Method for manufacturing high-strength titanium alloy golf club head part

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a high-strength titanium alloy golf club head part includes making at least one golf club head part with a titanium alloy. The golf club head part is then heated to a temperature higher than a critical temperature of generating martensite and maintained above the critical temperature not more than thirty minutes. The golf club head part is then cooled to a temperature below the critical temperature at a cooling rate higher than 10° C. / s. Next, the golf club head part is heated to a heat-treatment temperature higher than 450° C. and maintained at the heat-treatment temperature at least one hour. The golf club head part is then cooled to room temperature. The mechanical characteristics of a golf club head formed by the golf club head part are enhanced.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head part and, more particularly, to a method for manufacturing at least one golf club head part with a high-strength titanium alloy and then processing the golf club head part with several heat-treating processes to enhance the hardness and other mechanical characteristics.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]The primary aim in the golf area is to increase the moment of inertia of the golf clubs for enhancing the striking characteristics. An increase in the overall volume of a golf club is inevitable when the moment of inertia is increased, resulting in a large-size golf club head. However, the overall weight of the golf club head must be kept in a range such that the materials for the golf club head must be light metal with excellent mechanical characteristics and excellent ductility.[0005]Conventional golf clubs are made of stainless steel su...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a golf club head part by making at least one golf club head part, heating the golf club head part to a temperature higher than a critical temperature and maintaining the golf club head part above the critical temperature for a period of time, cooling the golf club head part at an appropriate cooling rate, and heat-treating the golf club head part, enhancing the mechanical characteristics of the titanium alloy.

[0010]The secondary object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a golf club head part whose mechanical characteristics are enhanced by heating, cooling, and heat treating such that the method of the present invention can be utilized to manufacture large-size golf club heads with high moment of inertia.

[0011]A method for manufacturing a high-strength titanium alloy golf club head part according to the preferred teachings of the present invention includes making at least one golf club head part with a titanium alloy. The golf club head part is then heated to a temperature higher than a critical temperature of generating martensite and maintained above the critical temperature not more than thirty minutes. The golf club head part is then cooled to a temperature below the critical temperature at a cooling rate higher than 10° C. / s. Next, the golf club head part is heated to a heat-treatment temperature higher than 450° C. and maintained at the heat-treatment temperature for 1-8 hours. The golf club head part is then cooled to room temperature. The mechanical characteristics of a golf club head formed by the golf club head part are enhanced.

Problems solved by technology

However, the stainless steel has a large density and low strength such that the wall of the resultant golf club head of stainless steel must have a certain thickness to meet the strength requirements.

However, in actual use, the striking accuracy and stability are reduced if the golf club head is too heavy, leading to limitation to the volume of the golf club head made of stainless steel.

However, the mechanical characteristics such as hardness, tensile strength, and yield strength of titanium alloys are inferior to those of stainless steel such that the mechanical characteristics of the golf club heads made of titanium alloys are inferior to those of the golf club heads made of stainless steel, although the golf club heads made of titanium alloys are lighter.

Furthermore, titanium alloy SP700, though having the best mechanical characteristics among currently commercially available titanium alloys, is much expensive than others such as Ti-6Al-4V alloy, Ti-5Al-4V alloy, etc.

As a result, the costs for manufacturing golf club heads are largely increased.

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