Wheel has 83 custom mechanical parts, made out of stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminium, ptfe, polycarbonate, polyamide, nickel, lead, hard paper (pertinax), copper, wood, bronze, vinyl, rubber, acrylate, neoprene, pla and hpl. Did I mention wood?
These parts are supported with 131 bolts, screws, washers, bushings, spacers, a surprising amount of magnets, a few springs, various greases, adhesives, tapes, cables and you might remember flexinol. Not counting the 5 custom printed circuit boards filled with top notch components, or the packaging and documentation, tools, accessories and all that's needed to ship it out to you.
Almost all custom parts are pressed, heated, milled, turned, stamped, vacuumed, molded, mechanically or laser cut or 3d printed. Some are purchased, but most is done in house. A lot of parts are produced and on the shelves in large quantities, in production or in stock. Some parts are made in smaller quantities and will be synchronously produced along with assembly.
Klikplaat
One of the most complicated pieces of Wheel. The klikplaat (click plate) contains the second free floating magnetic bearing in Wheel, surrounding the stick. Its built-in click system gently but firmly keeps your record in place, without adding strain or resonance.
Development of this particular assembly has been a challenge, because it performs critical mechanical functions in a very constrained space. The clickers are made of super strong polycarbonate, freely hinging in a metal enclosure, pushed outward by an extra pair of magnets.
It took us at least fifty incarnations to simplify the design to a part count of 14. Despite its small size it is foolproof, indestructible and will reliably function in your Wheel for years to come!
With all these great parts in place and within specs, finetuning assembly is what makes or breaks the quality of Wheel. We only have one shot to do it right, and despite our optimism, energy and total dedication, this process takes time. As excruciating as that is, to you and to us, we will take the time that's needed. But we're so damn close!
We can't express how much we appreciate your patience, and can't wait to reward you with a wonderful machine, built with spirit and passion.
Hold on!
Peter Kolkman and the Miniot team
Below is a glimpse of Wheel's innards. Patents pending so not too much detail, but a general impression.
