EP0925810B1 - Golf club with a thermally sprayed coating - Google Patents

Golf club with a thermally sprayed coating Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0925810B1
EP0925810B1 EP98123356A EP98123356A EP0925810B1 EP 0925810 B1 EP0925810 B1 EP 0925810B1 EP 98123356 A EP98123356 A EP 98123356A EP 98123356 A EP98123356 A EP 98123356A EP 0925810 B1 EP0925810 B1 EP 0925810B1
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EP
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Prior art keywords
spraying
coating
gas
golf club
golf
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Expired - Lifetime
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EP98123356A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0925810A1 (en
Inventor
Peter Dipl.-Ing Heinrich
Heinrich Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kreye
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Linde GmbH
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Linde GmbH
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Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C4/00—Coating by spraying the coating material in the molten state, e.g. by flame, plasma or electric discharge
    • C23C4/04—Coating by spraying the coating material in the molten state, e.g. by flame, plasma or electric discharge characterised by the coating material
    • C23C4/10—Oxides, borides, carbides, nitrides or silicides; Mixtures thereof
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
    • A63B53/00—Golf clubs
    • A63B53/04—Heads
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
    • A63B53/00—Golf clubs
    • A63B53/04—Heads
    • A63B53/0416—Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
    • A63B53/00—Golf clubs
    • A63B53/04—Heads
    • A63B53/0416—Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert
    • A63B53/042—Heads having an impact surface provided by a face insert the face insert consisting of a material different from that of the head
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C24/00—Coating starting from inorganic powder
    • C23C24/02—Coating starting from inorganic powder by application of pressure only
    • C23C24/04—Impact or kinetic deposition of particles
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
    • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
    • C23C4/00—Coating by spraying the coating material in the molten state, e.g. by flame, plasma or electric discharge
    • C23C4/12—Coating by spraying the coating material in the molten state, e.g. by flame, plasma or electric discharge characterised by the method of spraying
    • C23C4/129—Flame spraying
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
    • A63B60/00—Details or accessories of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like
    • A63B60/004—Striking surfaces coated with high-friction abrasive materials

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method for producing a coated golf club with a club face for hitting golf balls, wherein a coating is applied by means of a thermal spraying method at least in the area of the club face.
  • US 5272802 involves the thermal coating of golf club face. With the coating should v.a. the moment of inertia of the golf club are affected. Plasma spraying is especially recommended, since plasma spraying leads to a particularly firmly adhering layer.
  • WO 97/20961 also discloses the coating of the club face of a golf club by means of flame spraying and plasma spraying, wherein the coating is carried out by spraying molten ceramic particles.
  • the present invention has for its object to provide a method to further improve golf clubs in terms of their impact properties and to design them especially in the field of their clubface so that the possibilities, skills and aptitudes for certain applications are increased.
  • racquets should be made available on the one hand, which allow for particularly wide strokes or even make it possible in the first place.
  • rackets are provided for sensitive soft strokes over short distances.
  • golf clubs should also be pointed out for swirling impacts.
  • the stated object is achieved in that the coating is applied by means of cold gas spraying, wherein a powder having particle sizes of 5 to 100 microns is used.
  • the advantage of the invention is that by producing the coating of the golf club using a thermal spraying method, a wide range of golf clubs of different properties of the coating for Can be provided, which allows an optimal adjustment of the properties and in particular the surface properties of the club face in addition to the possibilities that are already offered by the choice of the material of the racket and in particular the club head anyway.
  • Thermal spray processes offer the possibilities of producing bat coatings of a wide variety of materials, the thermal spraying processes enabling coating compositions which do not allow other coating production processes.
  • Thermal spraying processes are characterized essentially by the fact that they allow uniformly applied coatings of high quality and quality. By thermal spraying applied coatings can be adapted by varying the spray materials and / or the process parameters to different requirements.
  • the spray materials can be processed in the form of wires, rods or as a powder. It may additionally be provided a post-treatment.
  • the thermal spraying for coating knows as process variants in principle the autogenous flame spraying or the high-speed flame spraying, the arc spraying, the plasma spraying, the detonation spraying and the laser spraying.
  • cold gas spraying is also referred to as cold gas spraying. It is a kind of further development of high-speed flame spraying. This method is described, for example, in European Patent EP 0 484 533 B1.
  • cold gas spraying an additional material in powder form is used. The powder particles are melted during cold gas spraying but not in the gas jet. Rather, the temperature of the gas jet is below the melting point of the filler material powder particles (EP 0 484 533 B1).
  • a "cold" or a comparatively colder gas is used in comparison to the conventional spraying method.
  • the gas is heated as well as in the conventional method, but usually only to temperatures below the melting point of the powder particles of the filler material.
  • the powder particles can be accelerated to a speed of 300 to 1600 m / s.
  • speeds of the powder particles between 1000 and 1600 m / s, particularly preferably between 1250 and 1600 m / s, are particularly suitable, since in this case the energy transfer in the form of kinetic energy is particularly high.
  • metals for the coating of golf clubs by thermal spraying, in particular metals, metal alloys, oxides (in particular Al 2 O 3 and / or TiO 2 ), carbides, borides, plastics or mixtures of the abovementioned substances can be used as spraying materials.
  • a powder is used with particle sizes of 5 to 100 microns.
  • Suitable gases for the thermal spraying are, for example, nitrogen, helium, argon, neon, krypton, xenon, a gas containing hydrogen, a carbon-containing gas, in particular carbon dioxide, oxygen, an oxygen-containing gas, air or mixtures of the abovementioned gases.
  • the gas carrying the pulverulent filler material is also suitable for nitrogen, argon, neon, krypton, xenon, oxygen, a gas containing hydrogen, a carbon-containing gas, in particular carbon dioxide , or mixtures of the aforementioned gases and mixtures of these gases with helium.
  • the proportion of helium in the total gas can be up to 90 vol .-%.
  • a helium content of 10 to 50 vol .-% is maintained in the gas mixture.
  • the layers produced in this way adhere very well to a wide variety of substrate materials, for example to the metals or metal alloys of the golf clubs and in particular of the clubhead in the region of the clubface.
  • the coatings are of high quality, have an extremely low porosity and have such spray surfaces that rework is usually unnecessary.
  • the gases mentioned have a sufficient density and speed of sound to ensure the required high speeds of the powder particles, especially in cold gas spraying can.
  • the gas may contain inert and / or reactive gases.
  • the invention offers the possibility to provide golf clubs with impact surfaces with comparatively high spring energy. These are preferably used for far hitting (so-called Patter). It has been shown that these golf clubs of the invention allow extremely wide blows that are not uncontrolled despite the greater width.
  • Soft coating can also be applied by means of the cold gas spraying process.
  • the so equipped golf clubs are first Line for emotional strokes over shorter distances and especially for puttering thought.
  • Thermally sprayed coatings on golf clubs can increase the coefficient of static friction compared to conventional golf clubs. This is due to the fact that a high coefficient of static friction of the coating in the region of the striking surface relative to the golf ball can be achieved by suitable means. With golf clubs such as these, swirl-type impacts (e.g., hook, slice, back spinning) can be easily performed.
  • swirl-type impacts e.g., hook, slice, back spinning
  • the thermally sprayed coating may serve as anti-skid and / or wear protection for the golf club, optionally in addition to other properties.

Description

Die Erfindung betrifft Verfahren zur Herstellung eines beschichteten Golfschlägers mit einer Schlagfläche zum Schlagen von Golfbällen, wobei zumindest im Bereich der Schlagfläche eine Beschichtung mittels eines thermischen Spritzverfahrens aufgebracht wird.The invention relates to a method for producing a coated golf club with a club face for hitting golf balls, wherein a coating is applied by means of a thermal spraying method at least in the area of the club face.

Beim Golfspielen ist es wichtig, den Golfball aus den unterschiedlichsten Situationen heraus unter Berücksichtigung der Entfernung, des Untergrundes, etwaiger Hindernisse etc. möglichst kontrolliert in Richtung des Loches schlagen zu können. Um diesen unterschiedlichen Anforderungen gerecht werden zu können, werden gewöhnlich verschiedenartige Golfschläger eingesetzt. Der Spieler wählt üblicherweise den für anstehenden Schlag seiner Meinung nach geeigneten Schläger aus. Die einzelnen Schläger unterscheiden sich dabei in der Regel hinsichtlich des Schlägermaterials, zumindest im Bereich des Schlägerkopfes, der die Schlagfläche enthält, des Anstellwinkels der Schlagfläche und der Oberflächenbeschaffenheit im Bereich der Schlagfläche.When playing golf, it is important to be able to hit the golf ball from the most different situations, taking into account the distance, the ground, any obstacles, etc. as controlled as possible in the direction of the hole. In order to meet these different requirements, various golf clubs are usually used. The player usually chooses the appropriate bat for his upcoming strike. As a rule, the individual clubs differ with regard to the bat material, at least in the area of the club head containing the clubface, the angle of attack of the clubface and the surface condition in the area of the clubface.

Die US 5272802 beinhaltet das thermische Beschichten der Schlagfläche von Golfschlägern. Mit der Beschichtung soll v.a. das Trägheitsmoment des Golfschlägers beeinflusst werden. Besonders empfohlen wird das Plasmaspritzen, da das Plasmaspritzen zu einer besonders fest haftenden Schicht führt. Auch in der WO 97/20961 ist das Beschichten der Schlagfläche eines Golfschlägers mittels Flammspritzen und Plasmaspritzen offenbart, wobei das Beschichten durch Spritzen von geschmolzenen keramischen Partikeln erfolgt.US 5272802 involves the thermal coating of golf club face. With the coating should v.a. the moment of inertia of the golf club are affected. Plasma spraying is especially recommended, since plasma spraying leads to a particularly firmly adhering layer. WO 97/20961 also discloses the coating of the club face of a golf club by means of flame spraying and plasma spraying, wherein the coating is carried out by spraying molten ceramic particles.

Der vorliegenden Erfindung liegt die Aufgabe zugrunde, ein Verfahren anzugeben, um Golfschläger hinsichtlich ihrer Schlageigenschaften weiter zu verbessern und sie vor allem im Bereich ihrer Schlagfläche so auszugestalten, dass die Möglichkeiten, Fähigkeiten und Eignungen für bestimmte Einsatzfälle vergrößert werden. Es sollten einerseits möglichst Schläger zur Verfügung gestellt werden, die auch besonders weite Schläge zulassen oder gar überhaupt erst ermöglichen. Auf der anderen Seite sollten aber auch Schläger für gefühlvolle weiche Schläge über geringe Entfernungen bereitgestellt werden. Schließlich sollten auch Golfschläger für Schläge mit Drall aufgezeigt werden.The present invention has for its object to provide a method to further improve golf clubs in terms of their impact properties and to design them especially in the field of their clubface so that the possibilities, skills and aptitudes for certain applications are increased. On the one hand, racquets should be made available on the one hand, which allow for particularly wide strokes or even make it possible in the first place. On the other hand, should but also rackets are provided for sensitive soft strokes over short distances. Finally, golf clubs should also be pointed out for swirling impacts.

Die gestellte Aufgabe wird dadurch gelöst, dass die Beschichtung mittels Kaltgasspritzens aufgebracht wird, wobei ein Pulver mit Partikelgrößen von 5 bis 100 µm eingesetzt wird.The stated object is achieved in that the coating is applied by means of cold gas spraying, wherein a powder having particle sizes of 5 to 100 microns is used.

Der Vorteil der Erfindung liegt darin, dass durch die Herstellung der Beschichtung des Golfschlägers unter Anwendung eines thermischen Spritzverfahrens eine weite Palette an Golfschlägern unterschiedlichster Eigenschaften der Beschichtung zur Verfügung gestellt werden kann, welche eine optimale Anpassung der Eigenschaften und insbesondere der Oberflächeneigenschaften der Schlagfläche zusätzlich zu den Möglichkeiten erlaubt, die durch die Wahl des Materials des Schlägers und insbesondere des Schlägerkopfes ohnehin schon geboten werden. Thermische Spritzverfahren bieten die Möglichkeiten der Herstellung von Schlägerbeschichtungen aus den unterschiedlichsten Materialien, wobei die thermischen Spritzverfahren Schichtzusammensetzungen ermöglichen, die andere Herstellungsverfahren von Beschichtungen nicht zulassen.The advantage of the invention is that by producing the coating of the golf club using a thermal spraying method, a wide range of golf clubs of different properties of the coating for Can be provided, which allows an optimal adjustment of the properties and in particular the surface properties of the club face in addition to the possibilities that are already offered by the choice of the material of the racket and in particular the club head anyway. Thermal spray processes offer the possibilities of producing bat coatings of a wide variety of materials, the thermal spraying processes enabling coating compositions which do not allow other coating production processes.

Thermische Spritzverfahren zeichnen sich im wesentlichen dadurch aus, daß sie gleichmäßig aufgetragene Beschichtungen von hoher Qualität und Güte ermöglichen. Durch thermische Spritzverfahren aufgetragene Beschichtungen können durch Variation der Spritzmaterialien und/oder der Verfahrensparameter an unterschiedliche Anforderungen angepaßt werden. Die Spritzmaterialien können dabei in Form von Drähten, Stäben oder als Pulver verarbeitet werden. Es kann zusätzlich eine Nachbehandlung vorgesehen sein.Thermal spraying processes are characterized essentially by the fact that they allow uniformly applied coatings of high quality and quality. By thermal spraying applied coatings can be adapted by varying the spray materials and / or the process parameters to different requirements. The spray materials can be processed in the form of wires, rods or as a powder. It may additionally be provided a post-treatment.

Das thermische Spritzen zum Beschichten kennt als Verfahrensvarianten grundsätzlich das autogene Flammspritzen oder das Hochgeschwindigkeits-Flammspritzen, das Lichtbogenspritzen, das Plasmaspritzen, das Detonationsspritzen und das Laserspritzen.The thermal spraying for coating knows as process variants in principle the autogenous flame spraying or the high-speed flame spraying, the arc spraying, the plasma spraying, the detonation spraying and the laser spraying.

Thermische Spritzverfahren werden in allgemeiner Form beispielsweise in

  • Übersicht und Einführung in das "Thermische Spritzen", Peter Heinrich, Linde-Berichte aus Technik und Wissenschaft, 52/1982, Seiten 29 bis 37,
    oder
  • Thermisches Spritzen - Fakten und Stand der Technik, Peter Heinrich, Jahrbuch Oberflächentechnik 1992, Band 48, 1991, Seiten 304 bis 327, Metall-Verlag GmbH,
beschrieben.Thermal spraying methods are used in general form, for example in
  • Overview and introduction to the "thermal spraying", Peter Heinrich, Linde reports from technology and science, 52/1982, pages 29 to 37,
    or
  • Thermal spraying - Facts and state of the art, Peter Heinrich, Yearbook Surface Technology 1992, Volume 48, 1991, pages 304-327, Metall-Verlag GmbH,
described.

In jüngerer Zeit wurde darüber hinaus ein weiteres thermisches Spritzverfahren entwickelt, welches auch als Kaltgasspritzen bezeichnet wird. Es handelt sich dabei um eine Art Weiterentwicklung des Hochgeschwindigkeits-Flammspritzens. Dieses Verfahren ist beispielsweise in der europäischen Patentschrift EP 0 484 533 B1 beschrieben. Beim Kaltgasspritzen kommt ein Zusatzwerkstoff in Pulverform zum Einsatz. Die Pulverpartikel werden beim Kaltgasspritzen jedoch nicht im Gasstrahl geschmolzen. Vielmehr liegt die Temperatur des Gasstrahles unterhalb des Schmelzpunktes der Zusatzwerkstoffpulverpartikel (EP 0 484 533 B1). Im Kaltgasspritzverfahren wird also ein im Vergleich zu den herkömmlichen Spritzverfahren "kaltes" bzw. ein vergleichsweise kälteres Gas verwendet. Gleichwohl wird das Gas aber ebenso wie in den herkömmlichen Verfahren erwärmt, aber in der Regel lediglich auf Temperaturen unterhalb des Schmelzpunktes der Pulverpartikel des Zusatzwerkstoffes.Recently, another thermal spraying process has been developed, which is also referred to as cold gas spraying. It is a kind of further development of high-speed flame spraying. This method is described, for example, in European Patent EP 0 484 533 B1. In cold gas spraying, an additional material in powder form is used. The powder particles are melted during cold gas spraying but not in the gas jet. Rather, the temperature of the gas jet is below the melting point of the filler material powder particles (EP 0 484 533 B1). In the cold gas spraying method, therefore, a "cold" or a comparatively colder gas is used in comparison to the conventional spraying method. However, the gas is heated as well as in the conventional method, but usually only to temperatures below the melting point of the powder particles of the filler material.

Je nach dem verwendeten thermischen Spritzverfahren ergibt sich eine bestimmte Beschichtung des Golfschlägers mit bestimmten Eigenschaften. Die besten Ergebnisse konnten erzielt werden, wenn die Beschichtung mittels des Kaltgasspritzverfahrens aufgebracht wird. Beim Kaltgasspritzen können die Pulverpartikel auf eine Geschwindigkeit von 300 bis 1600 m/s beschleunigt werden. Es eignen sich dabei insbesondere Geschwindigkeiten der Pulverpartikel zwischen 1000 und 1600 m/s, besonders bevorzugt zwischen 1250 und 1600 m/s, da in diesem Fall die Energieübertragung in Form von kinetischer Energie besonders hoch ausfällt.Depending on the thermal spray method used, a certain coating of the golf club with certain properties results. The best results could be achieved if the coating is applied by means of the cold gas spraying process. With cold gas spraying, the powder particles can be accelerated to a speed of 300 to 1600 m / s. In particular, speeds of the powder particles between 1000 and 1600 m / s, particularly preferably between 1250 and 1600 m / s, are particularly suitable, since in this case the energy transfer in the form of kinetic energy is particularly high.

Für die Beschichtung der Golfschläger mittels thermischen Spritzens können als Spritzmaterialien insbesondere Metalle, Metallegierungen, Oxide (insbesondere Al2O3 und/oder TiO2), Carbide, Boride, Kunststoffe oder Mischungen der vorgenannten Stoffe verwendet werden.For the coating of golf clubs by thermal spraying, in particular metals, metal alloys, oxides (in particular Al 2 O 3 and / or TiO 2 ), carbides, borides, plastics or mixtures of the abovementioned substances can be used as spraying materials.

Zur Herstellung der Golfschläger mittels der thermischen Spritzverfahren wird ein Pulver eingesetzt mit Partikelgrößen von 5 bis 100 µm.For the production of golf clubs by means of thermal spraying a powder is used with particle sizes of 5 to 100 microns.

Als Gase für das thermische Spritzen kommen beispielsweise Stickstoff, Helium, Argon, Neon, Krypton, Xenon, ein Wasserstoff enthaltendes Gas, ein kohlenstoffhaltiges Gas, insbesondere Kohlendioxid, Sauerstoff, ein Sauerstoff enthaltendes Gas, Luft oder Mischungen der vorgenannten Gase in Frage. Neben den aus der EP 0 484 533 B1 bekannten Gasen Luft und/oder Helium eignen sich auch für das den pulverförmigen Zusatzwerkstoff tragende Gas ein Stickstoff, Argon, Neon, Krypton, Xenon, Sauerstoff, ein Wasserstoff enthaltendes Gas, ein kohlenstoffhaltiges Gas, insbesondere Kohlendioxid, oder Mischungen der vorgenannten Gase und Mischungen dieser Gase mit Helium. Der Anteil des Helium am Gesamtgas kann bis zu 90 Vol.-% betragen. Bevorzugt wird ein Heliumanteil von 10 bis 50 Vol.-% im Gasgemisch eingehalten.Suitable gases for the thermal spraying are, for example, nitrogen, helium, argon, neon, krypton, xenon, a gas containing hydrogen, a carbon-containing gas, in particular carbon dioxide, oxygen, an oxygen-containing gas, air or mixtures of the abovementioned gases. In addition to the gases air and / or helium known from EP 0 484 533 B1, the gas carrying the pulverulent filler material is also suitable for nitrogen, argon, neon, krypton, xenon, oxygen, a gas containing hydrogen, a carbon-containing gas, in particular carbon dioxide , or mixtures of the aforementioned gases and mixtures of these gases with helium. The proportion of helium in the total gas can be up to 90 vol .-%. Preferably, a helium content of 10 to 50 vol .-% is maintained in the gas mixture.

Es hat sich gezeigt, daß durch den Einsatz dieser unterschiedlichen Gase und Gasgemischen zum Beschleunigen und Tragen eines pulverförmigen Zusatzwerkstoffes bzw. Spritzmaterials die Flexibilität und Wirksamkeit des thermischen Spritzverfahrens beim Beschichten von Golfschlägern wesentlich vergrößert werden kann. Die so hergestellten Schichten haften sehr gut auf den verschiedensten Substratwerkstoffen, beispielsweise auf den Metallen oder Metallegierungen der Golfschläger und insbesondere des Schlägerkopfes im Bereich der Schlagfläche. Die Beschichtungen sind von hoher Güte, weisen eine außerordentlich geringe Porosität auf und besitzen derartige Spritzoberflächen, daß sich in der Regel eine Nacharbeitung erübrigt. Die erwähnten Gase besitzen eine ausreichende Dichte und Schallgeschwindigkeit, um die erforderlichen hohen Geschwindigkeiten der Pulverpartikel insbesondere beim Kaltgasspritzen gewährleisten zu können. Das Gas kann dabei inerte und/oder reaktive Gase enthalten.It has been found that by using these different gases and gas mixtures for accelerating and carrying a powdered filler material or spray material, the flexibility and effectiveness of the thermal spraying process when coating golf clubs can be substantially increased. The layers produced in this way adhere very well to a wide variety of substrate materials, for example to the metals or metal alloys of the golf clubs and in particular of the clubhead in the region of the clubface. The coatings are of high quality, have an extremely low porosity and have such spray surfaces that rework is usually unnecessary. The gases mentioned have a sufficient density and speed of sound to ensure the required high speeds of the powder particles, especially in cold gas spraying can. The gas may contain inert and / or reactive gases.

Die Erfindung bietet die Möglichkeit, Golfschläger mit Schlagflächen mit vergleichsweise hoher Federenergie bereitzustellen. Diese werden bevorzugt zum weiten Schlagen eingesetzt (sogenannte Patter). Es hat sich gezeigt, daß diese erfindungsgemäßen Golfschläger extrem weite Schläge ermöglichen, die trotz der größeren Weite nicht unkontrollierter werden.The invention offers the possibility to provide golf clubs with impact surfaces with comparatively high spring energy. These are preferably used for far hitting (so-called Patter). It has been shown that these golf clubs of the invention allow extremely wide blows that are not uncontrolled despite the greater width.

Mittels des Kaltgasspritzverfahrens können auch weiche Beschichtung aufgebracht werden. Die so ausgestatteten Golfschläger sind in erster Linie für gefühlvolle Schläge über kürzere Distanzen und insbesondere zum Einputten gedacht.Soft coating can also be applied by means of the cold gas spraying process. The so equipped golf clubs are first Line for emotional strokes over shorter distances and especially for puttering thought.

Durch thermisch gespritzte Beschichtungen auf Golfschlägern können die Haftreibungskoeffizienten gegenüber herkömmlichen Golfschlägern erhöht werden. Dies liegt daran, daß durch geeignete ein hoher Haftreibungskoeffizient der Beschichtung im Bereich der Schlagfläche gegenüber dem Golfball erzielt werden kann. Mit derartigen Golfschlägern können Schläge mit Drall (z.B. Hook, Slice, Backspinn) problemlos ausgeführt werden.Thermally sprayed coatings on golf clubs can increase the coefficient of static friction compared to conventional golf clubs. This is due to the fact that a high coefficient of static friction of the coating in the region of the striking surface relative to the golf ball can be achieved by suitable means. With golf clubs such as these, swirl-type impacts (e.g., hook, slice, back spinning) can be easily performed.

Die thermisch gespritzte Beschichtung kann für den Golfschläger - gegebenenfalls auch zusätzlich zu anderen Eigenschaften - als Gleitschutz und/oder als Verschleißschutz dienen.The thermally sprayed coating may serve as anti-skid and / or wear protection for the golf club, optionally in addition to other properties.

In praktischen Tests haben sich beispielsweise Golfschläger mit thermisch gespritzten Beschichtungen im Bereich der Schlagfläche hervorragend bewährt, deren Spritzbeschichtungen WCCo enthielten.In practical tests, for example, golf clubs with thermally sprayed coatings in the area of the striking surface have proven outstandingly well, whose spray coatings contained WCCo.

Claims (4)

  1. Process for producing a coated golf club having a striking face for striking golf balls, in which a coating is applied by means of a thermal spraying process at least in the region of the striking face, characterized in that the coating is applied by means of cold spraying using a powder with particle sizes of from 5 to 100 µm.
  2. Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that during the cold spraying process powder particles are accelerated to 300 to 1600 m/s, preferably to 1000 to 1600 m/s, particularly preferably to 1250 to 1600 m/s.
  3. Process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the spray materials used are metals, metal alloys, oxides (in particular Al2O3 and/or TiO2), carbides, borides, plastics or mixtures of these materials.
  4. Process according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the gas which carries the pulverulent additional material in the cold spraying contains up to 90% by volume helium, preferably 10 to 50% by volume helium in the gas mixture.
EP98123356A 1997-12-23 1998-12-08 Golf club with a thermally sprayed coating Expired - Lifetime EP0925810B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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DE19757736A DE19757736A1 (en) 1997-12-23 1997-12-23 Golf clubs with a thermally sprayed coating
DE19757736 1997-12-23

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EP0925810A1 EP0925810A1 (en) 1999-06-30
EP0925810B1 true EP0925810B1 (en) 2006-07-05

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DE19929116A1 (en) 1999-06-24 2000-12-28 Linde Gas Ag Golf clubs with a tension-specific club face and process for producing the coating
DE10037213A1 (en) * 2000-07-31 2002-02-14 Linde Gas Ag Plastic surface with a thermally sprayed coating and process for its production
US20050115121A1 (en) * 2001-12-04 2005-06-02 Steen Nielsen Rotary ironer for ironing essentially rectangular pieces of cloth
US7687591B2 (en) * 2003-03-17 2010-03-30 Dow Corning Corporation Solventless silicone pressure sensitive adhesives with improved high temperature cohesive strength
DE10319481A1 (en) * 2003-04-30 2004-11-18 Linde Ag Laval nozzle use for cold gas spraying, includes convergent section and divergent section such that portion of divergent section of nozzle has bell-shaped contour
DE102004038795B4 (en) * 2004-08-09 2007-07-19 Atg- Advanced Technology Group S.R.O. Process for the preparation of photocatalytically active polymers
US8617002B2 (en) 2009-06-24 2013-12-31 Acushnet Company Wedge type golf club head with improved performance
US20130053169A1 (en) * 2011-08-23 2013-02-28 Nike, Inc. Golf Club Head or Other Ball Striking Device Having Color Component
US20130130830A1 (en) * 2011-08-23 2013-05-23 Nike, Inc. Golf Club And Golf Club Head Structures Having Nano Coating
US20150238826A1 (en) * 2014-02-25 2015-08-27 Mizuno Usa, Inc. Wave sole for a golf club head
US10926141B2 (en) 2014-02-25 2021-02-23 Mizuno Corporation Wave sole for a golf club head
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JP6449565B2 (en) * 2014-06-20 2019-01-09 住友ゴム工業株式会社 Golf club head and manufacturing method thereof
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US10894193B2 (en) 2014-11-26 2021-01-19 Karsten Manufacturing Corporation Golf club heads with cavities and related methods
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US11420099B2 (en) * 2017-01-19 2022-08-23 Guerin D. Rife Putter striking face configuration to progressively reduce dispersion
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE59813629D1 (en) 2006-08-17
US6419593B1 (en) 2002-07-16
EP0925810A1 (en) 1999-06-30
DE19757736A1 (en) 1999-06-24

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