+TourSpecGolfer Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 There is to much to say yet we are not allowed to speak of what we saw. No Cameras or phones are allowed on the Compound and yes it is that huge. I don't get the opportunity to travel to manufacturing plants in Himeji, Niigata, and other locations very often, so its an honor to finally arrive at the #1 factory for all golf clubs in the world Endo Japan Factory. It started with a trip to Himeji, this was my first time to see some of the production facilities up close and personal. Himeji is a small town with about a dozen different golf club manufactures in one area, These are mostly hand made shops for forged product in Japan. Smaller companies that desire less output would prefer to do their work in this area. their machinery was impressive, the staff was a lot of older gentleman that look like masters of their trade. We then travelled up to Niigata and visited a factory that is known to be the best in the world. Our tour started with a look at history of clubs made by Endo, Let me say a ton of OEMS have used and currently use this factory for only their top players clubs. When I say top, I mean at the highest level starting back from the Ben Hogan days and even more in recent times. OEMs use multiple factories sometimes for the same product but the Endo factory located in Japan is used for the worlds best players and most precise designs that require special attention and delicate care. I wish I could tell you guys more about things we saw, OEMs dont care to have their manufacturing details floating about online. The factory needs to keep things hush too. Product Development Starting from the product concept, plans and specifications provided by the maker, Endo's expertise and technology are leveraged to refine the specifications for each product. Data from product specifications are analyzed in three dimensions using CAD systems, and then utilized to make the machine tools for the manufacturing process and to ensure that fine and precise products are made. Tooling Machine tools are made based on 3-D data from the product specifications. The shape is reproduced faithfully to the design drawings, and then goes through a series of checks and adjustments, eventually producing the tools that will be used to produce irons and metals. Endo has brought tooling work in-house, enabling rapid and detailed response to maker's requirements. Pressing The titanium alloy material for the metal heads is aligned with dies and press-formed. Titanium alloy is difficult to machine, but Endo has the metal machining technology and experience needed to form accurate shapes of the highest quality, developed through years of working with materials such as stainless steel. Precision Forging In the forging process, the soft iron material for iron heads is heated and struck to form the required shape. Endo's precision forging technology that has been evolved from ordinary forging is used to manufacture forging with the best performance in terms of both dimensional tolerances and surface finish. The complex shapes of iron heads can be formed precisely by forging, combining many of Endo's technical specialties in a single process. Welding The welding process is where the parts of metal heads (face, crown, sole, hosel) are welded together to make up the head. Precision is required because this process determines the basic shape. Irons and metals need even more precise and bimetallic welding, that is why laser welding technology is used. Machining Center The forged products are then cut using a numerical control machining center, tidying up the surface shape. Using a machining center for this machining process ensures the manufacture of high-quality products with little product variation. Polishing In addition to faithfully reproducing the head surface shape in the design drawings, this process makes the surface smooth. The polishing work actually divided into four or five individual processes. Polishing is largely a manual process, with workers using their well-developed skills and experience to finish each head individually, with the whole process reminiscent of the production of craft objects. Plating/Painting The head surface is plated/painted to produce the final product. Painting robots are used in the painting process to prevent uneven coloring and produce an even finish. Since this is the final process, there is a particularly strict quality control setup. The result is a beautiful product with an attractive sheen. Inspection and Assembly The heads are fitted with shafts and grips to assemble the club and complete the manufacturing process. The finished products are then checked very carefully by the hands and eyes of inspection staff. This final inspection covers all the different aspects, including checking for defects in each of the components, and checking the overall balance. This is not normal guys, all the factories in Himeji didn't do half this stuff, and the factories in Taiwan i have visited don't get close. Japan Industry Standard Grade Steel is the best in the world, put it together with in house tooling production, cold forging, 30 auto cad designers and the worlds most high end prototype lab and it doesn't get any better. Sorry no pictures of the factory, we were only allowed to take pics of the Epon facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slice1969 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Thank you Chris for the GREAT write-up. I Cannot wait for the next wave of new products to roll out of these factories. I know you cannot talk much about what you saw, but I hope they will show some new stuff at the Golf Show in few days. Thank you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb2235 Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) Kudos to you Chris. Can't imagine too many folks get that invite over a year's time. Would love to try the EPON 380 driver as that's got to be a solid little bugger. Thanks for sharing. Edited March 4, 2007 by yourpressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kincaid82 Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Great write up, makes me even more pumped up about getting a Bag full of Epon equipment. I Noticed the Type S was created in 2003, is that correct, and the Type J in 2004? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxio Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 3rd irons down, without the name/branding on them. They look similar to the Japan released Titleist CBs during the DCI era? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Awesome stuff as always C.... Damn I am supposed to be there with you... Have to blame my day job for canceling my trip to Japan!! Guys, the writeup above is only a small small fraction of what Chris saw... There is a ton of stuff he can't talk about but let's just say Endo may as well be the center of the golf world... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshinboku Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 absolutely awesome suff, any word on a technica full muscle back blade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madball Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Great info Chris as always.... Is that Jumbo an older MB or new--and are there any newer MB's in the works??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer2 Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) Great stuff, Chris... gotta tell you though that for all the wonderful technology and craftsmanship of Epon its absolutely unacceptable that they can't weld a face plate on their driver/woods without a noticeable circle/color change delineating the welded face insert... I've owned 4 Epon drivers and every one has the same noticeable weld/color change that is BIGTIME annoying to look at... Now the 460 is my gamer, and I love it (We'll soon see if the 460P X-Drive knocks it to 2d place), but it bugs me to look at that circular face/weld. Hope Epon is reading this too!!!! Epon needs to get their face metals matched better... no excuses.... Edited February 22, 2007 by siteseer2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landshark Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 regarding the picture of the technica pro iron(right before the picture of the technica pro 1 with the cutaway section): this has a little resemblance to the Hiro Matsumoto design. any correlation between the two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Alexander Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 A club HOs Nivana!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonHack Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 wow! Absolute great post. Thanks for sharing your experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blader-X Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Unreal pics, thanks Chris. I've praised the Technity driver many times in this site, now the 3 wood has just arrived and if they ever bring a blade to market I'm seriously going to have to give it a long look. Exciting time right now for TourSpec with all the buzz going on about the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I Noticed the Type S was created in 2003, is that correct, and the Type J in 2004?That is not the Type S, it is teh PRO II, different tooling and total design. The Type J and Pro I are the same and yes were designed in 2004. Keep in mind epon as a brand has been around for 15 years.3rd irons down, without the name/branding on them.They look similar to the Japan released Titleist CBs during the DCI era? Your always spot on XXIO, this was the Japan only Titleist Iron, 571?? absolutely awesome suff, any word on a technica full muscle back blade?Yes I have seen some prototypes, they had a few that looked even better than the TB-1000 and MR-23 Blades but problem is that we are the only ones asking them for a blade.Great stuff, Chris... gotta tell you though that for all the wonderful technology and craftsmanship of Epon its absolutely unacceptable that they can't weld a face plate on their driver/woods without a noticeable circle/color change delineating the welded face insert... I've owned 4 Epon drivers and every one has the same noticeable weld/color change that is BIGTIME annoying to look at... Now the 460 is my gamer, and I love it (We'll soon see if the 460P X-Drive knocks it to 2d place), but it bugs me to look at that circular face/weld. Hope Epon is reading this too!!!! Epon needs to get their face metals matched better... no excuses.... Your a smart guy T but your wrong in this sense, its not matching materials its all about the heat treatment. I have seen their protos with full score lines like the X-Drive, and some with dark grey faces. Face thickness also has a lot to do with it, The heat cant be applied to the face the same way over the entire area. They make a ton of other drivers as you request so its not that they cant or dont want to do it, its because the club feels and performs better done this way. I can have a head hand built for you without this feature if you want. Yes Hand Built Driver, it doesnt get any better than that. 95% of the tour pros dont have access to that. regarding the picture of the technica pro iron(right before the picture of the technica pro 1 with the cutaway section):this has a little resemblance to the Hiro Matsumoto design. any correlation between the two? Not at all sir. Ok so 90% of Endo made clubs come from the Thailand plant which is huge compared to the Japanese plant, they have all the same machinary and import the JIS grade steel to thailand. The only difference is that the care taken at the Niigata plant and the prototype production methods are a bit more refined. This is the only factory that re-builds tooling due to tool wear over time. This plant makes the clubs for the worlds best players. Epon is made in this same factory. You will not see a square driver from epon until it proves to provide real performance gains. Whats funny is that the Epon 380cc is what Epon claims to be their bestand longest driver, but the market wants 460... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breal Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 (edited) You got to love it. It is fun to wait for Chris to go to Japan and start getting the info pictures and the show stuff flowing are way. This would be a golfers dream to visit the Endo plant and see all the hush hush things. Good job Chris I like the info and the pictures of all the classic clubs there is some great ones there. Keep it up and I cant wait to get some more Im getting that little kid in Toys-R-Us feeling for the first time again LOL. Thanks for the info the Endo/Epon plant must be really cool to see. Edited February 23, 2007 by Breal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[email protected] Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 You got to love it. It is fun to wait for Chris to go to Japan and start getting the info pictures and the show stuff flowing are way. This would be a golfers dream to visit the Endo plant and see all the hush hush things. Good job Chris I like the info and the pictures of all the classic clubs there is some great ones there. Keep it up and I cant wait to get some more Im getting that little kid in Toys-R-Us feeling for the first time again LOL. Thanks for the info the Endo/Epon plant must be really cool to see. This is awesome Chris. Can't wait for you to come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGirl Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 The Endo Niigata factory tour was remarkable!! They kept stressing exclusiveness of our private tour with only high profile figures seeing the factory grounds we witnessed. You gotta hand it to Chris to get us in with the head designer and President Mr. Kobayashi showing us through the factory & explaining the whole process!! I must say that what stood out to me was the quality control and tight tolerance. The process is redone even if off by the slightest infraction. I've seen first hand that everything must be perfect and approved by a superior. Also FYI, an approved video to show you all the entire process is in the works. Two thumbs up for Endo!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daamartin Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 Chris, can you still get the 380cc head? I really like driver heads this size! Great feedback on this thread btw. Cheers! DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blader-X Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hey Chris, The pic of the driver right above the 380cc model. Is this their new MOI they're working on?? It has a rather extended body. Also, two questions in regards to the 380 model. Is it a deep faced driver and is it USGA comforming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted March 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 No pic's were allowed to be taken of the prototype MOI square driver, but that one in the pic isnt it. Supposedly all OEMs are working on creating a square driver that actually works. Currently they dont show a humanly noticeable difference. its something like 2-5% more stable through the swing which doesn't equal much in terms of distance or dispersion. The 380cc is still available in small amounts, its called the Technica and its the model before the Technity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
808golfer@54 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Chris, I will be traveling to Hemeji next week. Will Epon allow the public to visit their Factory. Could you give me their addres if they do. I am dying to see those awesome displays of drivers and irons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted March 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Chris,I will be traveling to Hemeji next week. Will Epon allow the public to visit their Factory. Could you give me their addres if they do. I am dying to see those awesome displays of drivers and irons. You can visit the EPON HQ though but im afraid thats in the opposite direction for you as Niigata is the other direction on the Shinkansen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
808golfer@54 Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Thanks Chris for your help. I thought the Endo factory was in Niigata...according to Tourspecgirl previous post on this subject. The pictures on this topic appears to be similar to the Epon headquarters on their website. Sorry, but I had to try on this huge oppurtunity....THANKS AGAIN!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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