Golf Club Head Co-Casting With Internal Stress-Reducing Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing golf club heads do not effectively reduce stress on the striking face section during impact with a golf ball while minimizing mass increase.
Innovation Solution
A method of manufacturing a golf club head with stress-reducing stiffening members, such as a plate or solid rods, co-cast with the body using a wax-welding process, which connects the crown portion to the sole portion via a hollow interior, positioned proximate to the striking face section without contacting it, to distribute stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If interior structures are added to reduce stress on the striking face section, then stress reduction and ball speed improve, but the mass of the golf club head increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs thin plate-like interior structures (0.020-0.160 inch thickness) that act as flexible stress-distributing elements within the club head. These thin plates connect the crown and sole sections, providing stress reduction while maintaining minimal mass addition due to their slender profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes composite construction by integrating interior stress-reducing structures (made from materials like stainless steel, titanium, or nickel alloys) within the broader golf club head structure. This composite approach allows optimization of each component's material properties to achieve both stress reduction and weight control.
2Stress or pressure
If interior structures are added to reduce stress, then manufacturing complexity increases, but stress reduction is achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple manufacturing operations into an integrated co-casting process. The interior stress-reducing structures are cast simultaneously with the main club head body in a single operation, eliminating the need for separate manufacturing and assembly steps, thereby reducing overall manufacturing complexity despite the added structural features.
Solution Approach 2:
The wax patterns for interior structures are prepared and positioned within the mold cavity before the final casting process. This preliminary positioning of internal features during pattern making ensures that the complex interior structures are already in place before metal injection, simplifying the actual casting operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method reduces stress on the striking face section during impact, enhancing ball speed without significantly increasing the golf club head's mass, thereby improving performance.
Implementation Method 1
bonding the plate to the body with an adhesive material to form a combined wax mold
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a golf club head with a plurality of stiffening members proximate the face, and particularly solid rods or a plate with one or more cutouts, is disclosed herein. The method includes the steps of preparing a wax of a golf club head body having at least one through-hole, a hollow interior, and at least one receiving pocket, preparing waxes of one or more stiffening members, inserting the wax of the stiffening members into the through-hole and seating its opposite end in the receiving pocket, bonding each of the stiffening members to the body with an adhesive material to form a combined wax mold, and casting a golf club head from the combined wax mold.