JPH05137818A - Method of manufacturing golf club head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the stability of a driven ball and elongate a flown distance by molding a rolled material with superplastic working to weld respective molded parts to each other. CONSTITUTION:Molds 10, 20 having molding cavities corresponding to respective contours of a plurality of parts made by dividing a golf club head are made of heat resisting steel. Also, upper molds 11, 21 corresponding to the molds 10, 20 are prepared. The upper molds 11, 21 are provided with gas introducing ports 12, 22. Rolled plates 30, 31 of thickness 5mm composed of 15.60% of A, 3.70% of V, 0.11% of O, 0.04% of N, 0.06% of C, 0.25% of Fe, 0.01% of H, remainder of Ti and inevitable impurities are disposed between the mold 10 and upper mold 11 and between the mold 20 and upper mold 21 and these members are all disposed in a superplastic molding machine to be heated to 850-950 deg.C. Ar gas is forced in from the gas introducing ports 12, 21. Further, the rolled plates 30, 31 after the completion of the superplastic deformation are taken out of the molds 10, 20 and parts 32, 33 sandwiched by the mold are cut off and removed to weld the rolled plate 30 to the rolled plate 31.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a golf club head utilizing superplasticity processing, and more particularly to a technique capable of providing a golf club head having excellent hitting ball stability and capable of increasing flight distance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a Ti alloy metal wood has been used. This Ti alloy metal wood is manufactured by a precision casting method.

[0003]

However, since such a golf club head is manufactured by the casting method, there are casting defects and segregation, and the mechanical properties are low and the structure can be made thin. There wasn't. Therefore, the head volume could not be increased while avoiding an increase in weight. For this reason, the metal wood produced by the precision casting method has a small head volume, has a small sweet spot, and cannot improve the hitting ball stability. In addition, since the metal wood manufactured by the precision casting method has a large internal friction, the loss of kinetic energy is large at the time of hitting the ball, and it is not possible to increase the flight distance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a metal wood having excellent mechanical properties, directional stability and flight distance.

[0005]

A method of manufacturing a golf club head according to the present invention is made of Al (aluminum) 5.50-
6.75%, V (vanadium) 3.50 to 4.50%,
O (oxygen) 0.20% or less, N (nitrogen) 0.05% or less, C (carbon) 0.10% or less, Fe (carbon) 0.30
%, H (hydrogen) 0.015% or less, and a rolled material having a composition of Ti balance and unavoidable impurities, and molding cavities corresponding to respective shapes of parts obtained by dividing a golf club head having an outer shell structure into a plurality of parts. The rolled plate material is sandwiched between divisible superplastic working dies, and in a state of being heated to 850 to 950 ° C., a fluid is press-fitted at 2 to 5 MPa from a fluid introduction port provided in each superplastic working die, After deforming each rolled plate into a shape that matches the inner surface of the forming cavity of each superplastic working die, the part sandwiched by the rolled plate is removed by cutting, and each rolled plate is welded. It is characterized by obtaining a golf club head.

[0006]

[Operation] Since the method of manufacturing a golf club head is to form a rolled material by superplastic forming and weld each molded part, the completed golf club head has good mechanical properties and can have a thin structure. While avoiding the increase in weight,
It is possible to increase the head volume and improve the stability of the hit ball. Further, since the energy loss at the time of hitting the ball is small, it is possible to increase the flight distance.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

Superplastic working molds (hereinafter abbreviated as molds) 10 and 20 having molding cavities corresponding to respective shapes of parts obtained by dividing a golf club head to be manufactured are made of heat-resistant steel SUS310. did. Reference numeral 10 is a mold for manufacturing the front half of the head, and 20 is a mold for manufacturing the rear half of the head. Further, upper molds 11 and 21 corresponding to the molds 10 and 20 were manufactured. The upper molds 11 and 21 are provided with gas introduction ports 12 and 22.
Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, between the mold 10 and the upper mold 11, and between the mold 20 and the upper mold 21, Al 5.60%, V 3.70%, O 0.11%, N 0.
04%, C0.06%, Fe0.25%, H0.01
%, The balance of Ti and the composition of unavoidable impurities 5
mm rolled plate materials 30 and 31 were arranged, and these were placed in a superplastic forming machine, and the mold 10, the upper mold 11, the rolled plate material 30, the mold 20, the upper mold 21, and the rolled plate material 31 were heated to 850 to 950 ° C. ..

Ar (argon) gas was pressure-injected from the gas inlets 12 and 22 while changing with time in the range of 0 to 3.5 MPa. The elapsed time and the press fitting pressure are shown in FIG. By this press-fitting operation, the rolled plate members 30 and 31 start superplastic deformation, and as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, they conform to the inner surfaces of the molding cavities of the molds 10 and 20, and the superplastic deformation ends.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, the rolled plate materials 30 and 31 which have undergone the superplastic deformation are removed from the molds 10 and 20, and the portions 32 and 33 sandwiched by the molds are cut and removed to obtain the rolled plate material 30. Then, the rolled plate material 31 is welded.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 9, a golf club head 40 was manufactured by welding a separately manufactured hosel portion.

FIG. 11 shows the results of a test hit test conducted at a head speed of 50 m / sec by mounting the golf club head of this embodiment and a golf club head manufactured by the precision casting method on a robot. It is apparent from FIG. 11 that the golf club head of the present invention has a larger flight distance, a larger sweet spot, and improved ball hitting stability.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, a golf club head is manufactured by superplastic forming a plurality of rolled plate materials and welding each rolled plate material. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the completed golf club head are improved. Is favorable and a thin-walled structure can be adopted, so that an increase in weight can be avoided, a head volume can be increased, and hitting ball stability can be improved. Further, since the energy loss at the time of hitting the ball is small, it is possible to increase the flight distance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a rolled plate material is sandwiched between superplastic working dies.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the starting state of superplastic working, for explaining the order of superplastic working of rolled sheet material sandwiched between superplastic working dies.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in the middle of superplastic working, for explaining the order of superplastic working of rolled sheet material sandwiched between superplastic working dies.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an end state of superplastic working, for explaining the order of superplastic working of the rolled plate material sandwiched in the superplastic working die.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the molded part is removed from the superplastic working die.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a portion of the molded part that is sandwiched between the superplastic working dies is cut and removed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which molded parts are welded.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining welding of a hosel portion to a welded molded part.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a completed golf club head.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the elapsed time during superplastic working and the press-fitting pressure.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing test shot test results of the golf club head of this example and a golf club head manufactured by a precision casting method.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20: Superplastic working mold 11, 21: Upper mold 1
2, 22: Gas introduction port 30, 31: Rolled plate material 32, 33: Portion sandwiched between rolled plate materials 34: Hosel part 40: Golf club head

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Al 5.50 to 6.75% (weight%, the same applies hereinafter), V 3.50 to 4.50%, O 0.20
% Or less, N 0.05% or less, C 0.10% or less,
Fe 0.30% or less, H 0.015% or less, Ti
The rolled plate material composed of the composition of the balance and unavoidable impurities is respectively rolled into a plurality of divisible superplastic working molds each having a molding cavity corresponding to each shape of a component obtained by dividing a golf club head having an outer shell structure into a plurality of parts. Sandwich the plate material, 850-9
In a state of being heated to 50 ° C., a fluid is press-fitted at a pressure of 2 to 5 MPa from a fluid inlet provided in each of the superplastic working dies, and each rolled plate material is an inner surface of a forming cavity of each superplastic working die. A method for manufacturing a golf club head, which comprises deforming the rolled plate material into a shape conforming to, cutting and removing a portion sandwiching each rolled plate material with a mold, and welding each rolled plate material to obtain a golf club head.