JPH06285568A - Manufacture of golf club head made of superplastic material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the alignment of each shell body, and to suppress the deformation of the shell body at the time of joining by putting suitable ruggedness to a flange of each shell body being incidental to superplastic working, fitting and fixing this ruggedness, and thereafter, notching a part of the flange and tacking the shell body. CONSTITUTION:A crown flange 13 and a sole flange 23 joined together by fitting of ruggedness are fixed by a clamp, etc. Subsequently, at a suitable interval or position, the flanges 13, 23 are notched to parting lines 11, 21. A notch part 5 is formed in three parts 5a, 5b and 5c. Next, the parting line on the bottom of this notch part 5 is subjected to spot welding. In such a way, a crown part shell body 1 and a sole part shell body 2 are positioned and tacked correctly. After the tacking process, the flanges 13, 23 are trimmed and the parting line is exposed extending over the whole, and thereafter, the face part is tacked by spot welding in the same way. Also, the parting line of the tacked and trimmed shell body is joined regularly.

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 by forming a plurality of metal shells by superplastic working and then joining and assembling the shells. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned head, which can easily and highly accurately assemble the shell body by providing an asperity for assembly by utilizing a flange portion or the like generated during superplastic working.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, so-called metal wood clubs have been touted for golf clubs such as drivers. This metal wood club has been mainly made of stainless steel and aluminum alloy precision castings, but recently, titanium alloy precision castings, which have a good balance of lightness and rigidity, are also in the spotlight as luxury items. Furthermore, superplastic working heads such as titanium alloys, which do not have the problems (cavities, segregation) peculiar to castings, are emerging.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-243223 discloses a technique for manufacturing a superplastically processed golf club head by integral blow molding. In this integral blow molding, it is said that the club head can be integrally molded by bulging the two original plates to the left and right and joining them. However, because the joining of the seams of the two original plates is incomplete, and the shape of the club head that can be integrally molded is limited,
This method is not actually used.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] JP-A-3-24322
In the method of welding the partial blow-molded shell bodies instead of the integral blow-molding as described in No. 3, a method of deciding the position of each shell body using a jig and then joining (welding etc.) has been adopted. However, this method has the following problems.

When the flange portion (the portion where the original plate is sandwiched between the molds during blow molding) is trimmed in superplastic blow molding, residual stress of the shell is released and the shell is deformed. The shell must be assembled while correcting the above with a jig. Therefore, it takes labor.

Even if welding is performed after fixing each shell at a predetermined position with a jig, the shell is deformed due to welding heat input unless the jig is firmly fixed to the welding line. It often happens. Particularly, regarding the angle between the face surface of the club head and the shaft, ± 0.5 to 1.
Deformation is a problem because it must be angled with an accuracy of 0 ° C.

The present invention has been made under such a background, is well adapted to the characteristics of superplastic working, can easily align the shells with each other, and can be used at the time of joining. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a superplastic material golf club head capable of suppressing the deformation of the shell body as much as possible.

[0008]

A method for manufacturing a superplastic material golf club head according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a golf club head by molding a plurality of shell bodies by superplastic working and then joining them. Then, a step of forming a flange with a predetermined unevenness along the dividing line of each shell, a step of combining each shell by fitting the unevenness of the flanges, a flange of each combined shell To fix each other, to cut a part of the mutually fixed flange to multiple dividing lines, to temporarily attach the dividing lines of the notched parts of the flange, to trim the flange of the temporarily attached shell And a step of permanently joining the dividing lines of the temporarily attached and trimmed shell body. The joining in the present invention may be performed by welding, brazing, or any other method as long as the divided portions can be integrated.

[0009]

[Function] Due to the characteristics of superplastic working, a flange is generally attached to the molded body. Appropriate unevenness is provided on the flange of each shell, and by fitting the unevenness, the shells can be assembled and fixed in a normal combined state.
After that, if a part of the flange is cut out and the shell is temporarily attached, the dividing line (that is, the joining line) of the shell can be positioned as desired.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A description will be given below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the crown shell and the sole shell are combined in the manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the crown shell body and the sole shell body of FIG. 1 are combined.

In FIG. 1, the crown shell 1 forms the upper portion of the club head, and the sole shell 2 forms the lower portion of the club head. Both are molded by superplastic blow molding. The two shells are fitted together exactly at the crown dividing line 11 and the sole dividing line 21, and further combined with the addition of a face portion (not shown) to join the dividing lines to form one club head. By the way, the material of this club is Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

Crown flange 13 and sole flange 2
3 extends outward from the dividing lines 11 and 12 of the shells 1 and 2. This flange leaves the part sandwiched by the mold of the superplastic forming original plate as it is, and has a wavy concavo-convex shape as it goes outside the dividing line. The unevenness of the crown flange 13 and the unevenness of the sole flange 23 are formed so as to fit each other, and when they fit, the crown shell 1 and the sole shell 2 are positioned in a correct combination state. It is like this.

The unevenness of the flange is formed by forming unevenness on the original plate sandwiching portion of the superplastic forming die and pressing the original plate with this unevenness. The width of the flange is generally
The thickness of the flange is 3 mm to 20 mm, and the thickness of the flange is 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm. In consideration of the size of the club head, the wall thickness of each portion, the required dimensional accuracy, etc., the width, thickness, height of unevenness, and pitch of each flange can be determined.

When the width of the flange is narrowed, it becomes difficult to form unevenness and it becomes difficult to fix the flange. If the width is larger than a certain level, the material yield will be deteriorated, and the influence on the positioning / assembly accuracy will be irrelevant. Therefore, generally, the width of the flange has the above-described dimensions. The flange irregularities need not be corrugated as shown in FIGS. You may provide the combination of a knock hole and a knock protrusion in multiple places.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the two shell bodies shown in FIG. 1 are put together and a flange portion is partially cut away to be spot-welded. The flanges fitted by the fitting of the concavities and convexities are fixed by a clamp (not shown) or the like. Then, at appropriate intervals or positions, the flanges 13 and 23
To the dividing lines 11 and 21. In the case of FIG. 3, the notch 5 is formed in three places (5a, 5b, 5c). Next, the dividing line at the bottom of the notch 5 is spot-welded.
With this, the crown shell 1 and the sole shell 2 are correctly positioned and temporarily attached.

After the temporary attaching step of FIG. 3, the flanges 13, 2 are
After trimming 3 to expose the entire dividing line,
The face portion (not shown) is also temporarily attached by welding spotting. The face part usually has a thickness of 2.5 to 3.5.
Since it is a relatively thick flat plate of mm, its positioning and temporary attachment are relatively easy. Of course, the flange of the present invention may be provided at the joint between the face portion, the crown portion, and the sole portion.

In the case of a titanium alloy club head, its wall thickness is generally 0.5 to 3.5 mm. As in the present invention, each shell body with a flange is obtained by female blow molding, and then combined with the flange, the sum of the thicknesses of both flanges affects the dimension from the bottom of the sole to the apex of the crown. It will be. The required accuracy of this dimension is about ± 2.5 mm in the roughest case. In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the accuracy of the above dimensions may be adjusted to ± 0.25 mm or less by measuring the thickness distribution of the flange portion after superplastic forming and feeding it back to the shape of the forming die. it can.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the club head shells are combined in a manufacturing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. 5: is a figure which shows the AA cross section of FIG. In this embodiment, the flanges 13 ', 23' are molded flat as a whole. However, the flange is provided with three fitting concavities and convexities 7a, 7b, 7c, and the shell is positioned by fitting them together.

As shown in FIG. 5, the downwardly traveling convex portion 27 formed on the crown flange 13 'is
It is fitted in a recess 29 formed in the sole flange 23 '. By doing so, the crown shell 1 and the sole shell 2 can be positioned. The steps of fixing, notching, temporary attachment, flange trim, and main welding after the matching are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

[0020]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is only necessary to prepare a molding die having a shape for forming simple unevenness on the flange portion associated with superplastic forming, and it is only necessary to prepare a molding die for each divided shell body. Positioning work is easy and accurate. Further, it is possible to suppress deformation of the shell body in the flange trim and joining steps, and it is possible to provide a golf club head having high shape accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a crown shell and a sole shell are combined in a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the crown shell body and the sole shell body of FIG. 1 are combined.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the two shell bodies of FIG. 1 are combined, and a flange portion is partially cut away to be spot-welded.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the club head shells are combined in a manufacturing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram showing an AA cross section of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Crown Part Shell 13 Crown Flange 2 Sole Part Shell 21 Sole Dividing Line 5 Notch 23 Sole Flange 7 Fitting Concavo-convex 27 Convex Part 11 Crown Dividing Line 29 Recess

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a golf club head by forming a plurality of shell bodies by superplastic forming and then joining the shell bodies; a predetermined unevenness is provided along a dividing line of each shell body. The process of forming a flange, the process of combining each shell by fitting the unevenness of the flanges, the process of fixing the flanges of the combined shells to each other, a part of the mutually fixed flanges Process of notching up to the dividing line, process of temporarily attaching the dividing line of the notched part of the flange, process of trimming the flange of the temporarily attached shell, main joining of the dividing line of the temporarily attached / trimmed shell Process,
A method of manufacturing a superplastic golf club head, comprising: