Shufflers

[Buckyinsc]

I will never cease to be amazed at what you can find on the internet. It is functionally the same but the one in your link looks better.

Thanks for the link.

[kodonnell]

My criteria going in was this:

1) Continuously shuffles (no reloading like the cheapo models).
2) Small footprint, possibly an under-table model.
3) Never, ever, ever munches or damages cards.
4) Effectively randomizes the deck (which the cheapo model fails miserably).
5) Retails no more than $150.

With the design I have now, I am thinking more around $100 unless something comes up like expensive parts or supplies.

[snoopdawg]

Is there any kind of rough estimation of a completion date?

[DeepRed300]

I bought an automatic shuffler when I bought my chip set. The kids like it, but the regulars knicknamed it the "Shuffle Weasel". Needless to say, we don't use it. We use two decks and let the next dealer shuffle.

However, the name lives on. The first one to bust out in a tournament game gets to shuffle and is proclaimed the Shuffle Weasel.

[kodonnell]

No completion date right now. I have been working on it for several months now and have started over a couple times already....not an easy nut to crack getting a machine to randomize cards without destroying them.

I am hoping to get a working prototype completed by December, then getting some of those out for user testing shortly thereafter. I will make an announcement here when I start looking for people to test it....stay tuned. Hopefully before the beginning of next year.

[KenProspero]

Just curious, will your machine handle 'poker' sized cards, 'bridge' sized cards or either?

[kodonnell]

If everything works as expected, it will handle both

[snoopdawg]

I will test it out when the time comes.

[TomHimself]

[ QUOTE ]
I will test it out when the time comes.

[/ QUOTE ]we see about that

[kodonnell]

For those of you who do not know, I am developing a shuffler which fills the void between the "gift shop" shufflers, and the casino shufflers. I have been developing this for the past year or so and now have a device which will continuously shuffle a deck by turning knobs and pulling levers manually. Still not very practical though.

I am at a point now where I need to make a decision on which way to go and would like some input.

My choices are to go electronic or not. An electronic shuffler would be something to the effect of put the cards in, hit a button, and 30 seconds to a minute later a fully shuffled deck of cards emerge. The other choice is a mechanical version where the operator continuously operates the shuffler using simple mechanics i.e. moving a lever back and forth or moving the ends apart and back together repeatedly. Basically the machine would be powered by the user.

There are clear advantages to both. The mechanical version would not take any batteries or need to be plugged in. The electronic version would be more expensive (probably by about $150-$200) and require a power source. However, the power source could easily be from rechargable batteries.

So my question to you is:
Mechanical or Electronic?

So you have a little more info, my retail price goals are:
Mechanical $100-$150
Electronic $250-$400