save the magnet spheres!

[micheal rosen]

As some of you may know (i doubt it, nobody has as many weird hobbies and interests as me) magnet spheres and toys such as buckyballs are being banned. all other companies that sold them are shutdown, except for one: Zen Magnets. zen magnets has been battling the CPSC over this stupid ban for over a year now. they have an amazing case against the CSPC, and the CSPC has "they are dangerous if you eat them, so we should ban them."

this comes from the zen magnets website (and the facts in it have been verified by outside organizations, and i agree with the opinions if that means anything):

"The CPSC's attempt to remove proper magnet spheres from the US market for all ages, in all states, is still disproportionately irrational regulation championed by unelected regulators, based on dishonest data and baseless assumptions, to create unclear, ineffectual rules, despite the greatest historical public opposition [to a ban put forward by the CSPC.]"

as they also say, and i truly agree with: "Why can't I, as a responsible adult, purchase proper 5mm magnets for myself?" Good luck getting an answer from anybody on that one. Does that make you sad? Perhaps you should go skiing, or go jump on a trampoline, or go ride a motorcycle to the liquor or gun store instead."

The CSPC decided to ban these because they are a deadly hazard to children if they swallow them... so because people cannot be good parents, the government has to parent for them, and while they are doing so ruin a great, amazing thing for plenty of other people. people who love these do amazing things with them. they make beautiful geometric sculptures that inspire artists and photographers alike. and they are banning them because people can't parent their children.

this is also ridiculous becuase you can get industrial magnets that can break your fingers if your not carefull, with no sort of regulation on purchasing them from companies like K&J magnetics (which i also support, check them out if you ever need neodymium magnets) so the fact that they are banning magnets spheres just becuase they are sold in sets is all the more ridiculous.

but there is hope! zen magnets is definitely fighting this battle, and if we can support them they likely will win, but they need help. their business has been forced to change due to the laws, and so now they are selling "compliance magnets", much smaller than zen magnets, but they are just as much fun. i can attest to the fact that these are addictive: i have 6 sets of full size zen magnets and i plan on getting the pack of 1728 micromagnets. so please, to save one of my hobbies (and possibly create a new one for you) buy some of these, they're tons of fun and you'll be supporting a small company going against "government tyranny."

you can preorder them here: Compliance MicroMagnets

i truly love these magnets and it would destroy me to see them totally banned, so it would be great if some of you guys could support zen magnets in this fight, and buy these fun little toys (really, they're tons of fun, even if you don't care about the legal battle, i highly recommend them).

i swear this isn't spam XD

also, please excuse my shitty grammar... i could really care less about it.

ALSO, 300th POST FOR ME!

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Never tried the 2.5mm magnets, but I do have a couple thousand of the 5mm ones, and they are quite fun. Was very very disappointed when several companies that sold them went under or stopped selling them in the US.

They are a PERFECT desk toy. If you're on occasion stuck on long conference calls, I suggest grabbing a set, and having some fun.

Haven't touched them in a while, but here are a few results, tons and tons of videos of some amazing builds with them on youtube also;

Magnets by InfinitusEquitas | Photobucket

 

[micheal rosen]

Never tried the 2.5mm magnets, but I do have a couple thousand of the 5mm ones, and they are quite fun. Was very very disappointed when several companies that sold them went under or stopped selling them in the US.

They are a PERFECT desk toy. If you're on occasion stuck on long conference calls, I suggest grabbing a set, and having some fun.

Haven't touched them in a while, but here are a few results, tons and tons of videos of some amazing builds with them on youtube also;

Magnets by InfinitusEquitas | Photobucket

nice! you should definitely give zen magnets a try. i have both buckyballs and zen magnets, and i can tell you that the zen magnets are just much higher quality. the plating doesn't fall off (its a rather thick plating), and the magnets have a higher geometric tolerance, therefore they make shapes more perfectly (hexagons are more flat etc...) they are really, really nice.

 

[VisibleGreen]

I've been subscribed to their email notices so I'm aware of the crap they've been putting up with. All because stupid parents let their underage kids play with them. It's a shame.

 

[Laser Chick]

Noooo ... look away, look away, I don't need a new hobby! Whenever I go to a rock and mineral store I always find myself screwing around with magnetic hematite stones. They are fun.
Anyways, I am sorry to see that big brother is stepping all over your joy. That sucks!!
@ InfinitusEquitas, I checked out your link. Bust out laughing when I saw your skulls Nice work

 

[micheal rosen]

Noooo ... look away, look away, I don't need a new hobby! Whenever I go to a rock and mineral store I always find myself screwing around with magnetic hematite stones. They are fun.
Anyways, I am sorry to see that big brother is stepping all over your joy. That sucks!!
@ InfinitusEquitas, I checked out your link. Bust out laughing when I saw your skulls Nice work

then buy the set of 432 and never have to restrain yourself again! *hint hint, nudge nudge BUY IT, BUY IT!!!!*

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Noooo ... look away, look away, I don't need a new hobby!

Don't resist. They are quite fun, and unlike lasers, it's not likely you'll end up needing more than a couple thousand

 

[H2Oxide]

Oh I remember these!

I was about to get a few, but then I saw that they had been banned.
Never really looked any deeper, but I agree, just because you are an irresponsible parent doesn't mean you should be able to wreck something for responsible people.

The emotionless raw logic side of me says that maybe if you're so bad at parenting that you give your child something potentially deadly then maybe you should be out of the gene pool... ¯\(°_o)/¯

EDIT: IIRC United Nuclear still sells small neodymium magnetic spheres for like $1 a piece.

 

[crazyspaz]

I still see a lot for sale online for cheap. I have some at home, but I think I will go ahead and buy more. They are terrifically fun for what they are
Ooh i just found square variants as well. Neat.

 

[joeybab3]

I remember buckyballs git banned, but i thought it would end there .. sad to hear

 

[TheDukeAnumber1]

and the magnets have a higher geometric tolerance, therefore they make shapes more perfectly (hexagons are more flat etc...) they are really, really nice.

You mean "lower tolerance" :na:


I've thought these would be a fun desk toy, but I would want a couple thousand like IE, and the times I looked up what a couple thousand cost I just couldn't pull the trigger.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

You mean "lower tolerance" :na:


I've thought these would be a fun desk toy, but I would want a couple thousand like IE, and the times I looked up what a couple thousand cost I just couldn't pull the trigger.

For 5mm, couple of thousand can be had for around $200. Not cheap by any means but not super expensive either, and 2000 of them is really quite a lot. I admittedly went a bit overboard.

 

[Dr_Evil]

This is what I have. I got both types through Woot when they had them 2 for a price slightly higher than 1 would go for at the time.

 

[micheal rosen]

oh fine, ill post what i have:



6 sets of 216 zen magnets on the left (these are far superior to buckyballs, i'm not being biased) and 5 sets of 216 buckyballs on the right (you can see how the hexagons do not lay flat because of the poor geometric tolerance).

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

(you can see how the hexagons do not lay flat because of the poor geometric tolerance).

I know exactly what you mean. While the tolerances of buckyballs were not great, they were still step up above what you can order direct from china for about $10/216. One of the things I regret was mixing them all up together. It makes some of the more complicated designs infuriatingly tough to do, as you find yourself literally swapping a ball at a time sometimes.

 

[micheal rosen]

You mean "lower tolerance" :na:


I've thought these would be a fun desk toy, but I would want a couple thousand like IE, and the times I looked up what a couple thousand cost I just couldn't pull the trigger.

I know exactly what you mean. While the tolerances of buckyballs were not great, they were still step up above what you can order direct from china for about $10/216. One of the things I regret was mixing them all up together. It makes some of the more complicated designs infuriatingly tough to do, as you find yourself literally swapping a ball at a time sometimes.

yeah. that's why i love the zen magnets. they are almost perfect! there is near no movement in the hexagons, they are almost perfectly flat. once they get back in business, after the defeat the CPSC, you should totally get some. you will enjoy them (just don't mix em with everything!)