Gentlemen.......another odd question for you all. Can anyone tell me the difference between a wavy pin/tap and a ball thread pin/tap? They seem to look the same to me. Is there a difference in pitch or diameters? I can't find any dimensions on the taps and the comparing the photos they look the same. What am I missing?
Wavy vs ball thread
- Thread starter Vince_Former_BB
- Start date
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Kinda like comparing moldy cheese to rotten eggs. The are different, but they are also both garbage.
Can you gents provide the dimensions of both by any chance? Thanks in advance.
Giving this a bit of a bump to see if anyone can provide me with number....dimensions. Major and minor diameters. Thanks.
Is it safe to assume the wavy one is gold colored?
You would be wrong
Precisely why I asked. Thanks much.
snookered_again
Well-known member
the one at the left seems a lot like the profile of a ballscrew..
you can google "ballscrew" but it's basically a method of linking parts by way of a ball bearing type joint, common when stepper motors are used to move parts. , in CNC applications. It's often a very precision component with very little backlash..
you can google "ballscrew" but it's basically a method of linking parts by way of a ball bearing type joint, common when stepper motors are used to move parts. , in CNC applications. It's often a very precision component with very little backlash..
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
That is the story of how Stroud came up with it. He apparently was looking at one of his machines and thought, 'that looks like a good thread profile to hold things together (it isn't). The ballscrew profile only works well for anything because of the circulating balls in the nut.
I've got a little experience with ballscrews. I've designed many applications and installed many more, including 4m length and 80mm diameter.
Multi lead roller screws are more precise and have a higher load capacity.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
The wavy looks like it has ridge in the flank of the thread? And acme threads on the bottom? I'm not sure I see the point in either of these. It's it that bad to have a standard screw into a brass insert?
I agree with you. I'm my opinion at the end of the day all any pin really does is draw the two halves together.
Yes that's a fair description. If there's a point to all these pins is a separate question. There are so many proprietary pins to chose from, but the logic is the same, trying to get repeat business.
As far as the Wavy and now Wavy 2 pin. It's definently a good design with a super tight fit, most players comments on this and it gives of a feel of quality, which is what Mezz is going for.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
A super tight fit is not a good design. Screws should rarely be 'super tight' in any application, but especially not in a cue that is only tightened by hand.
That's true, but it's not that tight. I've sold mezz cues for many years now and I have never seen one split at the joint, so it's tight, but not overly so. It's a bit like the slide fit on a gun, too lose isn't good, too tight causes problems, but you can get frame/slide fit that really has no slop at all, yet works perfectly.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Splitting at the joint isn't the only concern. The clamping force of a threaded joint is the entire job of the pin. The clamping force is a function of torque, pin diameter, and friction. The pin diameter is constant, the torque is dependent on the strength of the user (limited), so when the pin is tight, the friction in the pin reduces the clamping force. Basic, and provable. I did testing on this for Airbus.
Beyond that, tight fitting pins do absolutely nothing for the cue. It doesn't assist in alignment or repeatability of assembly. All it does is make it harder to assemble the cue.
I really don't understand why people think tight threads are a sign of quality. I've been around a lot of things that are much more critical than a cue joint, if the threads were as hard to assemble as many cue joints, the part would generally be rejected.
I get what you saying and I have made the same point many times. Once the cue is together, all of this is mostly academical in nature. The perceived impression of quality is what I'm really talking about and in a sales perspective.
Most players don't really know what to look for anyway, but if it feels nice when screwing togehter that's certainly something the player notices.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
I saw a test where bolts required less torque to loosen than tighten (assuming no corrosion) which supports your statement.
I believe the coarser thread pitch is more prone to loosening which is why I'm not a fan of the radial pin.