Golf club head alloy and method for manufacturing golf club head of alloy

Abstract

The invention provides a golf club head alloy which is used for solving the problem that an existing golf club head alloy is insufficient in strength. The high-strength aluminum alloy comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 12-13% of chromium, 3-4% of nickel, 1-2% of silicon, 0.5-1% of manganese, 0.5-1.5% of molybdenum, 0.05-0.15% of carbon and the balance of iron. The invention further comprises a method for manufacturing a golf club head from the alloy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a golf club head alloy, in particular to a golf club head alloy with high strength, and a method for manufacturing a golf club head using the alloy. Background Art

[0002] Steel is widely used as a material for forming golf club heads because of its good strength, corrosion resistance and heat resistance. However, the strength of golf club heads made of existing steel is still unable to bear the hitting force of the user.

[0003] In view of this, the existing golf club head alloys still need to be improved. Summary of the invention

[0004] To solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head alloy, which can make the golf club head made of the golf club head alloy have better strength.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a golf club head, which can use the alloy to manufacture a golf club head with better strength.

[0006] The elements and components described throughout the present invention use the quantifiers "a" or "an" for convenience only and to provide a general meaning of the scope of the present invention; they should be interpreted in the present invention as including one or at least one, and a single concept also includes plural cases, unless it is obvious that it means otherwise.

[0007] The golf club head alloy of the present invention comprises, by weight percentage, 12-13% chromium, 3-4% nickel, 1-2% silicon, 0.5-1% manganese, 0.5-1.5% molybdenum, 0.05-0.15% carbon and the balance of iron.

[0008] The golf club head manufacturing method of the present invention comprises: making a golf club head with the golf club head alloy; performing a solid solution treatment on the golf club head at 1020-1080° C. for 80-100 minutes; performing a deep cryogenic treatment on the golf club head after the solid solution treatment at -120--70° C. for 7-9 hours; and performing an aging treatment on the golf club head after the deep cryogenic treatment at 430-470° C. for 210-270 minutes.

[0009] Therefore, the golf club head alloy of the present invention, through the above-mentioned metal composition ratio, makes silicon occupy a specific proportion, thereby improving the hardness and strength of ferrite and austenite in the golf club head alloy, and further makes the golf club head made of the golf club head alloy have better mechanical properties, which has the effect of improving the quality of the club head. In addition, the golf club head manufacturing method of the present invention, through the golf club head alloy, and after solid solution treatment, deep cryogenic treatment and aging treatment, can improve the mechanical properties of the golf club head, and can achieve the effect of having a good hitting feel.

[0010] The golf club head alloy contains 12.4-12.8% chromium by weight, so that the alloy steel has better corrosion resistance and rust resistance, and avoids the effect of reducing the strength of the alloy due to excessive chromium metal.

[0011] The golf club head alloy contains 3.4-3.8% nickel by weight, which makes the alloy steel have better corrosion resistance to acids and alkalis, as well as rust resistance and heat resistance.

[0012] The golf club head alloy contains 1.5-2.0% silicon by weight, so as to improve the yield strength of the alloy and avoid the effect of reducing the hardness and yield strength of the golf club head due to adding too much silicon.

[0013] The golf club head alloy contains 0.8-1.2% molybdenum by weight, which has the effect of improving the corrosion resistance of the alloy.

[0014] The golf club head alloy contains 12.4-12.8% chromium, 3.4-3.8% nickel, 1.5-2.0% silicon and 0.8-1.2% molybdenum by weight. Thus, the golf club head made of the golf club head alloy can have better mechanical properties and improve the quality of the club head.

[0015] The solution treatment is performed at 1040°C for 90 minutes, followed by a cryogenic treatment at -73°C for 8 hours, and then an aging treatment is performed at 450°C for 240 minutes. In this way, the alloy of the golf club head can precipitate small particles of evenly distributed carbides, which can further improve the strength and toughness of the golf club head.

[0016] The tensile strength of the golf club head is 231-240 Ksi, the yield strength is 187-192 Ksi, and the hardness is 47-48 HRC. Thus, the golf club head can have better impact resistance, is not easy to break, and has good strength. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 : 50X metallographic image of the golf club head of the present invention after solution treatment, cryogenic treatment and aging treatment;

[0018] Figure 2 : 500X metallographic image of the golf club head of the present invention after solution treatment, cryogenic treatment and aging treatment.

[0019] Description of Reference Numerals

[0020] 1: Mandrel

[0021] H: Semi-finished shaft. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are listed below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings; in addition, those marked with the same symbols in different drawings are regarded as the same and their descriptions are omitted.

[0023] A preferred embodiment of the golf club head alloy of the present invention comprises chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), silicon (Si), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), carbon (C), a balanced amount of iron (Fe) and inevitable impurities. Thus, the golf club head alloy can be formed into an alloy steel, and the golf club head alloy can be formed into a club head body or a striking plate of a golf club head, which is not limited by the present invention.

[0024] Specifically, the golf club head alloy contains 12-13% chromium, 3-4% nickel, 1-2% silicon, 0.5-1% manganese, 0.5-1.5% molybdenum, 0.05-0.15% carbon and a balance of iron by weight. Among them, chromium metal is an important metal element that determines the properties of alloy steel, which can make the alloy steel have better corrosion resistance and rust resistance. However, too much chromium metal will cause the alloy to decrease in strength. In one embodiment, the alloy can contain 12.4-12.8% chromium by weight.

[0025] Nickel can improve the strength of alloy steel and keep the alloy steel with good plasticity and toughness. Nickel can also make the alloy steel have better corrosion resistance to acids and alkalis, as well as rust resistance and heat resistance. In one embodiment, the golf club head alloy can contain 3.4-3.8% nickel by weight.

[0026] Silicon can improve the hardness and strength of austenite in the alloy, that is, adding silicon can improve the yield strength of the alloy. It is worth noting that martensite can make stainless steel have good hardness and toughness. Adding too much silicon will reduce the formation of martensite in the alloy, thereby causing the hardness and yield strength of the golf club head to decrease. Therefore, the golf club head alloy preferably contains 1.5-2.0% silicon by weight. In addition, manganese and carbon are added to the golf club head alloy to stabilize the formation of austenite, and the addition of molybdenum can improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Therefore, in one embodiment, the golf club head alloy can contain 0.8-1.2% molybdenum by weight. Therefore, in another embodiment, the golf club head alloy can contain 12.4-12.8% chromium, 3.4-3.8% nickel, 1.5-2.0% silicon, 0.5-1% manganese, 0.8-1.2% molybdenum, 0.05-0.15% carbon and a balance of iron by weight.

[0027] The golf club head alloy of the present invention can be used to manufacture a golf club head, or to manufacture a part of the golf club head, which is not limited by the present invention. For example, the golf club head alloy can be pressed to form a plurality of alloy ingots, and the plurality of alloy ingots can be melted to form an alloy rod, so that the alloy rod can be forged to form a golf club head. Alternatively, the plurality of alloy ingots can be melted and then cast to form the golf club head, which is not limited by the present invention.

[0028] The golf club head is then subjected to a post-treatment step, which includes a solution treatment at 1020-1080°C for 80-100 minutes. The solution treatment allows several phases in the alloy to dissolve into the solid solution of the alloy, which not only improves the strength of the alloy, but also helps to improve the subsequent heat treatment effect. The golf club head after the solution treatment is subjected to a cryogenic treatment at -120--70°C for 7-9 hours. Preferably, the golf club head after the solution treatment can be cooled to room temperature before the cryogenic treatment. The cryogenic treatment can promote the transformation of the residual austenite in the golf club head into martensite to improve the strength of the golf club head. The golf club head after the cryogenic treatment is subjected to an aging treatment at 430-470°C for 210-270 minutes.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2As shown, the metallographic diagram of the golf club head alloy can show that the above post-treatment steps can make the alloy of the golf club head precipitate small particles and evenly distributed carbides, which can further improve the strength and toughness of the golf club head. In another embodiment, the golf club head can be subjected to the solution treatment at 1040°C for 90 minutes, then subjected to a deep cold treatment at -73°C for 8 hours, and then subjected to an aging treatment at 450°C for 240 minutes. In this way, the golf club head can have a tensile strength of 231-240Ksi, a yield strength of 187-192Ksi, and a hardness of 47-48HRC.

[0030] In order to confirm that the alloy composition of the golf club head of the present invention does have good strength, the mechanical properties of the existing alloy steel (Group 1) and the alloy steel of the present invention (Groups 2 and 3) shown in Table 1 were measured after being solution treated at 1040°C for 90 minutes, cryogenically treated at -73°C for 8 hours, and aging treated at 450°C for 240 minutes. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0031] Table 1. Composition ratio of each group of golf club head alloys in this test (weight percentage)

[0032] Group Cr Ni Si Mn Mo C Fe 1 14.5 3.5 0.4 0.5 2.0 0.1 Balance 2 12 3 1 0.5 0.5 0.05 Balance 3 13 4 2 1 1.5 0.15 Balance

[0033] Table 2 Mechanical properties of each alloy group

[0034] Group Tensile Strength(ksi) Submission Strength (ksi) Hardness (HRC) 1 214.4 173.8 44 2 231.4 187.4 47.5 3 235.7 188.7 47.9

[0035] According to the above test results, the tensile strength, yield strength and hardness of the golf club heads made of the golf club head alloy of the present invention (Groups 2 and 3) are all higher than those of the golf club heads made of the existing alloy steel (Group 1), indicating that the golf club heads made of the golf club head alloy of the present invention do have high strength.

[0036] In addition, the striking panels made of the existing alloy steel and the striking panels made of the golf club head alloy of the present invention were subjected to bombardment tests. The striking panels of the existing alloy steel with an average thickness of 2.25 mm can withstand 9,400 bombardments without breaking. In contrast, the striking panels made of the golf club head alloy of the present invention with an average thickness of 2.15 mm can also withstand 9,400 bombardments without breaking. This shows that the striking panels made of the golf club head alloy of the present invention have better strength. Therefore, under the same hitting force, the thickness can be further reduced compared to the striking panels made of the existing alloy steel, thereby achieving the effect of lightweight and low manufacturing cost.

Claims

1. A golf club head alloy, characterized in that: The invention comprises, by weight percentage, 12-13% chromium, 3-4% nickel, 1-2% silicon, 0.5-1% manganese, 0.5-1.5% molybdenum, 0.05-0.15% carbon and the balance of iron.

2. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, wherein: The golf club head alloy contains 12.4-12.8 weight percent chromium.

3. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, wherein: The golf club head alloy contains 3.4-3.8 weight percent nickel.

4. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, wherein: The golf club head alloy contains 1.5-2.0% silicon by weight.

5. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, wherein: The golf club head alloy contains 0.8-1.2 weight percent of molybdenum.

6. The golf club head alloy according to claim 1, wherein: The golf club head alloy contains 12.4-12.8% chromium, 3.4-3.8% nickel, 1.5-2.0% silicon and 0.8-1.2% molybdenum by weight.

7. A method for manufacturing a golf club head, characterized in that: include: A golf club head made of the golf club head alloy according to any one of claims 1 to 6; The golf club head is subjected to a solution treatment at 1020-1080° C. for 80-100 minutes; The golf club head after the solution treatment is subjected to a deep cryogenic treatment at -120 to -70°C for 7 to 9 hours; and The golf club head after the cryogenic treatment is subjected to aging treatment at 430 to 470° C. for 210 to 270 minutes.

8. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 7, wherein: After the solution treatment was performed at 1040°C for 90 minutes, a cryogenic treatment was performed at -73°C for 8 hours, and an aging treatment was performed at 450°C for 240 minutes.

9. The method for manufacturing a golf club head according to claim 7, wherein: The golf club head has a tensile strength of 231-240 Ksi, a yield strength of 187-192 Ksi, and a hardness of 47-48 HRC.

Images