Essay On Softball Bat

The product I chose for my project is a softball bat because it’s a sport I love to play. My brother introduced me the sport softball in 4th grade after he started to play baseball in 3rd grade. I quickly fell in love with the game. I played for 3 years (in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade) for Livemore Girls Softball Association. Softball was the first sport I actually enjoyed playing after trying soccer and karate. Playing softball taught me sportsmanship, teamwork, and how to strategize. The sport also helped me make friends and got me out of my comfort zone because I was very shy. The sport represents an important part of my childhood and helped shape who I am today. There are two different types of bats such as aluminum and composite. I chose to look into the composite softball bat. The elements involved in composite softball bats are carbon, graphite, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and chlorine. The creation

The carbon fiber sheets get spiralled around a steel bat form and polycarbonate tape is used to squeeze the air between layers. The bat is then baked in an oven to fuse the materials together. The tape is removed and the tubes of braided carbon, fiberglass, carbon fibers, and a synthetic weave called aramids is slid on and taped before the softball bat is put into the mold. Epoxy Resin gets injected and the mold applies hot pressure to baked layers together, thus forming the shape. The steel form is removed since bat can hold its own form, and then it is tested for flexibility using pneumatic equipment. The end of the material is cut to the shape of a knob before the bat is sanded. The bat gets painted with primer, spray paint, and decals are added using laser printers to make the design. The polycarbonate plug is added to the end for the weight and is sealed with resin. The steel pin gets drilled into the knob to attain its correct