Golf Club Head With Binder Jet Printed lattice Support Structures
Golf club components with complex structures such as lattice structures, beam structures, and complex surface-based structures, are described herein. A binder jet machine is used create complex structures within these golf club components to optimize weighting, sound, and performance of golf club heads. These components may be manufactured using a method that includes the steps of designing a golf club head component in CAD using optimization software, printing the component from a powdered material, and then removing excess powder from the component via port holes that extend into an external surface of the component and communicate with interior voids within the component.
1 . A golf club head comprising:
a face component;
a body component comprising a sole;
a crown;
an insert with a lattice structure; and
a weight,
wherein the face component is affixed to the body component and to the crown,
wherein the sole comprises a recess, and
wherein the lattice structure is compressed within the recess between the sole and the weight.
2 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the lattice structure comprises a series of interconnected beams, wherein each beam has a circular cross-section, wherein each beam connects to another beam in a repeating pattern, and wherein each end of each beam is connected to at least one other beam.
3 . The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of geometric cells, and wherein at least 25% of the cells of the plurality of cells have identical dimensions.
4 . The golf club head of claim 2 , wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of geometric cells, and wherein at least 25% of the cells of the plurality of cells have a characteristic different from all other cells of the plurality of cells, and wherein the characteristic is selected from the group consisting of size, aspect ratio, skew, and beam diameter.
5 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the recess extends into an external surface of the sole, and wherein the insert is sized to fit within the recess.
6 . The golf club head of claim 5 , wherein an external surface of the weight is flush with the external surface of the sole when the insert is compressed within the recess between the weight and the sole.
7 . The golf club head of claim 5 , further comprising a mechanical fastener, wherein the sole comprises at least one threaded opening sized to receive at least a portion of the mechanical fastener, and wherein the mechanical fastener affixes the weight to the sole.
8 . The golf club head of claim 7 , wherein the recess is divided by at least one strut, and wherein the at least one threaded opening is disposed within the at least one strut.
9 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the weight comprises a plurality of through-openings.
10 . The golf club head of claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the insert is visible through the through-openings.
11 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the insert comprises at least one curved surface, and wherein the at least one curved surface contacts the weight.
12 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the weight does not contact any portion of the body component.
13 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein each of the sole and the crown is composed of a non-metal material selected from the group consisting of plastic and composite, and wherein the face component is composed of a metal material.
14 . The golf club head of claim 1 , wherein the insert is binder jet printed from a non-metal material, and wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of geometric cells selected from the group consisting of simple cubic, body centered cubic, face centered cubic, diamond, Fluorite, octet, truncated cube, truncated octahedron, kelvin cell, isotruss, and Weaire-Phelan.
15 . The golf club head of claim 14 , wherein the weight comprises a tungsten alloy.