Metal injection molded putter
The present invention relates to a method for forming golf club head using metal injection molding and the resulting golf club head. The method of the invention allows for a lower volume of powdered metal than current metal injection molding processes thereby decreasing overall production cost.
1. A method of making a golf club head comprising the steps of: providing a frame composed of a first material; providing a feedstock comprising a powdered metal and a binding agent; positioning the frame into a mold; injection molding the feedstock around the frame to form an intermediate part having a first size; debinding the golf club head to remove the binding agent; sintering the golf club head to form a finished golf club head having a second size about 10 percent to about 20 percent smaller than the first size; wherein the step of positioning the frame into a mold further comprises providing a mold designed to provide a plurality of voids in the molded product, and wherein the plurality of voids accounts for about 10 percent to 75 percent of the total possible volume of the mold; and further comprising the step of filling the plurality of voids with a second material after sintering the golf club head.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the powdered metal is selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, titanium, titanium alloys, tungsten alloys, aluminum alloys, or combinations thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the powdered metal comprises particles with an average diameter of less than 40 micrometers.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the feedstock further comprises a flow agent.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the binding agent is water soluble.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the solvent is water.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frame comprises stainless steel, titanium, titanium alloys, tungsten alloys, aluminum alloys, or combinations thereof.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second material comprises an epoxy, a thermoplastic polymer, a thermoset polymer, an impregnated polymer, a bulk molding compound, or combinations thereof.