On Thu, October 9, 2003 at 6:34 pm, Dave Tutelman sent the following > (1) You don't need 2-d measurements but they would be interesting, > and for EXACTLY the reason you suggest. The spine and NBP planes will > show all the force in the direction of the bending, and no > perpendicular component. Other planes will show a perpendicular > force, which is why FLO works to find spines and NBPs.
Yep. I'm getting the hang of it now.
You are indeed.
> (2) You need to be careful to measure the DEFLECTION of the shaft, > not the POSITION. That is, you need to measure the DIFFERENCE in > position between zero load and full known load....
Isn't that what I said? ;-)
I don't know; you didn't say enough for me to be sure. If you say so, then fine. ;-)
I googled FlexMaster and found some information on it. Seemed like their proponents were intent on bashing frequency analyzers as "old technology", but then go on to say that they double check all their work with one. Seems to me now that you would be able to use either tool effectively, though the only benefit of the FlexMaster is being able to measure how bent the shaft is. But it seems that the bend of the shaft doesn't matter unless it's REALLY bent!
Actually, the major benefit of the FlexMaster is that it can flex-match a set of clubs MUCH faster than a frequency meter. It is probably faster (and easier, no math) than a NeuFinder, but I haven't used a NeuFinder yet for that so I can't be sure. It is neither better nor worse than a frequency meter in the quality of the match -- no matter what they say. Their big advantage is productivity. If you're a high-volume shop, the productivity can pay for the high initial price of the machine.
> BTW, the difference-deflection measurement is essentially what John > Kaufman did in his testing to show that all shafts are really Type 2.
I'll have to go read up on that again. <i'm back> The more I read the more I convince myself that the tried and true method of aligning the N-plane along the target line is the way to go.
I suspect that is correct, though I haven't seen comparative data to prove it. But be sure to use the REAL N-plane. If you measure an N-S plane, you probably don't have the right plane. If you have an S-S plane and an N-N plane at right angle to one another, then you almost certainly have the right plane.
Good luck! DaveT
