CN111850424A

CN111850424A - Golf club head alloy material and golf club head

Info

Publication number: CN111850424A
Application number: CN201910360213.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 苏瑞明; 费友仁; 赵志烨
Original assignee: O-Ta Precision Industry Co ltd
Current assignee: O-Ta Precision Industry Co ltd; O Ta Precision Industry Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-04-30
Filing date: 2019-04-30
Publication date: 2020-10-30

Abstract

A golf club head alloy material comprises iron, 12.5 wt% to 16 wt% of chromium, 3.5 wt% to 4.5 wt% of nickel, 2.5 wt% to 3.5 wt% of copper, 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt% of silicon, 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt% of manganese, and 0.15 wt% to 0.45 wt% of molybdenum and niobium in total. The alloy material of the golf club head has good mechanical properties, so that the golf club head has good mechanical properties, meets the requirements of the industry on the golf club head, and can further expand the effective hitting area, reduce the center of gravity of the golf club head and strengthen the hitting panel.

Description

Golf club head alloy material and golf club head

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to golf club heads, and particularly to an alloy material for a golf club head.

Background

The materials currently used for golf clubs are mainly titanium alloys such as 64 titanium alloy, 2041 titanium alloy and 15333, and stainless steels such as 17-4PH stainless steel, 465SS stainless steel, 431SS stainless steel, 450SS stainless steel and 455SS stainless steel.

The head of the golf club may be classified into a wood head, an iron head, and a putter head according to the kind of the golf club. The wood rod is used for opening a first shot, and the shot must be shot far, straight and accurate; in order to enlarge the effective striking area, the head shape of a wood club is becoming larger, and the overall club is becoming lighter, so titanium alloy is generally used as the head material of the wood club. The iron rod is mainly straightened and aligned, so the material of the rod head of the iron rod mainly adopts stainless steel, and the development direction of the rod head of the iron rod is to enlarge the effective hitting area and have high vibration absorption effect. The putter is used for putting the ball of the putting green into the hole, and the putter head needs to control the direction and distance of the ball, so the design needs to make the striking surface not rotate when the putter head is matched with the middle putter, and the putter head is manufactured by using a precision casting or Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) process, and generally using stainless steel as the material.

The design direction of the current golf club head tends to be as follows: large size, low gravity center, low air resistance and concave back type striking plate. By means of large-scale design, the effective hitting area of the club head is increased, so that the successful hitting probability is improved, and the hitting distance is increased. By means of the design of the low gravity center, low air resistance and concave back type hitting panel, stable swing performance and better hitting point position are achieved, so that the torsional inertia is increased, and the hitting distance is increased.

Therefore, in order to achieve the purposes of successful hitting, good hitting point, increased torsional inertia, increased hitting flight angle and the like, the conventional golf club head is designed and manufactured in the direction of enlarging the effective hitting area, lowering the center of gravity of the club head and strengthening the hitting panel. In order to expand the effective striking area, lower the center of gravity of the golf club head and strengthen the striking plate, the golf club head manufactured in mass production at present must have good mechanical properties such as maximum tensile strength, elongation and the like and good corrosion resistance. In terms of mechanical properties, the maximum tensile strength of a wood club head needs to be greater than 100 kilopounds force per square inch (ksi) and elongation is at least 8%, and the maximum tensile strength of an iron club head needs to be greater than 160ksi and elongation is at least 10%; in terms of corrosion resistance, the head passed the salt spray test (5% aqueous sodium chloride solution, test temperature 35 ℃ and test time 72 hours).

Although the current commercial golf club head material can meet the requirements of mechanical properties such as maximum tensile strength, elongation and the like and corrosion resistance, and can expand the effective striking area, reduce the center of gravity of the club head and strengthen the striking plate at the present stage, the properties of the current commercial golf club head material are still limited, and the effective striking area, the center of gravity of the club head and strengthen the striking plate are difficult to further expand.

The background section is provided to aid in understanding the present disclosure, and thus, the disclosure in the background section may include other art that does not constitute a part of the common general knowledge of those skilled in the art. Furthermore, the statements in the "background" section do not represent that matter or the problems identified as being "prior to" or as being known or appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a golf club head alloy material and a golf club head, which have optimized mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the technical features disclosed in the present invention.

In order to achieve one or part or all of the above purposes or other purposes, the invention adopts the technical scheme that the alloy material of the golf club head comprises chromium, nickel, copper, silicon, manganese, molybdenum, niobium and iron. Based on the total weight of the alloy material of the golf club head, the content of chromium is 12.5 weight percent (wt%) to 16 wt%, the content of nickel is 3.5 wt% to 4.5 wt%, the content of copper is 2.5 wt% to 3.5 wt%, the content of silicon is 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt%, the content of manganese is 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt%, and the sum of the content of molybdenum and the content of niobium is 0.15 wt% to 0.45 wt%.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the golf club head alloy material further includes carbon and nitrogen, and the total content of the carbon and the nitrogen is 0.10 wt% to 0.22 wt% based on the total weight of the golf club head alloy material.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the phase composition of the golf club head alloy material includes martensite phase, ferrite phase and austenite phase, and the content of the ferrite phase is 10 wt% to 15 wt% and the content of the austenite phase is 10 wt% to 20 wt% based on the total weight of the golf club head alloy material.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the total content of molybdenum and niobium is 0.25 wt% to 0.45 wt% based on the total weight of the alloy material for a golf club head.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the total content of carbon and nitrogen is 0.10 wt% to 0.20 wt% based on the total weight of the alloy material for a golf club head.

In order to achieve one or part or all of the above purposes or other purposes, the invention adopts the technical scheme that the golf club head is made of the golf club head alloy material.

In the invention, because the alloy material of the golf club head comprises chromium, nickel, copper, silicon, manganese, molybdenum, niobium and iron with specific content ranges, the alloy material of the golf club head can have mechanical properties of the maximum tensile strength of more than 200ksi, the yield strength of more than 180ksi, the elongation of more than 10 percent, the Rockwell hardness of more than HRc 40 and the like, so that the golf club head made of the alloy material of the golf club head can have good mechanical properties, thereby meeting the requirements of the golf club head on expanding the effective striking area, reducing the gravity center of the club head and strengthening the striking panel, further expanding the effective striking area, reducing the gravity center of the club head and strengthening the striking panel.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present invention, and in order to make the technical means of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention may be implemented in accordance with the content of the description, and in order to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the following preferred embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a SEM photograph of the heat-treated alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 at 500 Xmagnification;

FIG. 1B is a SEM photograph of the heat-treated alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 at 1000 Xmagnification;

FIG. 2 is an X-ray diffraction spectrum of the alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 subjected to heat treatment;

FIG. 3A is a transmission electron micrograph (brightfield) of the alloy material of the golf club head of example 3 subjected to heat treatment;

FIG. 3B is a transmission electron micrograph (microbeam diffraction pattern) of the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3;

FIG. 4 is a transmission electron micrograph (g-111 diffraction at selected regions) of the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3;

FIG. 5A is a transmission electron micrograph (brightfield) of the alloy material of the golf club head of example 3 subjected to the heat treatment;

FIG. 5B is a transmission electron micrograph (microbeam diffraction pattern) of the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3; and

fig. 6 is a transmission electron micrograph (g-001 selected area diffraction) of the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3.

Detailed Description

Examples 1 to 5 alloy materials for golf club head and preparation of golf club head

In the atmospheric environment, chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), silicon (Si), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb), carbon (C) and iron (Fe) in the smelting raw materials are sequentially put into a high-frequency smelting furnace according to the melting point to be melted into molten metal, and proper degassing and deslagging actions are applied in the process of melting the smelting raw materials. After the high frequency furnace reached the predetermined casting temperature, the molten metal was poured into the casting shell mold, and after cooling and demolding, the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 were obtained. In examples 1 to 5, the predetermined casting temperature was 1650 ℃ to 1700 ℃, and the preheating temperature of the casting shell mold was 1150 ℃ to 1300 ℃. The composition ratios of the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 are shown in table 1, for example, and element N in table 1 is nitrogen. As shown in table 1, the alloy materials for golf club heads of examples 1 to 5 include at least iron, 12.5 to 16 wt% of chromium, 3.5 to 4.5 wt% of nickel, 2.5 to 3.5 wt% of copper, 0.5 to 0.8 wt% of silicon, 0.5 to 0.8 wt% of manganese, and 0.15 to 0.45 wt% of molybdenum and niobium in total.

Further, the casting shell mold may have a cavity corresponding to the shape of the golf club head blank, the bar or the plate according to the requirement, and thus, the golf club head alloy material of examples 1 to 5 may be the golf club head blank, the bar or the plate, and the length and the diameter of the bar may be, for example, 150 millimeters (mm) and 15mm, and the length, the width and the thickness of the plate may be, for example, 150mm, 15mm and 5 mm. The golf club head blank, the bar and the plate can be used for subsequent tests, and the golf club head blank can be further processed by grinding, polishing and the like to form the golf club head.

Further, after cooling and demolding, the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 may be subjected to heat treatment processes such as solution treatment at a solution temperature of 1040 ℃ for a solution time of 1 hour, cryogenic treatment at a cryogenic temperature of-40 ℃ or less for a cryogenic time of 2 hours to 6 hours, and aging treatment at an aging temperature of 480 ℃ for an aging time of 2 hours to 6 hours, which are sequentially performed.

TABLE 1 composition ratios of alloy materials for golf club heads of examples 1 to 5

TABLE 2 compositional proportions of the alloy materials for commercial golf club heads of comparative examples 1 to 8

Comparative examples 1 to 8 alloy materials for commercial golf club heads

Comparative examples 1 to 8 are commercial golf club head alloy materials, and the composition ratio of the commercial golf club head alloy materials of each comparative example is shown in table 2, for example.

TABLE 3 mechanical Properties, shot test and salt spray test results and phase composition ratios of the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5

TABLE 4 mechanical Properties of alloy materials for commercial Golf club heads of comparative examples 1 to 8

As can be seen from tables 3 and 4, the heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 had a maximum tensile strength of 200ksi to 215ksi, a yield strength of 180ksi to 195ksi, an elongation of 10% to 15%, and a Rockwell hardness of HRc 40 to HRc 45, that is, the heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples had characteristics of a maximum tensile strength of 200ksi or more, a yield strength of 180ksi or more, an elongation of 10% or more, and a Rockwell hardness of HRc 40 or more at the same time. In contrast to the commercial golf club head alloy materials of the comparative examples, the commercial golf club head alloy materials of the comparative examples do not simultaneously have the characteristics of the maximum tensile strength of 200ksi or more, the yield strength of 180ksi or more, the elongation of 10% or more, and the rockwell hardness of HRc 40 or more. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 are clearly superior to those of the commercial golf club head alloy materials of comparative examples 1 to 8. Further, as can be seen from Table 1, the heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 all passed the 3000 shot golf ball impact test.

Thus, as can be seen from the test results of this test example, the mechanical properties of the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 are superior to those of the commercial golf club head alloy materials of comparative examples 1 to 8.

Test example 2 Corrosion resistance Properties

The heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 were subjected to a salt spray test to measure the corrosion resistance properties of the heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5. The solution used in the salt spray test of this test example was a 5% aqueous solution of sodium chloride, the test temperature was 35 ℃ and the test time was 72 hours. The measurement results of this test example are shown in table 1.

As can be seen from Table 1, the heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 all passed the salt spray test of the test examples. Therefore, the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 had good corrosion resistance properties.

Test example 3 phase composition analysis

The phase composition of the heat-treated golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 was analyzed by a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) to obtain the phase composition of the golf club head alloy material of each example.

The analysis will be described below only with respect to the phase composition analysis results of the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3. The phase composition analysis results of the golf club head alloy materials of the other examples subjected to the heat treatment were the same as those of the golf club head alloy material of example 3 subjected to the heat treatment.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are SEM photographs of the heat-treated alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 at different magnifications. As can be seen from fig. 1A and 1B, the microstructure of the heat-treated alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 includes a ferrite phase F and an austenite phase a. The phase composition ratio of the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3 is shown in table 1.

FIG. 2 is an X-ray diffraction spectrum of the alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 subjected to heat treatment. As can be seen from fig. 2, the X-ray diffraction spectrum of the golf club head alloy material of example 3 subjected to the heat treatment has a first characteristic peak (2 θ ═ 44.3 °) and a second characteristic peak (2 θ ═ 43.5 °). The first characteristic peak (2 θ ═ 44.3 °) may correspond to a (110) plane of a Body-Centered Cubic lattice (BCC), and the second characteristic peak (2 θ ═ 44.3 °) may correspond to a (111) plane of a Face-Centered Cubic lattice (FCC).

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4, 5A, 5B and 6 are transmission electron micrographs of the heat-treated alloy material for a golf club head of example 3. Fig. 3A is a Bright Field (BF) diagram. FIG. 3B is the Microbeam Diffraction Pattern (MDP) of FIG. 3A. Fig. 4 is a Selected Area Diffraction (SAD) plot of g 111. Fig. 5A is a Bright Field (BF) diagram. Fig. 5B is the Microbeam Diffraction Pattern (MDP) of fig. 5A. Fig. 6 is a Selected Area Diffraction (SAD) plot of g 001. It can be observed from fig. 3A that the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3 has a low density dislocation characteristic. It can be seen from FIG. 3B that the heat-treated golf club head alloy material of example 3 is characterized by a ferrite phase having high symmetry. It can be seen from FIG. 5A that the heat-treated alloy material for a golf club head of example 3 has high density dislocations and precipitates. It can be seen from FIG. 5B that the heat treated golf club head alloy material of example 3 is characterized by a low symmetry martensite phase. Accordingly, as can be seen from fig. 3B and 5B, the Body Centered cubic lattice (BCC structure) region of the golf club head alloy material of example 3, which was heat-treated, has two different symmetric crystal structures, i.e., an ferrite phase (BCC structure) and a martensite phase with a low carbon content [ Body-Centered Tetragonal (BCT) structure, c/a ≈ 1 ].

Therefore, based on the analysis results of SEM, XRD and TEM, it was confirmed that the phase composition of the golf club head alloy material of example 3, which had undergone heat treatment, includes a martensite phase (BCT structure), a ferrite phase (BCC structure), and an austenite phase (FCC structure), as well as a fine precipitate phase.

Further, the phase compositions of the golf club head alloy materials of examples 1 to 5 are shown in table 1. As shown in table 1, the ferrite phase (F) was 10% to 15%, the austenite phase (a) was 10% to 20%, and the martensite phase (M) was 65% to 80%, based on the entire phase composition of the alloy material for a golf club head of each example.

Based on the above, in the embodiments of the present invention, since the alloy material for a golf club head includes cr, ni, cu, si, mn, mo, nb, and fe, the cr content is 12.5 wt% to 16 wt%, the ni content is 3.5 wt% to 4.5 wt%, the cu content is 2.5 wt% to 3.5 wt%, the si content is 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt%, the mn content is 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt%, and the sum of the mo content and the nb content is 0.15 wt% to 0.45 wt%, the alloy material for a golf club head of each embodiment can have mechanical properties of 200ksi or more maximum tensile strength, 180ksi or more yield strength, 10% or more elongation, and HRc 40 or more rockwell, so that the golf club head made of the alloy material for a golf club head made of each embodiment can have good mechanical properties, and not only meets the requirements of the industry for enlarging an effective striking area of a golf club head, reducing the center of gravity of a golf and strengthening a club head, further enlarging the effective hitting area, lowering the center of gravity of the club head and strengthening the hitting panel.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An alloy material for a golf club head, comprising chromium, nickel, copper, silicon, manganese, molybdenum, niobium and iron, wherein the content of chromium is 12.5 wt% to 16 wt%, the content of nickel is 3.5 wt% to 4.5 wt%, the content of copper is 2.5 wt% to 3.5 wt%, the content of silicon is 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt%, the content of manganese is 0.5 wt% to 0.8 wt%, and the sum of the content of molybdenum and the content of niobium is 0.15 wt% to 0.45 wt%, based on the total weight of the alloy material for a golf club head.

2. The alloy material for a golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the alloy material for a golf club head further comprises carbon and nitrogen, and the sum of the contents of carbon and nitrogen is 0.10 wt% to 0.22 wt% based on the total weight of the alloy material for a golf club head.

3. The alloy material for a golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the phase composition of the alloy material for a golf club head comprises martensite phase, ferrite phase and austenite phase, and the content of the ferrite phase is 10 to 15% and the content of the austenite phase is 10 to 20% based on the entire phase composition of the alloy material for a golf club head.

4. The alloy material for a golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the sum of the content of molybdenum and the content of niobium is 0.25 to 0.45 wt% based on the total weight of the alloy material for a golf club head.

5. The golf club head alloy material according to claim 2, wherein the sum of the content of carbon and the content of nitrogen is 0.10 wt% to 0.20 wt% based on the total weight of the golf club head alloy material.

6. The golf club head alloy material according to claim 1, wherein the maximum tensile strength of the golf club head alloy material is 200ksi or more.

7. The golf club head alloy material according to claim 1, wherein the yield strength of the golf club head alloy material is 180ksi or more.

8. The alloy material for a golf club head according to claim 1, wherein the elongation of the alloy material for a golf club head is 10% or more.

9. The alloy material for a golf head according to claim 1, wherein the alloy material for a golf head has a Rockwell hardness of HRc40 or more.

10. A golf club head made of the alloy material for a golf club head according to any one of claims 1 to 9.