Product Description
UPDATE (10/1/20): The brass slots will no longer be sold through shapeways. An alternative is in the works and will be announced.
Set of brass gear slots meant to replace OEM gears in Nintendo 64 joystick modules. Brass gear slots MUST be paired with gear teeth to function.
DISCLAIMER: This item only includes the set of slots and does not include the gear teeth. You must buy the gear teeth separately.
PLEASE READ BELOW
The surface finish inside the slots of the gear may vary. This is a result from the lost wax casting process, which I have no control over since I do not make these; I created the model and use Shapeways to manufacture it. Depending on your luck, your gears may or may not have a smooth finish so you may have to do some sanding/polishing for smooth contact with the stick.
I have different versions with different slot sizes, a 3.30mm and 3.40mm version. The typical slot size for a new OEM controller is 3.40mm. This means the 3.30mm version will require a little bit of sanding since the stick will not operate well unless the slot size is 3.40mm. However, the 3.30mm version gives you some breathing room to sand/polish so that you don't potentially lose range making the slots too wide. On the other hand, the 3.40mm version will not need any sanding but may a rough finish.
Here's a simple sanding guide: https://imgur.com/a/QxFi9
FAQ
Which version should I get? 3.30mm or 3.40mm?
From the feedback of playtesters, many of them had no issues with surface finishes so they preferred the 3.40mm since no sanding was needed. However, in my experience, I'd rather be safe and polish the slots myself. It is up to you to decide whether or not you'd like to do some sanding/polishing.
Why Brass? Why is the material chosen natural brass instead of polished brass from Shapeways?
Brass is much harder as a material than the plastic nylon/ABS used in OEM gears and stick which means the stick will eventually wear instead of the gears. Using polished brass means a worker from Shapeways will polish them by hand, which can lead to inconsistent dimensions in the gears. I have no control over how the gears are polished so it's better to just use natural brass where you have control over any post-processing. There is essentially no difference in strength and hardness between polished and raw brass.
What happened to the full brass gear with the brass teeth? Why do I have to buy 2 parts separately now?
During playtesting some players felt what they called "microlag" or a slight delay in the joystick making it unviable for competitive play. This was caused by very subtle inconsistencies in the production method where some teeth were slightly thinner than others. By using the fine detail plastic material from Shapeways for the separate teeth, this problem is eliminated.
Set of brass gear slots meant to replace OEM gears in Nintendo 64 joystick modules. Brass gear slots MUST be paired with gear teeth to function.
DISCLAIMER: This item only includes the set of slots and does not include the gear teeth. You must buy the gear teeth separately.
PLEASE READ BELOW
The surface finish inside the slots of the gear may vary. This is a result from the lost wax casting process, which I have no control over since I do not make these; I created the model and use Shapeways to manufacture it. Depending on your luck, your gears may or may not have a smooth finish so you may have to do some sanding/polishing for smooth contact with the stick.
I have different versions with different slot sizes, a 3.30mm and 3.40mm version. The typical slot size for a new OEM controller is 3.40mm. This means the 3.30mm version will require a little bit of sanding since the stick will not operate well unless the slot size is 3.40mm. However, the 3.30mm version gives you some breathing room to sand/polish so that you don't potentially lose range making the slots too wide. On the other hand, the 3.40mm version will not need any sanding but may a rough finish.
Here's a simple sanding guide: https://imgur.com/a/QxFi9
FAQ
Which version should I get? 3.30mm or 3.40mm?
From the feedback of playtesters, many of them had no issues with surface finishes so they preferred the 3.40mm since no sanding was needed. However, in my experience, I'd rather be safe and polish the slots myself. It is up to you to decide whether or not you'd like to do some sanding/polishing.
Why Brass? Why is the material chosen natural brass instead of polished brass from Shapeways?
Brass is much harder as a material than the plastic nylon/ABS used in OEM gears and stick which means the stick will eventually wear instead of the gears. Using polished brass means a worker from Shapeways will polish them by hand, which can lead to inconsistent dimensions in the gears. I have no control over how the gears are polished so it's better to just use natural brass where you have control over any post-processing. There is essentially no difference in strength and hardness between polished and raw brass.
What happened to the full brass gear with the brass teeth? Why do I have to buy 2 parts separately now?
During playtesting some players felt what they called "microlag" or a slight delay in the joystick making it unviable for competitive play. This was caused by very subtle inconsistencies in the production method where some teeth were slightly thinner than others. By using the fine detail plastic material from Shapeways for the separate teeth, this problem is eliminated.
