Anderson Bat Q & A

[backstop13]

[quote="Tumblebug] It also had a graphic change that I particularly like. [/quote]

Thanks for all of the answers. And for what it's worth...I like the new graphics too.

So does the power pad or knob wrap adversely effect the ergonomically designed...and all that other stuff... knob?

[AGameGal]

To my recollection the knob wrap was created because there were people out there that just could not accustom themselves to the feel of the smaller ergonomic knob when they started swinging an Anderson vs. another type bat. Most players, after some sessions of BP ultimately became comfortable with it. But if they couldn't - the knob wrap helped.

To my knowledge, it does not affect the palm/finger protection design (if you will) of the knob.

[Tumblebug]

I'm new to HeyBucket but as the Anderson Bat Chief Engineer, I invite you to ask any technical questions you may have about Anderson Bats in particular or the physics of the ball/bat collision in general.

Steven Anderson
Anderson Bat Company, LLC

Steven,
Thanks for a stimulating read. My daughter swings the old -10 Stealth two-piece bat, purple and white, but don’t hold that against me. She picked that bat over the Rocket-Tech bat because she liked the feel of a center-loaded bat. I noticed 3 hair-line cracks about ½” long just above the black rubber spacer, so the time has come to look for a new bat. I feel that a big part of the customer loyalty towards these two great bats is due to the difference in feel, as one is center-loaded while the other is end-loaded.

Hear are my questions:
Does Rocket-Tech have a center-loaded bat? If not why?
By widening the contact area do you diminish the sweet spot?
How far is the sweet spot moved from a Stealth to a Rocket-Tech?
How would you compare the difference in length of the sweet spot for a Stealth and a Rocket-Tech?

Finally, I have heard that the speed of the bat has a greater influence on the ball than the weight of the bat. What is your feeling on this?
Is there a force chart that compares bat speed to weight?

Again, you aren’t being easy on me. I’ll take your questions one at a time.

Does Rocket-Tech have a center-loaded bat? If not why?

No, the RocketTech balance is determined by the fact that it has an outer sleeve as opposed to an inner sleeve Like the TechZilla. The outer sleeve puts the weight at the end and to appropriately support the structure I have to beef up the shell under the ends of the sleeve. In the TechZilla I can use the inner sleeve itself to create the appropriate structure. Therefore I can make the TechZilla lighter in the barrel end.

By widening the contact area do you diminish the sweet spot?

Actually the opposite is true to a varying degree depending on how well I can support both ends of the barrel and the effective hitting area. That is the beauty of the new NanoTek/Launchpad technology.

How far is the sweet spot moved from a Stealth to a Rocket-Tech?
How would you compare the difference in length of the sweet spot for a Stealth and a Rocket-Tech?

These types of questions are uncomfortable for me to answer because we take a somewhat unique approach to dealing with our competitors. We test competitive products in comparison to ours but we do not take much time to analyze how they do it. So in spite of the knowledge we have at hand we don’t compare product to product but rather test result to test result. And while we think we have the best performing products in each category we don’t really analyze why. We compete with ourselves and our efforts are to make a better bat than the last one.

After working for H&B and seeing where the industry was and the premise they worked under, I decided to do the research on my own and come to my own conclusions. The conclusions I came to were very different than the paradigm I was taught at H&B. H&B came to their conclusions primarily from the physical analysis of their competitors. So I had a basic understanding of how the competitors did their development. I come from a very high tech engineering that includes surgical lasers, ultrasound and sensors, aerospace composites and laser guidance, and finally unique-applications plastics design. Bat design was a technological step back to the Stone Age. I immersed myself in the dynamics of the ball/bat collision and with that knowledge established a collection of parameters that were wholly different than I had seen elsewhere. Out of those parameters have come some interesting and valuable results based on information that was not properly addressed in the past.

So, I don’t really have an answer to your question that would satisfy you because, for the most part, I don’t really care.

Finally, I have heard that the speed of the bat has a greater influence on the ball than the weight of the bat. What is your feeling on this?

This one is a can of worms. And to untangle it, it would take some doing because there is no short answer. The answer in not a pure mathematics question any more. I will see if I can summarize.

Transferable momentum has the most influence on the ball. At its simplest momentum = mass*velocity. The mass and velocity of the ball, the bat and the batter are a part of the calculation. Batspeed is more important until you reach a point where your muscles will not go faster. Once to come to the speed limit for your muscles, batspeed is maximized and a lighter bat will do no more good. With batspeed optimized the weight becomes more critical. You can have a bat be too light as easily as to heavy.


Is there a force chart that compares bat speed to weight?

I don’t know of one. I would have to do the math for each case.

[MoeFoes]

I try to keep my knob wrapped as much as possible. It helps prevent any slipage.

[Tumblebug]

To my recollection the knob wrap was created because there were people out there that just could not accustom themselves to the feel of the smaller ergonomic knob when they started swinging an Anderson vs. another type bat. Most players, after some sessions of BP ultimately became comfortable with it. But if they couldn't - the knob wrap helped.

To my knowledge, it does not affect the palm/finger protection design (if you will) of the knob.

That's a pretty good answer but incomplete. We designed the knob with a team of orthopedic surgeons to protect the nerve centers in the hands. From the beginning we had initial complaints about the unusual shape being too small. We wanted to accommodate the people with larger hands but maintain the protection. So rather than offer a larger knob and what we feel is a less than optimal shape we created the Knob Wrap. The Know Wrap was designed from a soft material to provide the same protection for larger hands. It's important that a loose Knob Wrap does not inhibit the energy transfer in the bat so it is recommended that it be installed with an adhesive to insure the design integrity of the shape of the bat. And what she said . . .

[Tumblebug]

I try to keep my knob wrapped as much as possible. It helps prevent any slipage.

Someone had to take that shot! Thaddaboy!

[Tumblebug]

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 What is an “All Metal Composite?”
Resin-over-fiber is a composite structure. A proprietary high strength, extremely-elastic-exotic alloy over a well-engineered-aluminum alloy with a particularly high strength to weight ratio is a composite structure. Our all-metal composite is the later. Understandably the details are closely guarded.

An alloy is a mixture of different base metals to create a specific metal with specific properties. Calling an alloy a composite is redundant. Call a bat made with two alloys an all metal composite is simply marketing trying to convince a buyer that they should pay "Resin-over-fiber composite" price for an alloy bat ( see RIP IT alloy bats for reference )

IF you can make an "all metal composite" that performs as well as some of the "resin over fiber composite" bats in use out there why don't I see any colleges swinging all metal composites? If you pull it off great for you.

I have no beef with Anderson I think they make great "composite" bats. What he said is true about a brick being a composite. A wood bat is actually a pretty good example of a composite material becase the hard layers of sap and the softer wood fibers that are bound by the sap make a natural composite material. What composite technology has done is simply improve on the sap(resin) and wood fiber(carbon fibers)

Reread it - he said one alloy OVER a 2nd alloy. It isn't clear whether the alloys are layered or intermixed like I'd expect a composite structure to be.

Here, let me try to clear it up for you. This was an answer written for different venue and has some repetition but I think it clears it up

The NanoTek is indeed an all metal composite bat but not the resin-over-fiber composite combination (glass and carbon fiber layers held together by a resin base) that has come to be known of as a composite bat. It is an all metal composite and a very different animal.

The confusion lies in the common usage of the term composite. It is generally related to the resin-over-fiber manufacturing technique used in building some of the current bats. However, the question is more easily answered when you look to the actual definition of the word composite.

A composite is a mixture of different components or a structural material that gains its strength from a combination of complementary materials. A brick made from dirt and straw is a composite structure.

The NanoTek has three layers of metal fused together at the molecular level. There is a hard alloy aluminum shell (the bat shape) that has a layer of a nanometal alloy (the Launchpad) that covers the hitting area of the bat. The two alloy materials are so dissimilar that they cannot be bonded directly together. An intermediary layer of a soft metal such as brass or copper which is compatible with the two dissimilar alloys is the bonding agent (resin) for the fusing process. These three complementary materials create a structure lighter, stronger and more elastic than any one of these materials or any combination of two of these materials could form without the others. In spite of the difference between resin-over-fiber product and the NanoTek it is by definition a composite structure and is impervious to improvement through break-in or alteration.

[PDad]

Tumblebug - thanks for clarifying how the different alloys are combined. I think it is great that you've come on here and made yourself available to answer questions.

[jofus]

Have you ever had anyone complain about a softball sized hole in your Techzillas?

After this weekend, I believe my DD's TZ may have that problem

At least her glove didn't have a hole too, so it wasn't all bad

[rjd8675309]

This is a very interesting discussion but fails to address the primary question concerning the Anderson fastpitch bats.

The bats are not the specific weight advertised. They are approx. 2.8 oz. heavier than listed.

I was given an explanation by the former engineer that it is the swing weight. Considering I graduated with an advanced engineering degree 25 years ago, there must have been a fundamental change in the laws of physics between then and now.

The basic premise of f=ma is understood, and the application of MOI is correct, but the relevance to rotational velocity is flawed in respect to swing weight. In the case of these bats, the knob is weighted. The theory would be correct if the wrists were the only axis of rotation. I have never seen a batter swing only with his/her wrists. To get to the true physics behind a swing, multiple computations must be used due to multiple rotational axis (body rotation, wrist rotation, etc.).

The bottom line is that the bats are very good and comparable to carbon composites due to the additon weight (f=ma). If the batter can maintain bat speed, the heavier the bat, the better.