Golf Ball Mold Support Pin Deflection Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional golf ball molds face issues with support pin deflection and abrasion, leading to uneven flash, contamination, and reduced mold life, which affect the quality and cost of the golf balls produced.
Innovation Solution
The golf ball mold design incorporates support pins with a guide body of larger cross-section and strategically sized gaps to minimize pin deflection and abrasion, allowing for stable molding and extended mold life without the need for separate gas-venting pins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If support pins are extended into the cavity to support the center sphere, then the center sphere is properly supported during molding, but the support pins are subjected to excessive forces causing deflection and shifting
Solution Approach 1:
The support pin is divided into two distinct parts: a pin body that contacts the center sphere and a guide body that fits into the mold body. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function - the pin body provides support while the guide body maintains positional accuracy and prevents deflection.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide body acts as an intermediary between the pin body and the mold body. It transfers the supporting function while the mold body's guide portion provides guidance and constraint, preventing the support pin from deflecting or shifting during the molding process.
2Strength
If support pins are made rigid to prevent deflection, then pin stability improves, but abrasion between the pin and pin insertion hole increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the support pin have different properties: the pin body is designed for rigidity and support function, while the guide body is designed for smooth movement and minimal abrasion. The guide body's larger cross-section and interaction with the guide portion create a smoother interface that reduces friction and contamination.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the gap between support pin and pin insertion hole is increased to reduce abrasion, then contamination decreases, but material entry becomes concentrated causing uneven flash
Solution Approach 1:
The solution moves from a single-dimension gap control to a two-dimensional approach by introducing the guide body with larger cross-section. This creates a different geometric relationship between the moving pin and the stationary mold body, allowing for optimized gap distribution that prevents both excessive abrasion and uneven material entry.
4Reliability
If separate gas-venting pins are added to improve gas discharge, then molding quality improves, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide body serves multiple functions: it guides the pin body, prevents deflection, reduces abrasion, and simultaneously provides gas discharge pathways. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate gas-venting pins while maintaining or improving molding quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas discharge function is merged into the guide body structure. The interaction between the guide body and guide portion creates inherent gaps that serve as gas vents, combining the guidance and gas discharge functions into a single integrated component.
Data Source
AI summary
A golf ball mold body having a plurality of mold parts with a parting surface defining a parting line along an equator and removably mating to form a cavity having an inner wall with dimple-forming protrusions, and a support pin extendable into and retractable from the cavity, the support pin extending into the cavity to support a center sphere. An end face of the support pin defines a portion of the cavity inner wall when the support pin is retracted. The support pin has a shape satisfying certain conditions, and the support pin and mold body have a gap therebetween set within a specific range. The invention minimizes formation of uneven flash caused by deflection or shifting of support pins, appearance defects caused by damage to the cavity inner wall and contamination by rubbing debris, and the life of the mold is extended.