the broken ball does have the magnetic layer in a sphere shape like the cut ball has. You should cut the broken ball in half like you did the other one to prove it conclusively one way or the other.
 
manwon said:
The other ball pictured is the ball in question that broke, and that shows the plug on both sides.



Please give me any insight that you have on this subject!!!!!!

Thanks in Advance!!!!!!!!!

Craig
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I think I can, but you'll have to have faith in me. The following is based on part fact and part hypotheses, given my intimate knowledge with plastic injection molding. This type of complete overmolding would have to be similar.

The previous magnetic ball (not the green aramith logo ball) wasn't plugged either. The marks you see in the previous magnetic ball is due to how they have to cast the ball. In the previous version, the insert was a coiled spring that wasn't round. That's why it wasn't balanced. The process has to hold the spring in place while phenolic is cast around it. The holder of the spring leaves a void, commonly what looks like a circle. The void/hole is re-filled with phenolic. I think that re-filling will cause a "witness line" between the primary casting, and the secondary casting.

With the current version, they wrap a phenolic ball with foil, and then cast around it. But they have to be able to hold that ball/foil while they cast around it, similarly to the coil version. The foil wrapped around allows this to be balanced better than the previous model because it is naturally spherically balanced. Again, similar to the previous model, whatever holds this small ball w/foil would be in the way of the casting process, so after they cast phenolic, there would be a hole or holes once you remove the part from the holding mechanisms. That is, if you mold around the holders, you will have two voids if they use two holders (which it looks like they must). They then would fill the holes, same as the previous.

The balls I've seen have done a great job at hiding that void/circle vestige, but I assume that they reveal themselves eventually. If there were weak areas, that area would definitely be it, as well as the logo area.

Fred
 
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Thank you all for the input, I am going to include a couple of additional photo's.

In the morning I am going to contact the manufacturer, I have to be certain this if I continue to sell these products.

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I think these photo's may show the damage a little better.

Again Thanks Fred, and all other posters for your input!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a Great Night!!!!!!!

Craig
 
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Again thanks to all everyone for your thoughts on this issue.

Have a great night!!!!
 
From what I've gathered on other forum posts many of the current magnetic cueballs now hold a 3 dimensional "metalic cage". Supposedly it allows for a true roll and satisfies the magnet requirement for coin-op tables. I believe the photo's of a sledge hammered magnetic ball were on CCB. The foil wrapped ball that Fred mentions above sounds as if it would roll very true.:)

Most of our local leagues are on coin-op barboxes and each team is supplied the Aramith green logo ball that plays very well (anything would beat a dead mudball!).
 
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