d60 handball

An official game ball for the International Handball Federation (IHF) designed for further development of the sport. To perform the various types of spinning passes and shoots in handball, high adhesive “resin” is often used to ensure a firm grip of the ball. However, this resin stains the gymnasium floor and causes injuries at times, which requires countermeasures. To resolve these issues and further increase the number of players, the development of “a ball with a good grip without using resin” started based on the request from IHF.

After the research on surface textures that enhance adsorption power such as “tread patterns on tires” and “gecko feet,” a panel structure consisting of 60 triangles was adopted, inspired by “diamond knurling,” typically used on switches of machines and grips of mechanic tools. The swelling parts of joints between panels are designed to be harder than the center of the panel, realizing an easy grip with the uneven surface. The new design offers a balanced grip by unifying the panel shape in triangles, in contrast to the existing pattern consisting of pentagons and hexagons. In addition, the panel joints, which were conventionally hand-sewn, changed to an assembly of adhered panels, consequently allowing for the stable manufacturing with higher accuracy. Numerous surface materials were considered including different types of rubber, resins, and gels, before a synthetic resin with adhesive characteristics was finally adopted, for it absorbs sweat on the palms from its porous surface. The surface is maintained clean, since it has less stickiness, with a unique moist texture.

With the development of this new ball born from careful consideration, it is our aim that handball will become a safer, fair, and more open sport to everyone including children.

国际手球联合会 (IHF) 的官方比赛用球，旨在进一步发展这项运动。为了在手球中进行各种类型的旋转传球和射门，通常使用高粘性“树脂”来确保牢牢握住球。然而，这种树脂会弄脏体育馆的地板，有时会造成伤害，这就需要采取对策。为了解决这些问题，进一步增加球员数量，应国际手联的要求，开始开发“不使用树脂，抓地力好的球”。

在对“轮胎花纹”和“壁虎脚”等提高吸附力的表面纹理进行研究后，采用了由 60 个三角形组成的面板结构，其灵感来自“钻石滚花”，通常用于机器开关和握把机械工具。面板间接缝的膨胀部分设计为比面板中心更硬，实现了对凹凸不平的表面的轻松抓握。与现有的由五边形和六边形组成的图案形成对比，新设计通过将面板形状统一为三角形来提供平衡的抓地力。此外，将传统的手工缝制的面板接头改为粘合面板的组装，因此可以实现更高精度的稳定制造。在最终采用具有粘合特性的合成树脂之前，考虑了多种表面材料，包括不同类型的橡胶、树脂和凝胶，因为它从多孔表面吸收手掌上的汗水。表面保持清洁，因为它具有较少的粘性，具有独特的湿润质地。

随着这种经过深思熟虑而诞生的新球的开发，我们的目标是让手球成为包括儿童在内的每个人都更安全、公平、更开放的运动。