3D Printing Golf Clubs

[ejgaudette]

Just read the latest article on the 3D Printing golf clubs by Cobra and felt it was super interesting in the idea in being able to add metal exactly where it needs to be. There was mention of lattice structures and I think this is one of the biggest changes that can be made to clubs. The lattice can be just as strong as full metal structures but obviously they can save weight and we already have heard the stories of saving just a few grams and the options this gives a club maker just think of the possibilities now that weight can be saved all over the place. 

As a side benefit I am not a lefty but hearing about custom club builds must be music to a lefties ears.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

13 minutes ago, ejgaudette said:

Just read the latest article on the 3D Printing golf clubs by Cobra and felt it was super interesting in the idea in being able to add metal exactly where it needs to be. There was mention of lattice structures and I think this is one of the biggest changes that can be made to clubs. The lattice can be just as strong as full metal structures but obviously they can save weight and we already have heard the stories of saving just a few grams and the options this gives a club maker just think of the possibilities now that weight can be saved all over the place. 

As a side benefit I am not a lefty but hearing about custom club builds must be music to a lefties ears.

This was a fascinating article to write, and my goodness the whole concept of clubs for lefties didn't even enter my mind! The real reason most companies have limited - to non-existent - left-handed options is because the number of left-handed golfers is so small. Making molds for lefties is just as expensive as making molds for righties, but the volume is so much lower. With 3D Metal Jet printing there are no molds, so in theory there's no added to cost to producing left-handed models of virtually anything. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I am in favor of anything that will help a lefty

[ejgaudette]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

This was a fascinating article to write, and my goodness the whole concept of clubs for lefties didn't even enter my mind! The real reason most companies have limited - to non-existent - left-handed options is because the number of left-handed golfers is so small. Making molds for lefties is just as expensive as making molds for righties, but the volume is so much lower. With 3D Metal Jet printing there are no molds, so in theory there's no added to cost to producing left-handed models of virtually anything. 

That was exactly my thought just opens up such a wide variety of options for all golfers. I will be very interested to see what the product is when it finally launches. Also thinking this would help make obsolete many of the patterns for movable internal weights for drivers as you could build any structure you want to locate the CG just about anywhere to fit the swing of each golfer. 

I also wonder if this affects the milling process as the 3D printer produces the almost finished product and the milling can just be a finishing touch and not the whole club shaping process. Much like the milling to finish Cobra drive faces, instead of milling the a whole wedge from a larger metal piece.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

3 minutes ago, ejgaudette said:

That was exactly my thought just opens up such a wide variety of options for all golfers. I will be very interested to see what the product is when it finally launches. Also thinking this would help make obsolete many of the patterns for movable internal weights for drivers as you could build any structure you want to locate the CG just about anywhere to fit the swing of each golfer. 

I also wonder if this affects the milling process as the 3D printer produces the almost finished product and the milling can just be a finishing touch and not the whole club shaping process. Much like the milling to finish Cobra drive faces, instead of milling the a whole wedge from a larger metal piece.

Where they're at now is Parmatech is printing parts - the parts still need to be assembled and finished, so there's still a lot of handwork that needs to be done. They're a long way from squirting out a finished club, but they are working on getting closer. A lot will depend on what a golfer finds acceptable as a finished product. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

19 minutes ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

This was a fascinating article to write, and my goodness the whole concept of clubs for lefties didn't even enter my mind! The real reason most companies have limited - to non-existent - left-handed options is because the number of left-handed golfers is so small. Making molds for lefties is just as expensive as making molds for righties, but the volume is so much lower. With 3D Metal Jet printing there are no molds, so in theory there's no added to cost to producing left-handed models of virtually anything. 

Loved your not so subtle suggestion about Bryson wanting to run the machine...hilarious and spot on!

 

[ejgaudette]

2 minutes ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

Where they're at now is Parmatech is printing parts - the parts still need to be assembled and finished, so there's still a lot of handwork that needs to be done. They're a long way from squirting out a finished club, but they are working on getting closer. A lot will depend on what a golfer finds acceptable as a finished product. 

For sure that is one thing that 3D printing is most spaces is working on, that finished looked when you are printing the items from thing strips of material stacking on each other. Given that the irons and wedge forum category is shinny metal, then yes the need to finish and polish is very important. Not to mention not sure how the faces will feel yet if the face was 3D printed versus other manufacturing techniques, another thing us golfers can be quite picky about.

[txgolfjunkie]

I wonder what this will do for demo days...imagine not only hitting demos, but also having someone 'print' up your custom driver/set of irons in a few hours. You could walk away with your new sticks that day instead of waiting days or weeks. Might club companies be able to take advantage of that impulse feeling instead of letting the customer walk away without a product only to have second thoughts? 

[JohnSmalls]

1 hour ago, ejgaudette said:

As a side benefit I am not a lefty but hearing about custom club builds must be music to a lefties ears.

@GolfSpy Barbajo I thought of this as soon as I started reading the article.  The days of getting left out on club choices is getting shorter!

[aerospace_ray]

Very good article. This is going to be fun to watch the evolution of this technology. Happy Cobra is investing in this technology. 

[downlowkey]

This may be the most noteworthy development in the club manufacturing space since the advent of titanium woods.

It makes sense that Cobra will be rolling out options in stages, but my mind is already racing over Nth degree custom potential a little further down the road.

The spec order forms will be sooo much more comprehensive: What sort of turf interaction is ideal for your home course? Need a little bulge and roll on those faces at the top end of the bag? No worries - we will take good care of you.

Liquidmetal Technologies had similar industry shakeup potential but seemed to squander their opportunity window with shortsighted tech licensing policies. I will be following this one closely and hoping Cobra quickly finds their Goldilocks zone, so all us golfers can rest a little easier knowing that those new wrenches will be jusssst right.

[NM01]

Haven’t read the article yet but wouldn’t Cobra be copying Wilson in this endeavor? Wilson iirc used 3d printing in the second iteration of driver vs driver.

 

[TR1PTIK]

14 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Haven’t read the article yet but wouldn’t Cobra be copying Wilson in this endeavor? Wilson iirc used 3d printing in the second iteration of driver vs driver.

 

Wilson used 3D printing to create prototypes, but still used traditional manufacturing process to produce at volume which is fairly commonplace. What Cobra is talking about is using 3D printing to replace traditional processes entirely which drastically expands possibilities for engineers to use discretionary weight and potentially even build fully tailored clubs for the individual golfer. It's a great read and @GolfSpy Barbajo did a fantastic job writing it.

[NM01]

12 minutes ago, TR1PTIK said:

Wilson used 3D printing to create prototypes, but still used traditional manufacturing process to produce at volume which is fairly commonplace. What Cobra is talking about is using 3D printing to replace traditional processes entirely which drastically expands possibilities for engineers to use discretionary weight and potentially even build fully tailored clubs for the individual golfer. It's a great read and @GolfSpy Barbajo did a fantastic job writing it.

Correct Wilson used it for prototyping but they were the first to introduce the concept and I didn’t watch every episode of the show and wasn’t paying 100% attention to the ones I did but I think they were using it as a way into maybe using 3D in the future. 
 

Again I haven’t read the article yet but imo while cobra maybe the first brand that’s pushing forward with using 3D for production they aren’t the first to use it for building and hitting balls in the design process.

 

[silver & black]

Interesting. Is the metal just as strong as forged or cast? What is durability like? This opens up a whole new avenue for technology in clubs.

[TR1PTIK]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Correct Wilson used it for prototyping but they were the first to introduce the concept and I didn’t watch every episode of the show and wasn’t paying 100% attention to the ones I did but I think they were using it as a way into maybe using 3D in the future. 
 

Again I haven’t read the article yet but imo while cobra maybe the first brand that’s pushing forward with using 3D for production they aren’t the first to use it for building and hitting balls in the design process.

 

I couldn't really tell you whether or not they were the first. The fact is 3D printing has been around and used within the golf industry for some time. I have no doubt that Cobra is not the only company looking at 3D printing as the future of golf club manufacturing and customization, but as the article suggests they may be the first to deliver a 3D printed product to the retail market - though we have no earthly idea what that product is. 

I did a quick search about 3D printing in the golf industry and came across these two links - one of which is an interview with former Cobra Golf Engineer Andrew Curtis who says Cobra has been using 3D printing in some capacity since the "early 1990s". The other talks about how Taylormade used 3D printing to create a wax "pattern" in the development of clubs used by Mark O'Meara in 1998.

https://www.golfalot.com/equipment-news/cobra-puma-3d-printing-golf-clubs-2535.aspx

http://www.3dprinterclassifieds.com/blog/2013/02/3d-printed-golf-clubs-help-manufacturers-prototype-products/

EDIT:

Here are a couple more interesting reads I came across while searching.

https://3dprint.com/219546/3d-print-golf-clubs-and-equipment/

https://news.softpedia.com/news/First-3D-Printed-Golf-Putter-Goes-Ping-Video-473965.shtml

[FrogginBullfish]

First to do it is sort of irrelevant. Hell, I could have called first if the titanium 3D printer that my alma mater has was available at the time I did my 4th year design project.

Cobra always seems to be on the cutting edge of technology. Will be really interesting to see how this plays out.

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[revkev]

It's a remarkable concept but wouldn't the downside (from an OEM perspective) be that the player will hang on to those personalized clubs far longer than something he bought off the rack or even normally fitted?

[TR1PTIK]

8 minutes ago, revkev said:

It's a remarkable concept but wouldn't the downside (from an OEM perspective) be that the player will hang on to those personalized clubs far longer than something he bought off the rack or even normally fitted?

Potentially, but we all know the golfer who's never satisfied. I'm also sure there will still be plenty of off-the-rack consumers for which OEMs will continue to offer a product. Toss in the ability to manufacture parts for another industry (assuming the OEM owns the 3D printing operation and doesn't outsource) provides an alternative for income.

The important thing to bear in mind is that this technological shift in manufacturing will take a long time to fully implement and while certain niche products may be offered in the near future, what is discussed in the blog in regard to fully custom, one-off sets is somewhere much further down the road.

[FrogginBullfish]

I think for the time being any clubs made this way are going to be mainly for Tour players and the odd recreational player who can afford it. These aren't going to be cheap sets.

I'd have to assume these sort of clubs, at this point in time, have got to be pushing close to the PXG fully milled single club prices of $650 a club. It's definitely not going to be a popular product for Cobra or any other companies that try it for the next 5-10 years. But as things improve, could become the future of clubmaking. We'll see. Either way, I'm happy they're trying it. Additive manufacturing is pretty cool stuff so I'm excited to see it really making its way into the golf industry.

Potentially, but we all know the golfer who's never satisfied. I'm also sure there will still be plenty of off-the-rack consumers for which OEMs will continue to offer a product. Toss in the ability to manufacture parts for another industry (assuming the OEM owns the 3D printing operation and doesn't outsource) provides an alternative for income.
The important thing to bear in mind is that this technological shift in manufacturing will take a long time to fully implement and while certain niche products may be offered in the near future, what is discussed in the blog in regard to fully custom, one-off sets is somewhere much further down the road.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[fixyurdivot]

I'll get excited when I see the first 3D printed forged iron .  I followed this technology over my career in aerospace and it is pretty cool.  It was extremely handy and beneficial for design prototypes.

[ejgaudette]

11 hours ago, FrogginBullfish said:

Additive manufacturing is pretty cool stuff so I'm excited to see it really making its way into the golf industry.

 

I totally agree and am really interested to see how the switch with allow club design to change. How much weight can be saved and moved.

Cobra already put a carbon fiber top line on there irons just to save a few grams now this process should save even more weight for even more possibilities.

[PMookie]

22 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

Loved your not so subtle suggestion about Bryson wanting to run the machine...hilarious and spot on!

 

Amen! So good!

22 hours ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

Where they're at now is Parmatech is printing parts - the parts still need to be assembled and finished, so there's still a lot of handwork that needs to be done. They're a long way from squirting out a finished club, but they are working on getting closer. A lot will depend on what a golfer finds acceptable as a finished product. 

John, the one HUUUUUUUGE point you missed was how Robert will be buying clubs DAILY, not weekly, once this comes to fruition! Heck. I bet he convinces his employer to buy a $20 million printer for his office!!!!

[Golfspy_CG2]

14 hours ago, revkev said:

It's a remarkable concept but wouldn't the downside (from an OEM perspective) be that the player will hang on to those personalized clubs far longer than something he bought off the rack or even normally fitted?

Hi I''m Rob, we must not have been introduced yet 

[Grit Golf]

3D printing has a lot of prototyping potential for the manufacturers as well. I was talking to Markforged 2 years ago (metal and composite 3D printing company) and they said Wilson was an early adopter of their tech.

 

If you look at the quantum leap Wilson took at that time, you can see the value of rapid prototyping.

 

The unsung tech hero I think is going to be metal injection molding. Metal injection molding is being used by cobra on wedges, but with inserts, and multi material construction designs, I think this tech could make its way into mass production of high tech heads in the near term.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

[Rickp]

This was a fascinating article to write, and my goodness the whole concept of clubs for lefties didn't even enter my mind! The real reason most companies have limited - to non-existent - left-handed options is because the number of left-handed golfers is so small. Making molds for lefties is just as expensive as making molds for righties, but the volume is so much lower. With 3D Metal Jet printing there are no molds, so in theory there's no added to cost to producing left-handed models of virtually anything. 

I’ve heard 11% to 13% are lefty, not a lot.


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[silver & black]

On 6/22/2020 at 7:49 PM, fixyurdivot said:

I'll get excited when I see the first 3D printed forged iron .  I followed this technology over my career in aerospace and it is pretty cool.  It was extremely handy and beneficial for design prototypes.

This might be a dumb question, but how do you 3D print a "forged" iron? I'm not a tech savvy guy, so I don't understand how this stuff works...lol.

[fixyurdivot]

17 minutes ago, silver & black said:

This might be a dumb question, but how do you 3D print a "forged" iron? I'm not a tech savvy guy, so I don't understand how this stuff works...lol.

Not a dumb question at all, and the crux of my comment did not escape you .  That's why I'll get real excited when the technology delivers that microstructure.  

[cnosil]

Not a dumb question at all, and the crux of my comment did not escape you .  That's why I'll get real excited when the technology delivers that microstructure.  

I guess you aren’t interested in 3D printed golf clubs since you will never get 3D printed and forged; at least in my mind? Casting, milling, forging, and 3D printing are all processes. Milling is the only in that can be combined since it can be used as a cleanup process.

 

Note: This is a question to better understand, not challenge what you are saying.

[fixyurdivot]

9 hours ago, cnosil said:

I guess you aren’t interested in 3D printed golf clubs since you will never get 3D printed and forged; at least in my mind? Casting, milling, forging, and 3D printing are all processes. Milling is the only in that can be combined since it can be used as a cleanup process.

 

Note: This is a question to better understand, not challenge what you are saying.

As the technology stands presently that's correct.  My original comment was more tongue in cheek.  Early in my career stereolithography was just emerging and we were fascinated watching a set or servo mirrors direct a laser across a vat of liquid goo and create things that weren't too much advanced of the old put a quarter in the slot and watch the machine spit you out a plastic, still warm to the touch, T-rex .  When I left the workforce in 2016, I was impressed with the quality of microstructure of the leading edge technologies in this field.  Cracking the nut to yield forged structure may not be too far off. 

Where I think this application will shine is niche custom clubs with logos or designs that personalize clubs.