RE-FLEX is based on exclusively licensed & patented technology called pulsed magnetic technology (‘PMT’) to remove metal fatigue (‘work hardening’) and restore the original condition and flexibility of golf equipment, as well as for other applications within the Sporting Goods Equipment Market.
The technology has been validated through extensive research at the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University and an independent test lab.
The Problem: Metal fatigue in golf equipment is induced by frequent usage as the clubs and metal heads strike hard objects such as golf balls and the ground. It is similar in concept to continually flexing a paper clip, which becomes more and more brittle until it breaks. Metal fatigue causes golf shafts to lose their flexibility, and results in the loss of distance and accuracy in shots. This has been scientifically demonstrated. It also causes metal heads to lose the advantage of the ‘trampoline effect’, which results in a loss of distance for those metal heads. A similar loss of distance is experienced in metal baseball/softball bats after approximately 190 batted balls.
The Solution: Pulsed Magnetic Treatment eliminates metal fatigue in metal golf shafts and metal heads of golf equipment and can restore the original accuracy and distance to these clubs. We have found similar results [New Life} in those old metal bats.
Proof of concept; Over 50 golfers/ballplayers have applied the Re-Flex treatment to their clubs/bats; almost all of these golfers/ballplayers are convinced that the treatment is effective and has improved club/bat performance to their original condition. Many of these golfers/ballplayers are now using their ‘old favorite’ clubs/bats again after years of disuse because the clubs/bats became ‘dead’ from metal fatigue. The number of baseball/softball players who are taking advantage of this technology, is growing at an unbelievable rate.
Pulsed Magnetic Treatment (PMT) creates an alternating magnetic field; this energy field affects the atomic structure of the thin metal in the shaft of the club/bat. By doing so, PMT removes the inner friction and stress within the shaft, thus returning the shaft to its original condition. This technology was utilized by pre WWII Britain and later the Soviet Union for defense applications. The technology has been validated with an outside testing firm and at the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University. The tests confirmed the capability of PMT to restore the flex characteristics in shafts and tubing. Additional testing is being conducted to validate the technology in applications restoring the trampoline effect in metal woods and bats.
The Company has an exclusive license to use three U.S. Patents, a pending U.S. patent end a Canadian Patent. The technology uses Pulsed Magnetic Treatment (PMT) to create sheer forces in materials, which act on crystalline defects to relax residual stress. The permanent changes in the crystalline structure can affect many properties in metals including fracture resistance, wear and fatigue life and other mechanical properties. With respect to golf shafts and metal wood heads, frequent use results in increased stiffness or dampening of the shaft which results in a loss of distance and accuracy. Our patented process restores the flex in the shaft using a treatment process that takes less than 15 minutes for a complete set of clubs.
The Company has treated clubs/metal bats for over 50 individuals in addition to the extensive testing conducted at the University of Minnesota. Almost all of these golfers/ballplayers are convinced that the treatment is effective and has improved club/bat performance to their original condition. Many of these golfers/ballplayers are now using their ‘old favorite’ clubs/bats again after years of disuse because the clubs/bats became ‘dead’ from metal fatigue.
HISTORY
Pulse Magnetic Technology (PMT) is not new. Developed for advanced military applications in the I960’s, it is speculated the military used PMT to stress relieve submarines and warheads during the cold war. Recently, PMT has been used in the machine tool industry to stress relieve machine tools and cutt1ng blades to increase tool life and overall productivity.
What is “Work hardening”and is it contagious? No, work hardening is not contagious, but it
is happening around us all the time. “Work hardening” is what happens to metals after continued use. Think of a paper clip. When you bend it back and-forth it becomes stiff and eventually breaks. This is an extreme example of what happens to your golf shaft. The more balls you hit, the more “stress” is built up within the metalic structure of your clubs and the stiffer they get. After continued use, this stress or work hardening builds up to a point where it negatively effects the performance of your clubs. Symptoms of work hardening include loss of distance, “pushing” the ball and a ballooning ball trajectory. All this leads to a loss of consistency and control.
How do I know if my clubs/bats are Work Hardened? All clubs/bats are work hardened, but to different degrees. Stress builds up in the shafts and heads/barrels as soon as you begin using them. However, most of us would not be able to tell the difference between a “new” club/bat and a ‘Work hardened” club until 50-100 rounds/190 hacks. This amount may vary depending on how many practice balls and individual hits, whether the golfer hits off a mat or turf, cage balls or not, the size of divots normally taken and the propensity of the golfer/ballplayer to throw clubs/bats in various directions.
Work hardening in shafts/bats is a subtle process, and most of us don’t know it is happening. The pros do, some change their shafts as many as twice a week. Major College Baseball and Softball Programs receive new bats every two weeks from their bat sponsors. Unlike most golfers/ballplayers who have unlimited access to equipment and technical help, the rest of us can only use the Re-Flex 2000. As shafts work harden, most of us compensate by changing.our swing to get the same results as we did when the clubs were new. That’s one of the reasons new clubs feel so smooth and easy to hit. You can swing easier and get better results because the shaft is fresh and free from work hardeness. You can experience the same sensation as new clubs by treating your clubs in the Re-Flex 2000.
Who Benefits from getting their clubs/bats treated in the Re-Flex 2000? Golfers/ballplayers of all abilities will benefit from treating their clubs/bats. Treated clubs will encourage high to mid handicappers to “let the club do the work”. Also, they will get greater distance from each club, while removing the stingers from off-center shots. Low handicappers will appreciate the better feel, consistency and control they gain from only one 14 minute treatment.
PMT OVERVIEW
Residual Stress and Metal Structure Residual stress is the internal stress which is present in the absence of external or service loading. Although the effects of residual stress are usually observed on a macro basis, the macrostress is actually a collection of stresses at the atomic level which result in elastic microstrain to the atomic structure. Virtually all metallurgical processes contribute to these microstrains. The source of the macro residual stress occurs in the periodically arranged atoms or the atomic lattice within each grain in the polycrystalline structure of metals. The atomic lattice is orderly, but not perfect due to the existence of lattice defects, the most notable being dislocations and vacancies. These defects not only disrupt the periodic structure, but create elastic strain fields at the atomic structure level.
Magnetic Fields Magnetic fields affect all metals. Electrons both orbit the atoms and spin on their own axes. These-moving elecxtron charges, particularly the electron spin, become significant in magnetic phenomena because they may result inmagnetic dipoles at the atomic level. Dependent on the electron structure, the net magnetic moment of the atom may be either neutral [diamagnetic] or a vector (paramagnetic).
The special case of ferromagnetic behavior is characterized by zones in the atomic structure where the electron spins are parallel. These zones of identical magnetic moments are called domains. Several domains are present in each grain. Between the domains are domain boundaries (100 -200 atoms) which move through the atomic structure under the influence of an externaLmagnetic.fietd.. These moving domain boundaries create an elastic strain field and react similarly to dislocations as they encounter obstacles (Inhomogenieties) in the lattice. Because the domain favors the position with its magnetic moment parallel to the direction of the applied field, it will grow and rotate to achieve this position. Magnetostriction (the change in length during magnetization) results when domains adjust to the preferred alignment principally because of rotation. This is a reversible process.
Mechanism Summarizing, when residual stress is present in metals, the periodic atomic structure is elastically strained. This condition is the result of a defect structure which is immobile and represents a meta-stable state; energy~being necessary to lower the energy state to a more stable position. Thermal energy has traditionally been used as the required energy source. Pulsed Magnetic Treatment introduces non-thermal energy to accomplish a similar result. Regardless of the type of metal, magnetic fields will concentrate on areas of electron intensity such as the negatively charged defects and impurities. In ferromagnetic materials, the pulsed magnetic energy creates repeated migration of domain boundaries and the associated magnetostrictive effect. The hypothesis is that the interaction of the elastic strain fields of the domain boundaries and the defects, and the shear forces created by magnetostriction and magnetic anisotropy, combine to relieve the microstrain in the atomic structure. The crystalline lattice is therefore in a lower energy, more stable state and the metal displays less macrostress. Evidence supporting this mechanism include the recognition of domain wall movements, the well known principle of magnetostriction, and the change in the residual stress after PMT as demonstrated by x-ray diffraction studies. Additional evidence has been gained from positron annihilation studies which clearly indicate that PMT alters the defect structure in both ferromagnetic and diamagnetic metals.
