Composite Shaft Variable Fiber Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing composite shafts constructed from multiple plies with fixed fiber orientations face challenges in achieving variable fiber angles along the shaft length, leading to increased complexity, weight, and uneven thickness distribution, which compromises their structural integrity and weight efficiency, particularly in golf club equipment.
Innovation Solution
The method involves preparing a sheet of prepreg material, deforming it into segments with varying offsets to create a single composite flag with fiber orientations that change along the shaft axis, allowing for 0° at the tip end for high bending stiffness and 30° at the butt end for increased circumferential strength, using a table with parallel bars to enforce incremental offsets and cutting a trapezoidal flag for sheet wrapping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If multiple plies with fixed fiber orientations are used to construct composite shafts, then structural integrity can be maintained, but the shaft weight increases and fabrication complexity increases due to overlap requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple plies into a single continuous ply with variable fiber orientation. Instead of layering multiple separate plies that require overlapping, the invention uses one continuous ply whose fiber angle varies along the shaft length, eliminating the need for overlaps and reducing weight while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by varying the fiber orientation angle at different positions along the shaft. The fiber angle is optimized locally: 0° at the tip end for bending stiffness and 30° at the butt end for circumferential strength, allowing each section to have the optimal fiber orientation for its specific stress conditions.
2Strength
If multiple plies with fixed fiber orientations are used to construct composite shafts, then structural integrity can be maintained, but device complexity increases due to the sheet wrapping process and overlap configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines multiple plies into a single continuous ply, simplifying the fabrication process. Instead of managing multiple separate plies with different orientations and their associated overlaps, the single ply approach reduces the number of components and simplifies the sheet wrapping operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary action by pre-forming the single ply with the desired variable fiber orientation profile before wrapping. The fiber orientation is established in advance during ply fabrication, so that when the ply is wrapped around the mandrel, the correct orientation is already in place, eliminating the need for complex in-process orientation adjustments.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple plies with fixed fiber orientations are used to construct composite shafts, then different fiber orientations can be achieved at different shaft sections, but thickness distribution becomes uneven due to overlap regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves different fiber orientations at different shaft sections using a single continuous ply with spatially varying fiber angle. This local quality approach allows the fiber orientation to be tailored to each section's requirements (0° at tip, 30° at butt) without creating overlap regions that would cause thickness non-uniformity.
Data Source
AI summary
A composite shaft formed from a single flag of composite material having variable fiber orientation, and methods of forming said shaft, are disclosed herein.