possible slipper diff in the making
 

hey guys,

First off let me start by saying, even tho i'm sorta new to these forums, i'm in no way new to r/c.

now to the interesting stuff.

last night i was reading the 'sneak peak at the V2 slipperential' thread and it got me thinking. i thought for a while and i may have an idea for a centre diff with a slipper attached to it-unlike the original design of the V2 which just took out the tranny and put a CD in.

my idea is to get a normal CD (still unsure of which exact one, suggestions for which CD i should design my SD-slipper diff- for are welcome) and attach a slipper to it.

this idea is still in the early development stages, so it may be a few months before anyone can buy one. i have no drawings yet because i'm unsure of what CD to design it for.

i'm also after suggestions on what to make it out of, i'm thinking to have the shaft that spur rotates on to be made of 7075 alum ot titanium, and the rest of it 6061 alum.

if i get as far as prototyping and even marketing it, i'm thinking of selling the SD for ...... i don't know, depends how much the materials cost.

my SD will look pretty much like an elongated CD (about 2cm longer).

any suggestions, ideas, support etc. all welcome.

remember, this is still only an IDEA, nothing had been made yet.

Mike has the patent on this - It is due out very soon... He and Jamie were using one at the rcm bash...

does he?

didn't know that, but if his SD is like the purple one in the pictures in some r/c mag (there's a link somewhere in the 'sneak peak' thrread) then mine is nothing like that.

It's a good idea, but if you want to market it on these forums you're gonna have to get Mike's approval. These are his forums, and their intent is to help his business.

It looks different now and uses a full CD wit the slipper magically attached with pixie dust.

I applied for a "utility patent", which means The patent covers the "concept". Any slipper clutch built onto a diff as a single unit will be covered - even if it looks different. :)

Good idea, as it seems like idea stealing is quite popular in this business.

quick picture

That is sexy Mike. Any ETA on them? They should be quite popular for truggies and buggies, and I assume that you will integrate it into a new bulkhead design to replace the emaxx/erevo tranny?


Any interest in making the erevo center diff adapters that I prototyped? Or do you have your own idea in mind?

Looks a bit different from what I remember, but better :yes:. Can't wait for that little beauty!

alright, because mike's got a patent on the idea, i cant sell them in the US (assuming that mike's patent is a US patent), but because i'm in Australia, his patent can't stop me because there are no 'international' patents.

so i can continue with my idea, just can't sell it in the US (if i even get to thinking about selling it)

so hypothetically , if i were to design a SD, what CD do you guys think i should design it for? (because my design uses a normal CD and attaches a slipper to it.)

remember, this is hypothetical, just forget about any marketing, think as if i were designing it only for myself to use, so no selling or interfering with Mike's buisness.

Mike when are they coming? Can we put it on MT or truggies?

thephilonator, I hear on the patent thingy it should be ok in Aussie. I dont want to sound bad but Mike still is the owner of the forum and so his business comes first. IMHO, i think there will be a conflict of interest if you do sell them on this forum...but we are happy for sharing this, one thing good about RCM is that many people like making new things kudos for you...

Lets respect Mike....

yeah, Truckbasher, i hear you, like i said in my last post, i'm just looking for some input and ideas for i SD i'll be making for myself (and maybe selling some but not on this forum)

that ok with you Mike?

The slipperential should be available in a couple weeks - waiting for a few parts to get through production at the moment, and tweaking the diff cup. We have been testing a few prototypes with great success, though.
The unit is intended for buggies and truggies, but once I get it off the ground, I will likely make some motor/diff mounts to allow it to be used in other vehicles as well(emaxx, eRevo, etc.).

"alright, because mike's got a patent on the idea, i cant sell them in the US (assuming that mike's patent is a US patent), but because i'm in Australia, his patent can't stop me because there are no 'international' patents.

so i can continue with my idea, just can't sell it in the US (if i even get to thinking about selling it)

so hypothetically , if i were to design a SD, what CD do you guys think i should design it for? (because my design uses a normal CD and attaches a slipper to it.)

remember, this is hypothetical, just forget about any marketing, think as if i were designing it only for myself to use, so no selling or interfering with Mike's buisness."

Correct - while I could patent the idea all across the world, it isn't in the budget right now. International Patents are an option, though and another country will look at US Patents when approving their own, so it is unlikely that someone else could patent it elsewhere.
Of course you can make anything you want for yourself and I wish you good luck on your project. You won't be able to sell them here, though (in US or on these forums). :)

alright Mike, so i can continue asking for ideas on these forums as long as i dont sell it here?

I think from Mike's post he's man enough for competition and you can't sell here or in the US anyway. Honestly though you have to admit it is a bit cheaky!

Seeing that picture of the slipperential was akin to seeing Elvis to those of us who have been around here for a while!

Mike - I think the waiting list should be weighted by join date, shouldnt it?!?!?!? :lol:

I think so :yipi:

Sound idea!

How Ever???
 

How ever he decides to sell them it will be a big hit for sure. From what has been written and posted about this elusive slipperential it will probably be even bigger than when the MMM was being released. Remember all of the hype and arguing about when, when, when and when it finally did come out everyone was still clamoring to get one. Things have been so quiet & tight lipped about this that I honestly thought it was a done deal and forgotten about. I did not realize that Mike was still working on it and planning to release it soon. Way to go Mike for keeping it alive. I guess that is why you were not answering emails questioning RCM about the Maxx center diff mount prototype that was posted up a while back??? Happy to see that this is still a dream that may come true very soon. Good luck with that Mike.

I admit, the slipperential has been "coming" for a long time. But it is coming. The project started as something that I wanted for myself - for obvious reasons I think. The initial few prototypes were larger, limited to a 50 tooth minimimum spur gear size, and used Traxxas Revo slipper pads for the "slipper". They were also difficult to build and the plastic spur gear would melt in high slip conditions.

I wanted a smaller unit(current unit uses a 46t spur gear), a steel spur and I wanted my own slipper pads. We designed new pads, which also required a new spur gear design. We also had to get a die made to cut the new pads, as well as a die to cut the custom gaskets. Also, consider the time and cost involved in designing, testing, etc.

We have redesigned or tweaked ever single element of the design to allow optimum performance and ease of use (adjusted springs used to relieve pressure during assembly - new pads and spur gear reduce space, weight and allow smaller spur - added a teflon wear bushing and hard anodize on diff cup to allow more longevity in high slip conditions, etc...).
When we started development on this last year, it was a cool concept. Now it is smaller, lighter, more adjustable, easier to use, and less expensive product that is adaptable to many more applications than the original. I believe this product will be the ideal drive system for the high powered, larger scale electric vehicle that will be the "future' of RC. I wanted to get it right before releasing it. Hence the Patent.

The Patent process is also long and expensive and requires fairly current drawings, so as the design got tweaked, so did the patent application.

When you actually get one of these little beauties in your hands and build it, you will likely have a better understanding of the time involved in its development. What may sound like a simple task is not so simple to make small, durable, effective and user friendly. From material selection to manufacturing process - the whole thing is custom built - not some bolt on gadget, but an engineered design built with purpose. When you get one, it will have been worth the wait. :)

Ummm, is it a drop in unit, or shall we need something else alongside to use it?

Seems the best invention yet.

You will see soon enough, Al. You will be the first "non-tester" to have it, as I have been holding off your Mugen buggy to include this little gem(you have been patient and kind to me over the years, so I plan to install it into your long awaited buggy). :)
The unit is "drop in" to a degree, but nothing is "one size fits all". It is a drop in for Mugen buggies and truggies, though. :)

Looks like a really nice unit, and has come a long way since the blue version that was posted a long time ago! I think it will be received very well - TBH, I always thought the original slipperential design was a tad clunky (sorry Mike :oops:). This will definitely be able to be used in a LOT of designs.

The original desing was a bit "clunky". It was larger, heavier and much more limited than the current form factor. It worked, so the concept was proven. It simply took a long time to refine it to its current state - and should be worth the wait. :)

Pride.
 

Hey Mike your pride is showing... :intello: Considering the work & $$$$ you have put into this project and from the look of it I am sure that all of us will be happy to have one in our vehicles. Thanks in advance for the top notch efforts on your part and the part of your team mates in bringing something so inovative to the hobby. We look forward to seeing your brainchild released soon. Now get back to work Mike.:lol::rofl:

Mike that looks really good :smile:.

alright, after some searching and failing, i've given up on my sd idea. cant find the materials or someone to fabricate it.

This was 2 months ago any updates? Is it out allready?

Working.
 

We are one of the most impatient groups I know. Look at how we hammered Patrick at Castle for the MMM and it drove him crazy. The last comment that Mike had made (Dec/08) was that he was working on it, and that he expected to have something on the site soon. He stated for us to just keep checking the RCM store for new items, and that it would show up in there when it is ready to go. This is not just some hunk of aluminum to bolt up to one chassis. It is a precisley made echanized assembly of parts that can adapt to almost any R/C vehicle out there. He wants to make sure that it is truly versatile and up to the task at hand. Mike is a cautious man and you can be sure that he has all of the bugs worked out of this slipper setup before he is ready to let us have a crack at them. Plus he had patent issues to work out before releasing them. I am sure that MonsterMike wants this item out as soon as possible as well for a matter of pride in his work, and for a matter of making money. So hang on to your hats and wait for him to anounce the birth of his newest baby.:intello:

Thanks for stating my thought, Jerry. the slipperential is done, but won't be available until I can finish up the patent work. I have too much time money and effort into this to allow others to steal the design. :)

I am sorry! I am pretty new too this forum and dont know what has and has not been released. Please forgive me for my ignorance.:neutral:

No worries, Rivermaxx. I didn't take offense to the question at all. FYI - if you click the banner at the top center of the forums, you will be taken to our web store - you will then be able to see any and all available items - including the slipperential when it is released. :)

Yea, I got a list of stuff I want to get for my conversion. I am waiting for the release of the slipperential before I buy everything because I can go 2 different ways on the tranny with this project.

Mike, I just want to steal your parts.....you can keep the design!!!:lol:

That sounds like something Linc would say...:wink:

:lol: This forum is so awesome with the humor. I have seen other things said about link in this way . But I dont know the whole story Someone please lead me to a post so I can understand fully. sounds like he is a little permisquas:diablo: :gasp:

No single post (or thread) can fully bring you up to speed. Give it time, you will learn....

:lol::lol::lol:

Lincpimp
 

Yea LInc is definitely a one of a kind animal and we have him live here on RCM. Don't worry though. He Barks, but rarely bites. He usually releases himself in little quotes every day, but I think he has been burried in a special project lately, plus his auto body business keeps him pretty busy as well. I think it is court ordered theropy of some kind. Still you are correct in thinking that he is someone to watch out for, and his midget sidekicks or monkey bulter issues will catch you off gaurd as well. Overall we are lucky to have him here with us. We have a few others to speak of, like BrianG, Paralyzed, Lito you already know, and Mike himself although he has been pretty tied up lately with new products in which we are waiting paciently waiting for. Welcome to the madness and have some fun RiverMaxx. We can always use some new humor in here. Don't be shy or they will eat you alive.:lol: