Little Paul - #
Have you ever watched a video and thought "now there's a skill I need to learn" and started looking to buy yet more props you don't need?
https://youtu.be/U6tl_oJpkvo
Yeah, well... I now need a cotton candy/candy floss machine
been there... even found fellow jugglers who said they would participate in buying a candy cotton machine for research purposes... luckily we all forgot about it... until you reminded me that i still need a cotton candy machine... i am not sure weather to thank or curse you
make your own:
There are many how-tos around teh interwebz, it's basically just something hot and something spinny and some coloured/flavoured sugar
we call it candy floss here rather than cotton candy ... unless you're really young and brought up on too much US telly/movies/etc
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
I have worked with 2 different candy cotton machines, and our team has often wondered how these foreign machines work.. This is not like any candy cotton machine you see in the western world! Where the normal machines have a spinning bit that slings cotton to the sides of the bowl, this one launches the cotton upwards which allows you to catch it earlier on, pull out long strings, divide the cotton better over your sticks.. Does anyone know how this works? We've searched where to get such machines, but without success.
Another effect that can be achieved with such machines:
https://youtu.be/o6Sl5TUCPJU
Little Paul - - Parent #
I spent some time researching this last night, and I didn't get anywhere concrete.
However, I did find some instructions from various commercial machines which describe leather "floaters" attached to the head which appear to act to provide an updraught. The instructions I found suggested that adjusting the angle on these floaters is required to get it to collect neatly in the centre of the wall of the bowl.
I suspect that further adjustment of these (or some modification of them) along with an increase in the speed of the head could well get the candy to stream upwards as seen in these videos.
Perhaps I should hire one for a weekend and see what I can make it do.
The biggest downside would be that I really don't like eating the stuff!
Little Paul - - Parent #
No sooner do I post that, than I find https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162048695536
The large version of the image has enough detail on the head to show how they work. There are two angled blades at the base of the head which force air up past the head so the floss collects above it.
It's a pretty good price as well.
There's an interesting article on BBC Future today about candy floss machines being used to create a framework for artificial tissues to be grown in.
I have a domestic candy-floss machine in the kitchen, but its output is quite disapointing (though better than the hand-held children's machines you used to be able to buy). I prefer the the French name for candy-floss - Barbe à papa.
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
I do not understand how it works, but it is definitely looks completely different from the ones I worked with.
Also, that price is insanely cheap. By googling around I found many more cheap ones, but the ones we use cost over €1000! I wonder if it is any good and if there are better ones that can produce the floss faster...
Daniel Simu - - Parent #
Oh btw, the leather floaters: Our machines have them too. But there is no way to direct the floss upwards with them.. The speed of the head makes the cotton fly outwards very fast. Perhaps you can push the cotton down or up a bit by adjusting the floaters, but you can't make it take a 90degree turn and push the cotton through a tiny hole, as these videos show...
In slightly related news, I've just bought myself four more Dapostars so people can have a play at Bungay. I've been getting some success over the last few months developing body moves and tricks and I'd like to see what others come up with. There's certainly some potential there especially if you've ever played with a hat, spinning ball or frisbee.
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