Inguity Super Precision Gyroscope with Gimbals

This is an overpriced toy. The gyroscope itself is pretty good. It would be much better if the middle section had not been cut out (is brass scrap really worth more than the wear and tear on the tooling?). That would give it more mass which would lead to stronger gyroscopic forces. The motor to spin it up, while clearly a cheap Chinese device, is a great way to spin up the rotor compared to using a traditional piece of string. The spinning gyro does produce some noise. Even good ball bearings are not going to be perfect. The balance of the rotor is also decent. It looks like it was hand balanced by someone. The engineering of the gyroscope rotor and enclosure is, overall, pretty good.Sadly, I can not say the same for the gimbal kit that is included. The base does not use ball bearings and there is no leveling adjustment. Instead, a plastic disk is used. I'm pretty sure it is not PTFE. The ball joint attachments to the various parts of the gimbal set are even worse. They are not low friction by any stretch of the imagination. Not even close. While the rotor does hold a surprising amount of energy, the friction in the gimbal set seriously impedes conducting demonstrations of gyroscopic principles.The workmanship is mostly good. Again, this applies to the gyroscope itself. The extension pieces used for the base and counterweight are flimsy. They seem like hollow tubes rather than solid steel.This would be a great piece of kit for about $100 USD. $250 USD is just too much to ask. I bought this because people on YouTube were attempting to use this gyroscope to reproduce Leon Foucault's experiment where he used a gyroscope (the name was coined by him) to demonstrate the rotation of the earth by dynamic means rather than celestial observations. As it comes out of the box, this gyroscope won't do that. The gimbal friction is just too high.To end on a positive note, I will say that the gyroscope is attractive. Even the gimbal set looks good. This is a nice toy. I do feel compelled to emphasize that it is a toy. Yes, it is much better than the traditional string spun gyroscope. It just doesn't live up to its price point.

An absolutely wonderful product that more than fulfills its promise. I purchased this to illustrate a crucial principle in an online course I teach, and really needed an instrument that was well designed and manufactured, easily reconfigured, and durable. It does indeed spin for fifteen minutes or longer, it is quiet, it is professional. I am a former aerospace executive and mechanical engineer, able to appreciate the thoughtful design of the accessaries. The instructions are excellent, the packaging is elegant but simple. Definitely worth the money. I hesitated for weeks, and even bought a cheaper system (since I had a very small budget for this project) which didn't remotely work. Good job.

Pros:Durable, quiet, spins functionally for about 5 minutes.Good quality bearings and partsGood selection of accessories, makes for a great desktop display item.Cons:<very slightly> unbalanced, resulting in a <slight> vibration felt when spinning at speed.Electric motor is not particularly high quality, and is 'buzzy' once disconnected until it is shut off.It would be a bit more convenient if the motor switch were on the motor rather than the battery pack.Pros outweigh the cons dramatically, my cons are nitpicks. Five stars.

My son is completely thrilled with this gyroscope. He requested the best one I could find, and i think this exceeded his expectations. Now he is thinking of buying a second one.

Works quite well. It has several possible configurations to clearly show the phenomena of Larmor precession and gyroscopic nutation. High friction of gimbal axes (vertical and horizontal) limits the duration of how long these effects can be observed, however, But for a palm-sized gyroscope, this is the best I have seen.

Purchased on the strength of several YouTube videos using this device to prove the Earth is stationary. The electric motor and new batteries will give you all the time you need to make your case.

It does what a gyroscope does. The fancy brackets are overkill. The fun is in setting it on end and watching it magically precess instead of falling over. But it does that particularly well. At full speed, there's so much angular momentum you can put it on the end of a 4 inch stick attachment and it still floats. It's a total indulgence to spend >$200 just to get the experience of a gyroscope - the old pull-string version works fine. But if you enjoy a beautifully crafted object just for it's own sake, this'll make you happy.

really cool precision toy