Cricket is a sport played mostly in countries that have a colonial history. As the colonies broke up and the sun began to set on the British Empire the game of cricket continued to thrive in these areas. There was however a jewel in the crown of the breaking British Empire. India at the midpoint of 1950s had a population around 350 million people. In a span of five decades, the population soon touched a billion and along with China forms the two largest countries in the world population wise. The winner is cricket. India rules the cricket world in numbers. The demand for cricket equipment is witnessing boom time.
Bat Manufacturing
Cricket bats are at the center of the equipment business. The bat manufacturing centers in England pioneered the use of English willow. As demand, outstripped supply Kashmir willow became the wood of choice and bat manufacturing concentrated in Kashmir. Being a populous country, every aspect of the bat was handmade and no two bats could be termed the same. Professional cricketers would spend days with a reputed bat-maker to personalize weight and size (within the stipulated laws of cricket) of the bat. A top rated cricketer would have a dozen bats in his kitbag.
CNC Router Process for Bat Profiling
England started the manufacture of bats using machines and soon it became apparent that CNC Router machine was the perfect tool for creating bats. Two-piece bats dominate the manufacture. The body of the bat is married to a cane handle via a splice. CNC routers have simplified the operation by using a single piece of willow (130 mm x 130 mm x 850 mm) that clamped onto a 12 spindle OMNI CNC Turner/Lathe Router. A milling tool of 1/2 x 60 and 1/2 x 120 is mounted and the block of willow fixed to the rotary device after finding the center point of the willow block. The CNC Router has the profile of the bat input into the computer, which guides the milling tool and process the willow block into the desired shape in one single piece.
Bat Dynamics
Bats usually have a raised ridge at the back of the bat and a straight face on the front. The front face meets the incoming ball and imparts force that is termed as a stroke. The force of the stroke is either brute power or timed stroke without using brute force. Twenty-twenty Cricket has changed bat dynamics resulting in strokes played of the back of the bat. Profile of the bat includes scooped back that is almost similar to the front without sacrificing the sweet spot on the face. Sweet spot’s indication is the noise of a solid thump when ball meets bat. The scooped back enables a batter to hit off the rear of the bat or reverse the bat in his hands in a lightning fast movement (called as reverse sweep).
Allen Tells You How to Process The Cricket Bat by CNC Router China-
Bat manufacturing business using CNC Routers is a game changer. Small CNC Router with two spindles can personalize bat for a person taking into account height, weight and batting style of the sportsperson. Small profiling adjustments to the blade of the bat smooth edges resulting in faster carry of the ball. The game of cricket is witnessing rapid changes in attacking style; more strokes are played when compared to before and cricketers are making serious money both on and off the field. It is not only international stars but also the lower ranked cricketer making a comfortable living.
