Composite Golf Club Face with Variable Thickness Core
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing use of prepreg plies for golf club face construction is time-consuming, expensive, and wasteful, as creating variable thickness patterns requires manual orientation and results in high scrap rates.
Innovation Solution
A composite material comprising prepreg plies and a variable thickness core material, such as sheet molding compound or metal, which is permanently sandwiched between the plies to create a composition with a variable thickness pattern, allowing for custom molding or adhesive affixation to the golf club head, enabling efficient production of golf club parts with specific or continuously variable thicknesses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If prepreg plies are used to create variable thickness patterns, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates and loss of time increases due to manual orientation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the face construction into separate components: a base layer of prepreg plies and a separate variable thickness insert made from sheet molding compound. This segmentation allows the insert to be pre-formed with complex thickness patterns using automated molding, then integrated with the prepreg plies, thereby improving productivity while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The variable thickness insert acts as an intermediary component between the prepreg plies and the final face structure. It provides the complex thickness pattern that would be difficult to achieve directly with prepreg plies, while the prepreg plies provide structural integrity, combining the advantages of both materials.
2Manufacturing precision
If prepreg plies are used for face construction, then manufacturing precision is improved, but cost increases due to expensive materials and high scrap rates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameter for the variable thickness portion from expensive prepreg plies to more cost-effective sheet molding compound. This parameter change reduces material cost and allows for automated molding processes that reduce scrap rates, while still achieving the required precision through the molding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure combining prepreg plies with sheet molding compound insert. This composite approach allows each material to be used where it is most effective and cost-efficient, with the sheet molding compound providing the variable thickness geometry and the prepreg plies providing structural reinforcement.
3Strength
If variable thickness patterns are created with prepreg plies, then structural integrity is improved, but loss of substance increases due to high scrap rates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the face into a structural base layer (prepreg plies) and a geometry-defining insert (sheet molding compound), the invention allows the insert to be optimized for minimal material usage while maintaining the required thickness pattern, reducing waste compared to using expensive prepreg plies throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
Changing the material for the variable thickness portion to sheet molding compound enables more efficient material utilization through automated molding processes, reducing scrap rates compared to manual prepreg ply handling, while the structural integrity is maintained through the composite construction.
Data Source
AI summary
A novel material comprising collections of prepreg plies and a variable thickness core material such as sheet molding compound or metal, methods of forming said material, and golf clubs comprising said material are disclosed herein. Golf club heads having faces made of multiple materials, including a composite layer at least partially sandwiched between two metal layers, are also disclosed herein.