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I am a few days into ownership of the Uneekor system, and I couldn't be happier with it, except for the included balls. While they don't feel too bad during the strike, the spin on them is abysmal. I am losing around 2k-4k (compared to ProV1) on my wedge strikes which complicates how I approach my shots when playing TGC2019. I really need to figure out a way to use my own golf balls.
I have read about Harry's dot stickers, and while they seem to do the trick, I am concerned with the wear on the stickers if you don't align a clean part of the ball in the impact area of the strike zone. I don't want to align the ball for each shot. Also, my gut tells me that if a sticker is lined up in the impact zone, it will reduce the spin on the ball similar to impact tape. So, I have ruled these out as a solution for me.
I read on the Uneekor Facebook group that some people have had decent luck with permanent paint pens. I didn't heed the advice and purchase the same brand that was recommended (Edding); instead, I tried the Sharpie oil based permanent paint pen. These will leave marks on the screen even after allowing the balls to cure for 48 hours.
I've looked into the type of printers that are used to print logos on golf balls, and it seems that these printers use an LED UV ink to print on the balls. To get a name brand printer is going to run $8k-10k for a basic printer, and I don't think I would ever see the return on that investment. It looks like you can buy an unbranded Chinese printer that will do 6 balls at a time for ~$3.2k, or one that will do 4 balls at a time for ~$1.2k. The problem with these is that the specs on the printers is sparse, so I am not sure what technology is used to print and with what type of ink. I am concerned that the marks may rub off on the screen.
My next solution is to try to use just the LED UV ink to mark the balls without the printer. Since we should only need to to a dozen balls or so at a time, this should only take about 30 minutes to an hour to accomplish manually. In order to do this, we need a method to stamp the ink and cure the ink. It looks like most of the ink uses the 395nm wavelength to cure. This is perfect, because we can easily create a curing unit out of those cheap UV LED nail polish curing boxes that you can purchase on Amazon. These boxes typically have LEDs in the 365nm and 395nm wavelengths which is right in the zone we are looking for. Many of us who 3D print using UV cured resin have used these boxes to final cure our prints, so they have already been tested with this type of use. The stamping can be performed one dot at a time with a paint brush. I imagine you can place roughly 3 sets of triangular dots on one side of the ball at a time. The curing box will hold roughly 6-12 balls at a time, depending on the model. My biggest concern is how the ink will react to the ball's surface will trying to paint the marks.
My plan is to make a little holder that will hold 6 balls. Put the 3 sets of triangular dots on one side of the 6 balls at a time. Put them in the unit to cure, and while they are curing, paint the dots on the other half dozen. Then, swap them out and repeat the process on the other side. This is the ink I have ordered: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And, this is the curing unit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This should be enough ink for a lifetime of balls, so I have about $60 invested in this method. I just ordered the supplies last night, so I should be able to test next weekend and let you know how they turn out.
I have read about Harry's dot stickers, and while they seem to do the trick, I am concerned with the wear on the stickers if you don't align a clean part of the ball in the impact area of the strike zone. I don't want to align the ball for each shot. Also, my gut tells me that if a sticker is lined up in the impact zone, it will reduce the spin on the ball similar to impact tape. So, I have ruled these out as a solution for me.
I read on the Uneekor Facebook group that some people have had decent luck with permanent paint pens. I didn't heed the advice and purchase the same brand that was recommended (Edding); instead, I tried the Sharpie oil based permanent paint pen. These will leave marks on the screen even after allowing the balls to cure for 48 hours.
I've looked into the type of printers that are used to print logos on golf balls, and it seems that these printers use an LED UV ink to print on the balls. To get a name brand printer is going to run $8k-10k for a basic printer, and I don't think I would ever see the return on that investment. It looks like you can buy an unbranded Chinese printer that will do 6 balls at a time for ~$3.2k, or one that will do 4 balls at a time for ~$1.2k. The problem with these is that the specs on the printers is sparse, so I am not sure what technology is used to print and with what type of ink. I am concerned that the marks may rub off on the screen.
My next solution is to try to use just the LED UV ink to mark the balls without the printer. Since we should only need to to a dozen balls or so at a time, this should only take about 30 minutes to an hour to accomplish manually. In order to do this, we need a method to stamp the ink and cure the ink. It looks like most of the ink uses the 395nm wavelength to cure. This is perfect, because we can easily create a curing unit out of those cheap UV LED nail polish curing boxes that you can purchase on Amazon. These boxes typically have LEDs in the 365nm and 395nm wavelengths which is right in the zone we are looking for. Many of us who 3D print using UV cured resin have used these boxes to final cure our prints, so they have already been tested with this type of use. The stamping can be performed one dot at a time with a paint brush. I imagine you can place roughly 3 sets of triangular dots on one side of the ball at a time. The curing box will hold roughly 6-12 balls at a time, depending on the model. My biggest concern is how the ink will react to the ball's surface will trying to paint the marks.
My plan is to make a little holder that will hold 6 balls. Put the 3 sets of triangular dots on one side of the 6 balls at a time. Put them in the unit to cure, and while they are curing, paint the dots on the other half dozen. Then, swap them out and repeat the process on the other side. This is the ink I have ordered: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And, this is the curing unit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This should be enough ink for a lifetime of balls, so I have about $60 invested in this method. I just ordered the supplies last night, so I should be able to test next weekend and let you know how they turn out.
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