Particle balls

[edpup316]

I was still kinda young when the whole particle phase hit so im not sure why they faded out. I think Visionary and Lane #1 might be the most recent guys to come out with a particle. My guess as to why they faded out would be because they were too strong, maybe really hard to control. Anybody know why they are not as common anymore? Anybody think they might make a comeback?

[Ball99999]

I was still kinda young when the whole particle phase hit so im not sure why they faded out. I think Visionary and Lane #1 might be the most recent guys to come out with a particle. My guess as to why they faded out would be because they were too strong, maybe really hard to control. Anybody know why they are not as common anymore? Anybody think they might make a comeback?

I've scoured different boards for this kind of question. Basically because they sucked up oil so well they suffered early ball death and they got a bad name as expensive balls that won't last but six months. I also read that they are probably still making particle balls just using different names (virtual gravity nano maybe?).

[bowl1820]

I was still kinda young when the whole particle phase hit so im not sure why they faded out. I think Visionary and Lane #1 might be the most recent guys to come out with a particle. My guess as to why they faded out would be because they were too strong, maybe really hard to control. Anybody know why they are not as common anymore? Anybody think they might make a comeback?

The particle ball faded from the scene because they were found to have only a limited range of use (Not do to ball death). Most of the time conditions didn't warrant the use of them.

The pros found that reactive solids and pearls proved to be more versatile over a wider range of conditions.

[bowl1820]

I've scoured different boards for this kind of question. Basically because they sucked up oil so well they suffered early ball death and they got a bad name as expensive balls that won't last but six months. I also read that they are probably still making particle balls just using different names (virtual gravity nano maybe?).

Particles are still made, I believe Lanemasters is currently the only one making them. The Lane Masters High Standard is a Particle Pearl. The V.G. Nano is not a particle ball, it's a reactive solid.

I still have a particle ball in my bag, a Storm Pyro which is a particle pearl from 2006. I like it for patterns like the Cheetah or when the lanes are breaking down.

[Ball99999]

Why isn't pearl considered particle? Aren't they made out of mica?

[bowl1820]

Why isn't pearl considered particle? Aren't they made out of mica?

Yes Mica is used to pearlize balls, but not considered a particle ball.

Pearlized coverstocks are the same as solid coverstocks with the addition of Mica flake which is a particle that fractures only in one direction.

The pieces of mica used for particle balls are larger and used in heavier loads than the mica used to create a pearlized ball.

[The German Shepherd]

Weren't some kinds of particle balls made illegal by the USBC?

Jay

[bowl1820]

Weren't some kinds of particle balls made illegal by the USBC?

Jay

I had to go check, the only one seems to be the org. Lane 1 super carbide bomb, which had a too high a particle load.

But Lane 1 fixed the mix, to get it off the ban list.

Which sounds about right, I remember back in the day some talk about a ball that had too high a load and they didn't catch it till after the first ones got out.

That must have been the ball.

[edpup316]

Very intresting. So a particle ball could be used effectivly if you were to save it for like tournaments or a certain houses you know are flooded and as long as stay on top of the up keep, such as cleaning and rejuvenating every once in a while, you should get a pretty consistent reaction ya?

[bowl1820]

Found this from Mo Pinel:

"Even though you have asked about mica, your question addresses all particle technology balls-some of which use mica but others which use PET, plus the ProActives, Pro Reactives. TECs, and Syntactives use either ceramic or glass. These "active" coverstocks are an extended version of particle enhanced reactive resin. They use a much stronger particle addition that changes the characteristic much more significantly but they are only a strong extension of what began earlier (mica and PET). I want to answer your question about mica, but I also want to cover all of these different particles because of their functional similarities and also because of their differences regarding resurfacing.

First, let's talk about the factors that affect motion in these particle technology balls. There are five things to consider:
1. The type of particle used
2. The percentage by weight offloading of these particles within the coverstock
3. The size of the particle
4. The shape of the particle
5. The toughness (not hardness) of the particle

Let me start with a little history. The modern era of enhanced particle technology began with the introduction of larger mica particles. The original enhanced particle technology ball (of which I'm aware was the Brunswick LT-48), but we have been using small mica for almost 40 year. They first appeared in the original polyesters in the early 1960's.

Until particle enhancement came along, the chemistry of the coverstock is what changed the reaction. The chemistry is an interesting thing. Until you change the shape of a molecule and change the nature of the cover y adding something and then watch the ball, you cannot predict how those changes will affect the ball's motion on the lone. It's trial and error procedure.

Particle technology is changing that. Now we can more easily and more accurately predict changes in ball motion by adjusting the percentage of loading and the nature of the particle that is added to the cover. It's going to make it easier for bowling ball manufacturers to make better bowling balls in a shorter period of time-as evidenced by the frequency of the launch programs of the modern bowling ball companies. Now that we have all of these balls, I need to get back to the question: How to maintain properly and get the maximum performance out of particle enhanced coverstocks after resurfacing.

The maintenance procedure necessary for particle enhanced coverstocks is dependent on the nature of the particle that's enhancing the performance. The tougher the particle is, the harder it is to change its shape or size or affect the ball's performance. The less tough the particle is, the more likely it is that sanding the ball with any abrasive will make the surface smoother, more uniform, and reduce the effectiveness of the particles.

Rankin the particles from least to most tough:
1. PET, because a polymer is the least tough.
2. Mica is next
3. Ceramic and glass are the toughest.

Mica and glass fracture when they're hit with an abrasive. Ceramic and PET do not, but they are so dissimilar in toughness. You can wear PET very easily, and you cannot wear ceramic hardly at all. In the "actives" glass will have more edges than ceramic.

Storm and Hammer use PET. Track, Columbia, AMF and Brunswick use mica.

Editor's Note: Brunswick uses ceramic in their Proactives. Ebonite uses a treated thicker-walled glass bead of similar toughness to ceramic in their Pro Reactives. Hammer uses ceramic in their Syntactive, Columbia uses a then-walled glass "bubble" in Columbia TEC, Track Pro Traction and AMF SPT coverstocks.

PET

PET is the clear, glittery additive particle. If you sand the ball with sandpaper-wet or dry- you will wear the PET down and lessen its effect. When dealing with PET, I suggest that you use a scuff pad. Scuff pads are flexible. PET is tougher than resin but there is not a big difference so when you put it on a spinner and use a scuff pad on it, the scuff pad will wear the resin more than it does the PET, therefore enhancing the discernible tactile effect of the particle. You leave the particle exposed but you wear the resin away. If you go in there with sandpaper, which has a backing on it, you will wear both away.


So PET-enhanced balls roll smoother and go down the lane farther when you sand them. They rev up sooner and read the lane earlier when you use a scuff pad on them. You change the surface texture by how you wear the resin away. Sanding PET changes two of the factors of ball motion listed above: size and shape.

Mica

Mica is an interesting particle. As I mentioned above, we've been using it since the 1960's. The size of the mica particle has everything to do with whether the ball goes longer or reads the lane sooner. The very, very small mica dust, which has been used as a cosmetic additive to bowling balls since those first polyesters, either have no effect or it makes the ball skid longer. This is because the texture is so fine and there's no place for the oil to hide so the ball hydroplanes.


As the mica particle get bigger, they start to create a surface texture in the ball that makes the ball lose ball speed sooner because of this texture. Therefore the ball reads the mid part of the lane better. The large mica particles enhance the performance of the ball by making it read the lanes sooner, read the mid part of the lane. Very small mica particles that are purely cosmetic make the ball read the lane later, read the back part of the lane. So mica can do anything based on the size of the particle.

Resurfacing mica is similar to PET, but for a different reason. If you use a scuff pad, you wear away the resin around the mica particles, but you do not change the size and shape of the particles themselves. This enhances the ball's reaction. If you use sandpaper, it will fracture the large mica particles, so that after sanding, instead of having a big particle, you now have a small one. This will change the ball reaction since you have changed one of the five factors listed above: the size. Mica particles will always have edges on them so the basic shape is unaffected. Mica doesn't wear, it fractures.

"Actives"

Now we get into the ceramics and the glasses. They are so much tougher by nature than the base resin of the cover stock. You have to wear the resin away, enhancing the texture, which creates the reaction. When you do that, you get such a strong reaction because there is such a large percentage of loading of the particles in the ball. We're talking about many, many, many times the loading percentage that has ever been used with mica or PET. Another difference, as I said last month, when you use glass and ceramic with a high-percentage loading., you get texture in the resin, throughout the coverstock. When you use mica or PET or any very small percentage loading of particles, you only get texture on the surface. So one puts texture on the ball, the other one puts texture in the ball.

There is good and bad with resurfacing "active" balls. The good is that glass and ceramic, because they are so much tougher than the resin coverstock material, remain unaffected by sanding. The bad thing is that there is no sandpaper available to sand the ceramic or the glas. You have to remember that industry uses ceramic in nose cones and other things where they don't want wear. There are ways to resurface "active" balls, but your pro shop will need a resurfacing machine that has diamond wheels. Unfortunately, there are down sides here too. It will probably be more expensive, and it will take longer to do.

Now, here's a basic rule of thumb when it comes to abrasion. (My background in abrasion comes from my lane resurfacing business.) If pro shops today are planning to deal with all of these products (the ceramic and glass loaded "active" balls), my very first suggestion is to buy a ball resurfacing machine. Any resurfacing machine will work as long as it has diamond wheels because diamond wheels are the only thing that I know of that will wear the ceramic. When you go to resurface these particle-enhanced covers, and you want to get scratches out of them, you have to remove or wear down some of the particles. The only thing that I know will do it is diamond wheels.

Now, if you do not have a resurfacing machine, but you have the time and sandpaper (mainly a whole lot of time), there is an alternative to using the resurfacing machine. There is a product called the Cab block. This is a rigid round form in which you can place a specially made piece of round sandpaper. The Cab block is designed to fit the contour of the ball. Because it is in a rigid form, the sandpaper cannot give, so the particle is sanded before the resin, but in time, depending on the particle, this method will sand both the particle and resin uniformly.

If your intention is to smooth out the surface of the ball, this method will work, but it is more effective and much quicker on the less tough particles than on ceramic and glass. You will still tend to make the surface texture on the tougher particles smoother faster by using the diamond wheels.


If you want to smooth the surface of the enhance technology balls:

You should have a resurfacing machine for ceramic and glass.

Resurfacing glass or ceramic-enhanced bowling balls will be a lot more expensive.

Resurfacing glass or ceramic-enhanced bowling balls will take a whole lot longer than resurfacing reactive resin, mica or PET.

If you do not have a resurfacing machine, use a Cab block. "