TWI469808B - Weight alloy of golf club head and manufacturing method therefor - Google Patents

Description

Weighted block alloy for golf head and manufacturing method thereof

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a golf club head alloy and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a weight alloy of a golf club head made using a metal powder injection molding (MIM) method and a method of manufacturing the same.

In recent years, the trend of golf has become more and more popular, so it has increased the demand for golf clubs and other related products for sports enthusiasts. Generally, a set of golf clubs includes several clubs for different purposes, and each club There are respectively heads made of various alloy materials, wherein the clubs can be generally divided into the following types: 3 to 5 woods, 7 to 8 irons, and PW 1 One branch, one sand rod (SW) and one putter. The head of the wood rod generally has a hollow shell shape, and mainly comprises a main shell, a ball striking panel, a bottom surface and a top cover, and the components are usually made of different alloys or carbon fiber materials, and then assembled. The wooden club head. The irons, the lifting rods and the shafts of the sand rods are all iron heads. These heads are generally solid and thin in shape, which mainly includes the head body, the hitting panel and the weight. For the components, the components may be integrally formed from the same alloy material; or made of different alloy materials, and then assembled into the iron head. In addition, in order to make the iron head have the advantages of the long-distance strike of the traditional wood pole and the accuracy of the iron rod, the iron head is also made into a hollow.

Furthermore, the current manufacturing methods of golf iron heads are mainly classified into the lost-wax precision casting process, the forging process and the powder metallurgical process. Overall, precision The cost of the dewaxing casting method is relatively low, but the head member needs to be subjected to more functional and cosmetic modification processing after casting; and the forging processing method has many advantages, such as good ball control and sweetness. The area is large, the distance of hitting is far, the center of gravity is adjustable, the torsional inertia is increased, and the accuracy and stability are high. The powder rule rule is mostly used to make weights, but because of the large powder particles (particle size of about 50~100μm), it is often difficult to obtain the dimensional tolerance (±0.7%) and density (< 92%).

In addition, the alloy material used to make the iron head must have both appropriate strength and high ductility, as well as corrosion resistance or other performance requirements. For example, the current industrial stainless steel alloy materials have appropriate strength and high ductility, but they do not fully meet all the performance requirements of various components of the iron head, especially for the two-piece combination of the head body and the weight. In the case of the iron head structure, the weight of the weight must be separately made of a high specific gravity alloy containing tungsten. Usually, the weight is made by casting, but the surface of the finished part of the weight casting is often contaminated with impurities (such as metal oxide), so when the weight is welded to the head body, the surface of these weights Impurities will easily cause cracks in the welding position of the weight and the head body, thus greatly reducing the welding reliability.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a golf club weight alloy and a method of manufacturing the same to solve the problems of the conventional technology.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a weight alloy of a golf club head and a method for manufacturing the same, which first prepare a metal mixed powder comprising 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten (W) powder, and the remaining weight percentage is weight. Chromium-iron (Cr-Fe) powder and nickel (Ni) powder of 1:1~5, and then mixing the above metal mixed powder with a binder to form a billet and performing metal powder injection molding (metal Injection molding, MIM) process, which can produce a high specific gravity weight alloy, and can avoid the formation of metal oxide on the surface of the weight alloy by using chromium-iron powder, thus not only reducing the weight The manufacturing cost of the block can also improve the weldability of the weight and increase the welding reliability between the weight and the head body.

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a weight alloy of a golf club, comprising the steps of: preparing a metal mixed powder comprising 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten (W) powder, And the balance weight is 1:1~5 chromium-iron (Cr-Fe) powder and nickel (Ni) powder, wherein the chromium-iron powder accounts for 15% to 70% by weight of chromium; Mixing the above metal mixed powder with a binder in a weight ratio of 99:1 to 90:10 to form a blank; projecting the blank into a mold to form an initial embryo; removing the mold and removing the blank a binder in the primordial; and a high temperature sintering of the priming embryo after removing the binder to form a weight alloy having a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g/cm 3 (g/cm ³ ) after cooling .

In an embodiment of the invention, the tungsten powder, the chromium-iron powder and the nickel powder have a particle diameter of between 0.1 micrometers (μm) and 45 micrometers, respectively.

In one embodiment of the invention, the metal mixed powder comprises 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten powder, 1 wt% or less of niobium (Nb) powder, and the balance of chromium-iron powder and nickel powder.

In one embodiment of the invention, the metal mixed powder comprises 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten powder, 1 wt% or less of molybdenum (Mo) powder, and the balance of chromium-iron powder and nickel powder.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the metal mixed powder comprises 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten powder, 1 wt% or less of niobium (Nb) powder, 1 wt% or less of molybdenum (Mo) powder, and The remaining weight is chromium-iron powder and nickel powder.

In an embodiment of the invention, the metal mixed powder further comprises 0.01 wt% to 1.0 wt% of carbon.

In an embodiment of the invention, the binder is selected from the group consisting of agar, thermoplastic, rubber, wax or formaldehyde.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the step of removing the binder in the primordial, the treatment is carried out by using water, a strong acid or an organic solvent (such as an alkane solvent) at 20 to 600 ° C for 0.5 to 48 hours to remove The binder in the embryo.

In an embodiment of the invention, the high temperature sintering temperature is between 800 and 1500 ° C, the high temperature sintering time is between 0.5 and 10 hours, and the high temperature sintering is performed at a rate of 1 to 20 ° C. /Minute.

In one embodiment of the invention, the high temperature sintering step is carried out in a vacuum furnace or a joining furnace.

In an embodiment of the invention, after the weight alloy is formed, the weight alloy is welded to a head body.

In an embodiment of the invention, the welding method is laser welding, ion welding or argon arc welding.

Furthermore, another embodiment of the present invention provides a weight alloy of a golf club comprising 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten powder, and the remaining weight is a chromium-iron powder having a weight ratio of 1:1 to 5. And nickel powder, wherein the chromium-iron powder accounts for 15% to 70% by weight of the chromium, and the weight alloy is made by metal powder injection molding and has 8 to 17 g/cm 3 proportion.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from

The present invention mainly provides a weight alloy of a golf club head and a method of manufacturing the same, which can provide higher weldability to increase welding reliability between the weight and the head body.

Referring to FIG. 1 , in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a weight alloy of a golf club mainly comprises the steps of: (S01) preparing a metal mixed powder comprising tungsten (W) powder, chromium-iron (Cr-Fe) powder and nickel (Ni) powder; (S02), the above metal mixed powder And mixing a binder into a blank according to a predetermined weight ratio; (S03), ejecting the blank into a mold to form an initial embryo; (S04), removing the mold, and removing the original embryo And the (S05), the primary embryo after removing the binder is subjected to high temperature sintering to form a weight alloy after cooling. The details of the implementation of the above steps and the principles thereof will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 and 2A to 2F.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2A, the step (S01) of the method for manufacturing a weighted block alloy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is: preparing a metal mixed powder 10 comprising tungsten powder 11, chromium-iron powder 12 and Nickel powder 13. In this step, the metal mixed powder 10 contains 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten powder 11, and may be, for example, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 95 wt%. And the like, but not limited to this; and the remaining weight (ie, 90 wt% to 5 wt%) is chrome-iron powder 12 and nickel powder 13 in a weight ratio of 1:1 to 5, the chromium-iron powder 12 and nickel powder The weight ratio of 13 is, for example, 1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3, 1:4 or 1:5, etc., but is not limited thereto. Furthermore, the chromium in the chromium-iron powder 12 accounts for 15% to 70% by weight, for example, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% or 70%, etc. , but not limited to this. The particle diameters of the tungsten powder 11, the chromium-iron powder 12 and the nickel powder 13 are preferably between 0.1 micrometers (μm) and 45 micrometers, respectively, and may be, for example, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 or 45 microns, etc., but is not limited thereto. The above chromium-iron powder 12 refers to an alloy powder of chromium and iron, and the advantage of using the chromium-iron powder 12 in the present invention over the use of chromium powder and iron powder alone is that Prevent oxidation of iron powder prior to mixing with tungsten powder and nickel powder to reduce oxide impurities in the final product.

In other possible embodiments of the present invention, in addition to the tungsten powder 11, the chromium-iron powder 12, and the nickel powder 13, the metal mixed powder 10 may optionally contain 1 wt% or less of the crucible (S01). Nb) powder and/or 1 wt% or less of molybdenum (Mo) powder, and the metal mixed powder 10 may further contain 0.01 wt% to 1.0 wt% of carbon (C) element. The addition of tantalum powder can further refine the grains and reduce the superheat sensitivity and temper brittleness of the alloy, and has the property of resisting atmospheric corrosion. The amount of niobium powder added may be 1 wt%, 0.8 wt of the total weight of the metal mixed powder 10. %, 0.5 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.1 wt% or 0.01 wt%, etc., but are not limited thereto. The addition of molybdenum can prolong the time of sensitization of the material, and can also adjust the density of the material, and prevent temper brittleness, improve the high temperature strength, creep strength and high temperature hardness of the alloy material, and increase the pitting resistance of the alloy material. And forming wear-resistant molybdenum carbide particles, and the molybdenum powder may be added in an amount of 1 wt%, 0.8 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.1 wt% or 0.01 wt%, etc., of the total weight of the metal mixed powder 10. But it is not limited to this.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2B, the step (S02) of the method for manufacturing a weighted alloy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is: mixing the metal mixed powder 10 with a binder 14 in a predetermined weight ratio. Billet 10'. In this step, the predetermined weight ratio of the metal mixed powder 10 to the binder 14 is between 99:1 and 90:10, for example, 99:1, 98:2, 97:3, 96:4, 95:5. 94:6, 93:7, 92:8, 91:9 or 90:10, but not limited to this. The adhesive 14 can be, for example It is selected from agar, thermoplastic, rubber, wax or formaldehyde, which can be removed by using water, a strong acid or an organic solvent (such as an alkane solvent) at normal temperature or high temperature. In an embodiment, the binder 14 is selected, for example, from agar.

Subsequently, referring to Figures 1 and 2C, the step (S03) of the method for manufacturing a weighted block alloy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is: projecting the blank 10' into a mold 30 to form an initial embryo. In this step, the billet 10' obtained by mixing the metal mixed powder 10 and the binder 14 is used for a metal injection molding (MIM) process. First, the billet 10' is placed in an injection molding process. In the extruder 20, and extruded from the injection molding machine 20 into a cavity 31 of a mold 30, it is formed into an initial embryo 40, and the adhesive 40 is still contained in the embryo 40 at this time. The shape of the cavity 31 of the mold 30 described above is designed in accordance with the shape of the final weight.

Thereafter, referring to Figures 1 and 2D, the step (S04) of the method for producing a weighted block alloy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is: removing the mold 30 and removing the binder 14 in the priming 10'. In this step, the present invention may be selected to be treated at a temperature of 20 to 600 ° C for 0.5 to 48 hours by using a solvent 50 (or a degreasing furnace) in accordance with the kind and characteristics of the bonding agent 14 to remove the primary embryo 10'. Adhesive agent 14. The solvent 50 is, for example, water, a strong acid or an organic solvent such as an alkane solvent. In one embodiment, if the binder 14 is selected from agar or wax, the solvent 50 is pure water.

Finally, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2E, the step (S05) of the method for manufacturing a weighted block alloy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is: performing high temperature sintering on the primary embryo 40 after removing the bonding agent 14 to After cooling, a weight alloy 70 is formed. In this step, the high-temperature sintering treatment is carried out in a heating furnace 60, for example, a vacuum furnace or a connection furnace in which an evacuation or an inert gas such as nitrogen gas and/or argon gas is filled. The high temperature sintering temperature is between 800 and 1500 ° C, such as 800, 900, 950, 1000, 1200, 1300 or 1500 ° C, but is not limited thereto. The high temperature sintering time is between 0.5 and 10 hours, such as 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 or 10 hours, but is not limited thereto. The rate of cooling after the high-temperature sintering is 1 to 20 ° C / min, for example, 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18 or 20 ° C / min, but is not limited thereto. After cooling to normal temperature (25 ° C), the weight alloy 70 has a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g / cm ^ 3 (g / cm ³ ) and a metallographic phase of the ferrite iron, the specific gravity is, for example, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, ¹⁰ , ¹¹ , 12, 15, 16 or 17 g/cm ³ , but is not limited thereto.

As described above, after metal powder injection molding (MIM), the weight alloy 70 has a slight degree of volume reduction compared to the preform 40, and its dimensional tolerance is about ±0.5%, and due to the use ratio The traditional powder metallurgy has a finer powder particle size (0.1 to 45 μm), so the powder of the invention can obtain a high density of more than 95% after sintering, and its performance is obviously superior to the traditional powder metallurgy (the powder particle size is about 50~) 100μm) dimensional tolerance (±0.7%) and density (<92%) performance. Compared to the complex procedures and cost of traditional metalworking (such as casting, forging or traditional powder metallurgy), metal powder injection molding (MIM) has fewer machining processes, no cutting or less cutting, It can be mass-produced and so on, so it can not only greatly improve production efficiency and effectively reduce the mass production cost, but also be suitable for mass production of small golf club head components (such as counterweights) with high precision and complex shape, and can be successfully overcome. The traditional powder metallurgy process products have the disadvantages of uneven material, low mechanical properties, and difficulty in forming thin walls or complicated structures.

Furthermore, referring to FIG. 2F, the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be selectively implemented after the weight alloy 70 is obtained by using the steps (S01) to (S05) of the above-described method for manufacturing a weight alloy. One step: welding the weight alloy 70 to a head body 80 for collective assembly into a golf club head. In this step, the golf head particularly refers to a two-piece iron head, and the weight alloy 70 is preferably welded to the bottom of the head body 80 to reduce the overall length of the iron head. Center of gravity.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, in this step, the golf club head may also be selected from the head body 80' of the fairway wood or the head body 80" of the blood mixing rod. At this time, the weight alloy 70', 70" are preferably joined in a welded manner to the bottom of the head body 80', 80" or other suitable position for adjusting the center of gravity to reduce the overall center of gravity of the fairway wood or the heald rod.

Referring to Table 1 below, it is disclosed that several different embodiments (MIM D9~D17) of the present invention are fabricated into a weight alloy 70 using metal powder injection molding (MIM) of the above steps (S01) to (S05). The final metal composition ratio, wherein the weight of the weight alloy 70 is 9-17 g/cm ³ . Further, the weight alloy 70 is welded to the head body 80 of an iron-based material, and then subjected to a tensile test to obtain a welded portion between the weight alloy 70 and the head body 80. The tensile strength is between 15 and 90 ksi. The welding bonding method may be laser welding, ion welding or argon arc welding; the welding electrode may be 329, 312, 630, 308 welding rod; and the iron material of the head body 80 may be stainless steel material (such as 17 -4, 431, etc.) or soft iron materials (such as 8620, S25C, etc.), but are not limited to this.

As described above, the present invention of Figs. 1 and 2A to 2F first prepares a metal mixed powder 10 containing 10 wt%, compared to the disadvantages such as insufficient weldability of conventional metal working such as casting, forging or conventional powder metallurgy. Up to 95 wt% of tungsten powder 11 and the remaining weight percentage of chromium-iron powder 12 and nickel powder 13 in a weight ratio of 1:1 to 5, and then mixing the metal mixed powder 10 and a binder 14 into a billet. And a metal powder injection molding (MIM) process is performed, whereby a high specific gravity weight alloy 70 can be obtained, and the weight of the alloy 70 can be avoided by using the chromium-iron powder 12 The surface forms a metal oxide, so that not only the manufacturing cost of the weight block can be reduced, but also the weldability of the weight block can be improved, and the welding reliability between the weight block and the head body can be increased.

The present invention has been disclosed in its preferred embodiments, and is not intended to limit the invention, and the present invention may be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of protection is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application.

10‧‧‧Metal mixed powder

10’‧‧‧Bullen

11‧‧‧Tungsten powder

12‧‧‧Chromium-iron powder

13‧‧‧ Nickel powder

14‧‧‧Adhesive

20‧‧‧Injection molding machine

30‧‧‧Mold

31‧‧‧ cavity

40‧‧‧ear embryo

50‧‧‧Solvent

60‧‧‧heating furnace

70‧‧‧weight alloy

80‧‧‧ head body

70'‧‧‧weight alloy

80’‧‧‧ head head

70"‧‧‧weight alloy

80"‧‧‧ head head

S01‧‧‧Step one

S02‧‧‧Step 2

S03‧‧‧Step three

S04‧‧‧Step four

S05‧‧‧Step five

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing a weight alloy of a golf club according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F are schematic views of the steps of the method for manufacturing the weight of the golf ball of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing another type of golf club head and weight alloy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of another type of golf club head and weight alloy in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

S01‧‧‧Step one

S02‧‧‧Step 2

S03‧‧‧Step three

S04‧‧‧Step four

S05‧‧‧Step five

Claims (12)

A method for manufacturing a weighted alloy of a golf club, comprising the steps of: preparing a metal mixed powder comprising 10% by weight to 95% by weight of tungsten (W) powder, and the remaining weight being 1:1 to 5 by weight chromium - iron (Cr-Fe) powder and nickel (Ni) powder, wherein the proportion of chromium in the chromium-iron powder is between 15% and 70%; and the above metal mixed powder is from 99:1 to 90:10 The weight ratio is mixed with a binder to form a billet; the billet is ejected into a mold to form an initial embryo; the mold is removed and the binder in the pre-embryo is removed; and the removal of the binder is performed at the beginning The embryo is sintered at a high temperature to form a weight alloy after cooling, which has a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g/cm 3 . The method for producing a weight alloy of a golf club according to claim 1, wherein the tungsten powder, the chromium-iron powder and the nickel powder have a particle diameter of between 0.1 μm and 45 μm, respectively. The method for producing a weight alloy of a golf club according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive is selected from the group consisting of agar, thermoplastic, rubber, wax or formaldehyde. The method for producing a weight alloy of a golf club according to claim 1 or 3, wherein in the step of removing the binder in the blast, the water, strong acid or organic solvent is selected to be 20 to 600. The treatment was carried out at ° C for 0.5 to 48 hours to remove the binder in the blast. The method for manufacturing a weighted block alloy for a golf club according to claim 1, wherein the high temperature sintering temperature is between 800 and 1500 ° C, and the high temperature sintering time is between 0.5 and 10 hours. The rate of cooling after the high temperature sintering is 1 to 20 ° C / min. The method of manufacturing a weighted block alloy for a golf club according to claim 1, wherein the weight alloy is welded to the head body after the weight alloy is formed. The method for manufacturing a weighted block alloy for a golf club according to claim 6, wherein the welding method is laser welding, ion welding or argon arc welding. A golf ball weighted alloy comprising 10% by weight to 95% by weight of tungsten powder, and the remaining weight is 1:1 to 5 by weight of chromium-iron powder and nickel powder, wherein the chromium-iron powder The weight ratio of chromium is between 15% and 70%, and the weight alloy is made by metal powder injection molding and has a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g/cm 3 . A method for manufacturing a weighted alloy of a golf club, comprising the steps of: preparing a metal mixed powder comprising 10% by weight to 95% by weight of tungsten powder, 1% by weight or less of bismuth (Nb) powder, and the balance by weight 1:1~5 chromium-iron powder and nickel powder, wherein the chromium-iron powder accounts for 15% to 70% by weight of the chromium; the above metal mixed powder is 99:1 to 90:10 by weight. The ratio is mixed with a binder to form a blank; the blank is injected into a mold to form an initial embryo; Removing the mold and removing the binder in the primordial; and subjecting the priming embryo after removing the binder to high temperature sintering to form a weight alloy after cooling, having 8 to 17 g/cm 3 proportion. A method for manufacturing a weighted block alloy for a golf club, comprising the steps of: preparing a metal mixed powder comprising 10% by weight to 95% by weight of tungsten powder, 1% by weight or less of molybdenum (Mo) powder, and the remaining weight is a weight ratio 1:1~5 chromium-iron powder and nickel powder, wherein the chromium-iron powder accounts for 15% to 70% by weight of the chromium; the above metal mixed powder is 99:1 to 90:10 by weight. Mixing a ratio with a binder to form a billet; ejecting the billet into a mold to form an initial embryo; removing the mold and removing the binder in the primordial; and priming the embryo after removing the binder High temperature sintering is performed to form a weight alloy after cooling, which has a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g/cm 3 . A method for producing a weighted alloy of a golf club, comprising the steps of: preparing a metal mixed powder comprising 10 wt% to 95 wt% of tungsten powder, 1 wt% or less of niobium powder, 1 wt% or less of molybdenum powder, and The remaining weight is 1:1~5 chromium-iron powder and nickel powder, wherein the chromium-iron powder accounts for 15% to 70% by weight of the chromium; the above metal mixed powder is 99:1 to 90:10 weight ratio Mixing with a binder to form a billet; ejecting the billet into a mold to form an initial embryo; removing the mold and removing the binder in the pre-embryo; and performing the removing the primary embryo after removing the binder Sintering at a high temperature to form a weight alloy after cooling, which has a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g/cm 3 . A method for producing a weighted alloy of a golf club, comprising the steps of: preparing a metal mixed powder comprising 10% by weight to 95% by weight of tungsten (W) powder, 0.01% by weight to 1.0% by weight of carbon, and the remaining weight It is a chromium-iron (Cr-Fe) powder and a nickel (Ni) powder having a weight ratio of 1:1 to 5, wherein the chromium-iron powder accounts for 15% to 70% by weight of the chromium; The powder is mixed with a binder in a weight ratio of 99:1 to 90:10 to form a billet; the billet is ejected into a mold to form an initial embryo; the mold is removed and the binder in the pre-embryo is removed; And subjecting the primary embryo after removing the binder to high temperature sintering to form a weight alloy after cooling, which has a specific gravity of 8 to 17 g/cm 3 .