Are discs balanced when manufactured?

[bfoflyer]

Hey Everyone,
Here is my rant. This might have been covered before but are discs latterly balanced when they are molded by the manufacturer? I have spent over 20 years in the aviation industry and am familiar with the practice of balancing propellers, turbines, and rotors latterly to aid in efficiency and provide stable flight. The same principle is applied on vehicle wheels. If anyone has ever driven a car or truck that has lost a wheel weight, you know that the vehicle can handle poorly. If a disc has a heavy spot in its' molding, than the same poor handling could evident here as well. I know I'm thinking way too deep into things but it seems to me that a perfectly balanced disc would be desirable for the best possible control and distance available. Thanks for any comments and listening to my ramblings.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

good first post! I would say they attempt but are not perfect. The only company with any real info on weight distribution currently is MVP. People think the gyro is BS but I disagree.

http://www.mvpdiscsports.com/gyro

This would be as close as it gets IMO.

Our goal at MVP Disc Sports is to produce golf discs of the highest quality and unequaled performance. The three physical factors that affect a disc's performance are a combination of aerodynamics, linear momentum, and angular momentum. These three physical properties occur simultaneously to allow a disc to stay in flight. Our designs are developed with all three of these factors in mind and enhanced with GYRO™ Technology to make our discs the leader of performance in disc golf.

Linear momentum is a disc's ability to maintain a forward traveling energy as a result of its mass and traveling velocity. This linear momentum is coupled with aerodynamics to allow the disc to stay in flight by means of Bernoulli's principle. Angular momentum, also known as the gyroscopic effect, is the third aspect of disc flight that is the result of a disc's rotating mass which keeps it spinning on its axis of rotation so that the disc will be aerodynamically supported in flight.

The amount of angular momentum is determined by a disc's moment of inertia. Increasing a disc's moment of inertia will increase its angular momentum and allow it to be maintained longer throughout its flight. Our GYRO™ Technology is a design that is produced through a two-step molding process that allows the outer ring to be made with a heavier material. The process of transferring mass away from the axis of rotation increases the disc's moment of inertia at parabolic proportions.

Since linear and angular momentum and aerodynamics act upon each other simultaneously, an enhanced gyroscopic effect will improve all aspects of disc flight. Increased angular momentum of a disc in flight will allow the disc to stay on its rotational axis for a longer period of time, which means that its aerodynamic properties will be better exhibited for a longer period of time. When a thrower uses our discs, they will be able to achieve straighter, longer, and more accurate results.

All of the aforementioned elements of physics are very important in disc golf, and all of them are considered equally in all of our designs. Our products are designed to enhance aerodynamics, linear momentum, and angular momentum to the greatest extent, so that our products are the best performing in all aspects of disc golf.

#fanboiout

 

[Horsman]

Easy answer NO, not even MVP does. They all check their discs for defects but they do not go out of their way to check if they are in balance

 

[Aim For The Chains]

How do you know?

a good injection molding machine has a balancing system in it... so?

 

[bradharris]

Sounds like a lot of cost for virtually no gain.

 

[Horsman]

How do you know?

a good injection molding machine has a balancing system in it... so?

I dont, but it makes no financial sense for them to balance each disc like they do with tires. And how do you know they do?

 

[Aim For The Chains]

well it would be dumb to think that it wasn't taken into account when molding a disc. I have never had an issue spinning a disc on my finger or holding It up In the center so they must be doing SOMETHING to keep the discs mostly uniform.

 

[blackcatsmith]

Just in: Prodigys have "heavy spots" and aren't balanced.

 

[bfoflyer]

Sounds like a lot of cost for virtually no gain.

The gain would be the fact that there would be no loss of energy due to an uneven or wobbly flight. The disc would fly very efficiently resulting in an even better distance and greater uncontrollably. It would seem to me that a company that could supply these added benefits (and prove them) at a reasonable cost could rise to the top of the competition.

 

[Horsman]

well it would be dumb to think that it wasn't taken into account when molding a disc. I have never had an issue spinning a disc on my finger or holding It up In the center so they must be doing SOMETHING to keep the discs mostly uniform.

They all take it into account, some just have better QC measures than others. And you can spin any disc on your finger or hold it up in the center.

 

[Thumber]

Will this finally give us the Longer Teebird?

 

[bradharris]

The gain would be the fact that there would be no loss of energy due to an uneven or wobbly flight. The disc would fly very efficiently resulting in an even better distance and greater uncontrollably. It would seem to me that a company that could supply these added benefits (and prove them) at a reasonable cost could rise to the top of the competition.

So few people would even care that the added profit would be less than a drop in the bucket.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

And you can spin any disc on your finger or hold it up in the center.

and you realize WHY that is...?

 

[Smigles]

The gain would be the fact that there would be no loss of energy due to an uneven or wobbly flight. The disc would fly very efficiently resulting in an even better distance and greater uncontrollably. It would seem to me that a company that could supply these added benefits (and prove them) at a reasonable cost could rise to the top of the competition.

The question really is how much difference that would make. Discs are allready quite balanced the way they are produced today.

 

[coupe]

If a disc has a heavy spot in its' molding, than the same poor handling could evident here as well. I know I'm thinking way too deep into things but it seems to me that a perfectly balanced disc would be desirable for the best possible control and distance available.

I suspect you've never thrown an Aerobie Epic.

 

[notapro]

Hell no. It's amazing they even weigh the discs.

 

[garublador]

and you realize WHY that is...?

It could be that the process is good enough in this respect that verifying balance isn't necessary. It's probably even less necessary considering that the disc will hit something every single time it's used. Going to all the trouble to make sure it's perfect for a single throw probably isn't worth it.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

bottom line is our discs are balanced. whether they do it on purpose or by default of the process you cant agrue that a disc golf disc flies better balanced and is the desired final outcome. Do they use lazer spin calibration like nice car tire places? probably not but discs are balanced. I am not talking about perfection.

 

[Meulen]

I will explain the molding process once again later today during my lunch break, it may clear up some confusion.

 

[Grungedude42]

I can't wait to pay $30 for spun, lathed and balanced plastic. :\ One more detail for people to OCD out on.