.1 mm will have no inluence in my opinion.

Is there "cupping" as previously asked?

So the Saturn when installed are overall shorter in length in actuality?

-Jim

Aurich,
Thanks for measuring. I put some Saturn rings on a few of my games last night and to the human eye they looked the same. This confirms it. After a dozen or so games, I like the feel and bounce.
Hopefully no more tips falling apart after 50 or so games.

Interesting...I had a bunch of these rings as they were getting developed. At first glance I thought they were much thicker than older rings that were replaced. While I didn't have a caliper..I did measure them as best I could and found there was no noticeable different in thickness...and overall flipper length. In fact I think I reported to the developer that I thought they were thicker

I think the rings are so shiny..they reflect light a little difference and it's more an optical illusion

Lot's of factors here but because I made the tooling and make the rings ,I can tell you that they are
.002 Thicker then a standard rubber. The first problem is that the Gum rubber swells and shrinks depending on humidity and exposure to other things, saturn rings do not. The other issue is that measuring rubber with calipers is very very tricky. The slightest pressure can throw you off. One poster is correct that the stretch characteristics are different. Monster Bash is also correct that the finish makes them appear larger. FYI .002 is 2 human hairs. ;o) One must also bear in mind that Williams spec is + - 5 on durometer and + - .003 on dimensions. All Saturn Rings are + - 2 On hardness, much tighter. I would almost go out on a limb and say they + - 1 on hardness but I need some breathing room. ;o)

This is great news, since whenever I miss getting a flipper on the ball, it always seems like it's .1 mm off !

I got my IFPA rings last night. I think I'll be putting them on tonight. Any reviews on how they play compared to traditional rubber? More/less bouncy? More/less stick?

I like the idea of the IFPA rings, I'll let players much better than me decide what they feel is a good rubber, and just go with that. I can only imagine switching to something else if I hate it, which I doubt I will.

Can I go out on a limb here and say that in one short hour this is one of the best threads that have been on Pinside in a long, long time?

I've put a couple sets of these on the location games at Marvin's in Michigan. They are on TSPP and Tron. Will be interesting to see how they hold up.

Parker

FYI, I'm working on a Tron Transparent Blue Ring.

I see they are almost identical tip to tip, but how about the thick part of the flipper where the shaft connects?

It *looks* like the Saturn is thicker in this dimension, so I wonder if that will make the ball slightly hop when rolling down the inlane....?

Could you measure this and put my mind at ease?

Another post says they are not as grippy as red rubber. Have you found this to be the case, too?

Do you mean that it is not like , "Is Metallica better than AC/DC?" "Is MM worth the money?" "Should I buy this High Speed for $50?" type of thread? I agree. One of the best in a while.

But it's almost imperceptible...

imperceptible? why, that's...

inconceivable.jpg

I'll probably look at grabbing a set once PPS has all of the rings done and can offer a complete set for one of my machines

we used the WMS blueprints for rubbers measurements by the way ... not sure everyone else has ... then you have to factor in shrinkage, etc.

Thanks for this thread. Like vid said, can you please measure thickness on flipper from front to back please?

would like to know about the different hardness , #1 , #2 ,#3 which one feels and plays best ?

I played a dozen or so games with #2 medium. They have way more bounce than the old black rings but seem to have a little less bounce than the crazy new red rubbers that fall apart in 50 or so games. As to your question on which one feels and plays best? It's personal preference... buy a few of each and see what you like the best. I'm happy with the medium.

I've got 10 games so would like to keep all the same

and which 'normal' flipper ring did you measure - and as we have done depending on who/where/when purchased they all appear to be slightly different in terms of exact measurements as well as durometer ... hmm ... maybe like atomic clocks we need a 'true' reference to exists ... lol

All manufacturing process has a tolerance. Per Williams Print Saturn rings are well with in size spec and especially the durometer. Saturn Hardness spec is much tighter.

FYI, Early Beta tester with #1 formula.

Aurich ... I'm not sure that would make a good 'reference' ... I think the WMS blueprint measurement and tolerances would make a good reference (the ones I have are original pdf blueprints ...), as well as to check the tolerances, as well as the durometer ranges. I'm not sure which ones are on spec and which ones are off anymore, but some that we measured were WAY off in durometer readings! ... as someone else had pointed out, when you don't have control over the mfg process, weird things can happen ...

Would be an interesting thread comparing regular gum rubber sizes and durometer readings to see how they all measure up!

Good stuff!

rick

Right On Aurich! The real test is how they play. I think I also mentioned in another thread that over the years, especially shooter tips, the rubber has shrinking like those frozen Pizzas and Candy bars!
A drop of rubber times a million = $$$$$. Saturn rings does not do that!. I would bet that if someone had a 15 year old ring that it has more meat on it.

Any idea when the smaller 1 inch rings will be available?

I agree with this assessment.

Great thread Aurich. I was getting a bit concerned that these were going to be too thick compared to stock rubber. Sure is nice to have a thread on Pinside that's actually useful for a change.

.

image.jpg

Looking forward to trying out products from both urethane ring manufacturers.

Looks like JCS Super-Bands were just announced at Marco:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts-blog/marco-specialties-introduces-super-bands-high-reliability-pinball-flipper-bands-from-jcs-pinball/#more-876

image.jpg

I just quickly read through this thread, no Uranus jokes?

Anyone know if there is a plan to release this material as a full replacement for all in game rubbers, slings etc... it would be so sweet to be able to color match in various places... but unsure if this material would work well/be suited for slings etc. I checked the site and its looking like only for flippers as of now...

There there flank, just look directly above your last post for a nice prurient chuckle.

Well, good, because I thought the best rubbers come out of Uranus.