William L. Coney Blog: First Look: Thin Ply Technology (TPT) Golf Shafts

Thursday, May 4, 2017

First Look: Thin Ply Technology (TPT) Golf Shafts

TPT (Thin-Ply Technology) is not new to the world of high-end composite materials. The technology, now present in for the first time in a line of golf shafts, was originally used in sailing masts for the America's Cup. Its invention took TPT from an unknown to an 80% market share leader in just four years (2003-2007).

From there, the technology expanded to F-1 series race cars, skis, snowboards, and satellites. Recently the company entered the golf equipment realm.

The goal for this initial line of shafts was to produce the world's most consistent and uniform shaft, using a patented manufacturing technique called "Thin-Ply Winding Method."

The vast majority of shafts are produced by wrapping sheets of material (flags) around a steel mandrel. If you've ever added "wraps" underneath a grip, this is a rudimentary analogy, but you get the picture. When sheets overlap a "spine" is created and while spines and how to orient them during shaft installation is the topic of much debate, TPT's proprietary winding technique eliminates spines from the conversation.

TPT shafts leverage longitudinal and off-axis plies to produce a shaft which has nearly uniform flex and torque regardless of shaft orientation. An image of D.N.A.'s double-helix is an appropriate visual to get the basic concept.

According to TPT, when compared to high-end shafts from other manufacturers, specifically Fujikura's Motore Speeder, its shafts varied less (as measured by CPM) regardless of shaft orientation. The yellow line represents the variation in CPM of the TPT shaft, and the blue line represents the variation in CPM of the Fujikura Motore Speeder shaft. The benefit is a shaft which offers nearly identical performance regardless of orientation. This is what TPT refers to as perfect concentricity.

TPT TECHNICAL INFO

Founder of TPT, François Mordasini makes the following claims:

TPT utilizes both Intermediate Modulus (IM) and High Modulus (HM) materials in shaft construction
IM fibers are used for longitudinally oriented plies (running from the top to the bottom of the shaft). These plies are comprised of the highest composite flexural modulus and the highest composite strength.
Similarly, we choose the best HM fibers for the off-axis plies. Off-axis plies more or less form the double-helix wrap of the shaft. In this case, best means resistance to twisting.
Once we have chosen the two fiber grades that best suit the requirements of the shaft, we optimize the resin content of the two materials.
IM fibers we have experience with include Toray T800, T1000 and T1100, Hexcel IM7, IM8, IM9 and IM10 and Mitsubishi MR70.
HM fibers that we use include Toray M46J, M55J and Mitsubishi HR40, HS40.

CURRENT LINE

This initial line features driver shafts targeted at players in four distinct swing speed groups, ranging from 60 MPH – 120 MPH. This "Blue" series is mid-torque throughout the line, but each swing speed has both a mid and low kick point version.

ON DECK

During 2017 TPT will expand offerings to include lower torque (lower spin) driver shafts, lighter weight driver shafts and a series of fairway-specific shafts. Iron shafts are on the horizon, but not expected to reach the market until sometime in 2018.