METHOD OF MAKING A GOLF BALL WITH COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION
A method and system is described for making a golf ball. The method comprises providing at least two or more dissimilar materials. Next, the at least two or more dissimilar materials are applied onto a substrate to provide one or more heterogeneous preforms. The one or more heterogeneous preforms are then formed into a golf ball component.
1 . A method of making a golf ball, comprising:
providing at least two or more dissimilar materials;
applying the at least two or more dissimilar materials onto a substrate to provide one or more heterogeneous preforms; and
forming the one or more heterogeneous preforms into a golf ball component.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is cavities for receipt of the two or more dissimilar materials and the dissimilar materials are injected into the cavities using a plurality of injection heads to form the one or more heterogeneous preforms.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprise polybutadiene and zinc diacrylate adjusted to provide soft and hard areas within the heterogeneous preform and the preform is cured into a golf ball core or golf ball core center.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the zinc diacrylate is present in an amount between 10-25 parts per hundred of polybutadiene to provide a softer area within the one or more heterogeneous preform and in an amount between 26-40 parts per hundred of polybutadiene to provide a harder area within the one or more heterogeneous preform.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprises two or more thermoplastic polymers with dissimilar hardness adjacent to one another to provide soft and hard areas within the heterogeneous preform.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprises thermoplastic, thermoset materials, or combinations thereof having carboxylic acid less than 12% to provide a softer area within the one or more heterogeneous preforms.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprises thermoplastic, thermoset materials, or combinations thereof having carboxylic acid greater than 19% to provide a harder area within the one or more heterogeneous preforms.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprises Surlyn® 7940 in the range of 30-50%, Surlyn® 8940 in the range of 30-50%, and 10-40% of Surlyn® 8320 or Fusabond® to provide a softer area within the one or more heterogeneous preforms.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprises Surlyn® 8150 in the range of 30-50% and Surlyn® 9150 in the range of 30-50% to provide a harder area within the one or more heterogeneous preforms.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials are applied onto a substrate in a form selected from a group consisting: a fluid state, layers, shapes, and combinations thereof.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of at least two or more materials uses stereolithography.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of at least two or more dissimilar materials uses a computer-controlled robot.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of at least two or more dissimilar materials uses a plurality of controlled dispensing nozzles.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying of at least two or more dissimilar materials uses a plurality of 3-D printer nozzles.
15 . A method of making a golf ball, comprising:
providing at least two or more dissimilar materials;
disposing the dissimilar materials into cavities to form heterogeneous preform shells;
forming the heterogeneous perform shells over a golf ball core to form a heterogeneous intermediate layer or cover.
16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprise thermoplastic materials having flexural moduli that differ by at least 20,000 psi.
17 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the two or more dissimilar materials comprise thermoplastic materials having material hardnesses that differ by at least 5 Shore D.
18 . A method of making a golf ball, comprising:
providing at least two or more dissimilar materials;
applying the two or more dissimilar materials into one or more cover layers to provide one or more cover heterogeneous performance regions;
forming the one or more cover heterogeneous performance regions into the golf ball component.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more cover layers defines cavities for receipt of the two or more dissimilar materials and the dissimilar materials are injected into the cavities using a plurality of injection heads to form the one or more cover heterogeneous performance regions.
20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more cover performance regions are marked with one or more of the following to indicate harder material regions and softer material regions: different colors, indicia, and dimple sizes.