Aluminum alloy wheel air vent hole forming process and apparatus

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of forged aluminum alloy wheel manufacturing technology, and particularly to a valve hole forming process and apparatus for aluminum alloy wheels. The valve hole forming process involves first drilling a process hole at the valve hole location, and then extruding and expanding it into the finished valve hole using a die. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming apparatus includes at least a punch and a die. The punch, used for extruding and expanding the valve hole, has the same diameter as the finished valve hole. A guide portion is provided at the front end of the punch to guide its entry into the process hole. During extrusion and expansion, the die rests against the other side of the wheel valve hole to prevent wheel deformation during extrusion and to ensure the extrusion and expansion of the punch is not affected. This process and apparatus not only improve production cycle time but also specifically enhance the strength and rigidity of the valve hole, facilitating the achievement of lighter wheels.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of forged aluminum alloy wheel manufacturing technology, and in particular to a valve hole forming process and apparatus for aluminum alloy wheels. Background Technology

[0002] The valve bore of an aluminum alloy wheel is a critical component. Its machining quality and precision not only affect the assembly of the valve bore but also its safety performance. Traditional valve bore machining involves drilling through holes, drilling countersunk holes, and back boring the countersunk holes—three actions with three cutting tools, making the process cumbersome and taking approximately 120 seconds to complete one valve bore. Furthermore, traditional machining processes can make the valve bore a weak point in the wheel, making it prone to fatigue cracks. Current methods for reinforcing the valve bore involve thickening the entire rotating body around it, but this approach is not conducive to achieving weight reduction. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Based on the above description, one of the objectives of this invention is to provide a forming process for valve holes in aluminum alloy wheels. This process involves first drilling process holes at the valve hole location, and then extruding and expanding them into finished valve holes using a mold.

[0004] This process not only increases production speed, but also enhances the strength and rigidity of the valve bore, making it easier to achieve lighter wheels.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the process hole is 0.5 to 7 mm smaller than the diameter of the finished valve hole.

[0006] As a preferred embodiment, the process includes the following steps: forging, spinning, heat treatment, rough turning, drilling, extrusion expansion of valve holes, and finish turning.

[0007] The second objective of this invention is to provide an aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming device, comprising at least a punch and a die. The punch is used for extrusion forming of the valve hole, and its diameter is the same as that of the finished valve hole. A guide portion is provided at the front end of the punch to guide the punch into the process hole. During extrusion forming, the die abuts against the other side of the wheel valve hole to prevent wheel deformation during extrusion forming and to avoid affecting the extrusion forming of the punch.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the opening diameter of the die is 0.1 to 0.3 mm larger than the diameter of the finished valve hole.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the guide portion is 1 to 2 mm smaller than the diameter of the process hole.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the system also includes a wheel positioning table, which is used to support and fix the wheel to be processed. The wheel positioning table is movable on the worktable. The worktable is also provided with an inner limiting block and an outer limiting block, which are used to limit the extrusion station and the loading station, respectively.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the die is fixed at the extrusion station by a die base, and when the valve hole is extruded, the die rests against the inner side of the wheel.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of this application has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0013] This invention uses an extrusion forming process for valve bore forming, achieving an average cycle time of 30 seconds per piece, which increases the production cycle time by 90 seconds per piece. Furthermore, due to the cold expansion forming process, compressive stress is formed on the surface of the valve bore, improving the fatigue strength of the valve bore and facilitating a lighter weight. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the aluminum alloy wheel valve hole before extrusion forming provided by the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A magnified schematic diagram of the local structure at point B;

[0016] Figure 3 The present invention provides an aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming device;

[0017] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the extrusion forming process of the valve hole of the aluminum alloy wheel provided by the present invention.

[0018] The attached diagram lists the components represented by each number as follows:

[0019] 1. Punch, 2. Wheel, 3. Die, 4. Die base, 5. Wheel positioning table, 6. Inner limiting block, 7. Outer limiting block, 8. Worktable. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more complete description will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure of this application will be more thorough and complete.

[0021] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0022] This invention addresses the problems of existing valve hole processing technology, which is not conducive to lightweighting and has a long processing time. It provides a new forming process for valve holes in aluminum alloy wheels. This process involves first drilling process holes at the valve hole location, and then extruding and expanding them into finished valve holes using a mold.

[0023] Taking a valve hole with a diameter of 9.7mm as an example, drilling the hole takes 20s and expanding the valve hole takes 10s, with an average cycle time of 30s / piece, which increases the production cycle time by 90s / piece. Furthermore, due to the cold expansion deformation, compressive stress is formed on the surface of the valve hole, which improves the fatigue strength of the valve hole. In other words, this process can also specifically enhance the strength and rigidity of the valve hole, which is conducive to achieving lighter wheels.

[0024] Furthermore, the process hole diameter D1 is generally 0.5–7 mm smaller than the finished valve hole diameter D2. For example, for a valve hole with a diameter of 9.7 mm, the process hole diameter can be set to 3–9 mm.

[0025] In this invention, the wheel is specifically prepared through the following steps: forging, spinning, heat treatment, rough turning, drilling, extrusion expansion of valve holes, and finish turning.

[0026] The present invention also provides an aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming device, such as... Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figure 4, the device includes at least a punch 1 and a die 2. The punch 1 is used for extrusion forming of the valve hole, and its diameter is the same as the diameter of the finished valve hole. The front end of the punch 1 is provided with a guide part, which is used to guide the punch 1 into the process hole.

[0027] During extrusion forming, the die 2 is placed against the other side of the wheel valve hole to prevent wheel deformation during extrusion forming and to avoid affecting the extrusion forming of the punch 1.

[0028] Understandably, the guide section can be configured as an inverted conical structure or a frustum-shaped structure. Generally, the diameter D3 of the guide section is 1-2 mm smaller than the diameter D2 of the process hole to facilitate guiding.

[0029] The opening diameter D4 of the die 2 is 0.1 to 0.3 mm larger than the diameter of the finished valve hole. During extrusion forming, the guide part passes through the process hole and enters the die 2, and the punch 1 completes the extrusion forming.

[0030] Further, see Figure 3The device also includes a wheel positioning platform 5, which is used to support and fix the wheel to be processed. The wheel positioning platform 5 can move on the worktable 8. The worktable 8 is also provided with an inner limiting block 6 and an outer limiting block 7, which are used to limit the extrusion station and the feeding station, respectively.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the die 2 is fixed at the extrusion station by the die base 4. When the wheel is located at the extrusion station, the die 2 abuts against the inner side of the wheel.

[0032] The specific work process is as follows: First, at the material loading station (i.e. Figure 3 Position II) is used to position the wheel on the wheel positioning platform 5 using bolts and a center hole. The wheel positioning platform 5 is then slid to the extrusion and expansion station (i.e., Figure 3 At position I), the die base 4 is raised to the position where the upper end face of the die contacts the wheel and stops locking. The punch 1 begins to descend and press. After reaching the displacement, it returns. The wheel positioning table 5 slides to the loading station, unloads the wheel, and loads the next wheel, completing one cycle.

[0033] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A forming process for valve holes in aluminum alloy wheels, characterized in that, The process is based on an aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming device, which includes a punch (1) and a die (2). The punch (1) is used for extrusion forming of the valve hole, and its diameter is the same as that of the finished valve hole. The front end of the punch (1) is provided with a guide part, which is used to guide the punch (1) into the process hole. During extrusion forming, the die (2) is placed against the other side of the wheel valve hole to prevent wheel deformation during extrusion forming and to avoid affecting the extrusion forming of the punch (1). First, process holes are drilled at the valve hole position. Then, the finished valve hole is extruded and expanded using a mold. Specifically, the die base is raised until the upper end face of the die contacts the wheel and stops locking. The punch begins to descend and press, and returns after reaching the displacement.

2. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The diameter of the process hole is 0.5 to 7 mm smaller than the diameter of the finished valve hole.

3. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Forging, spinning, heat treatment, rough turning, drilling, extrusion expansion of valve holes, and finish turning.

4. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The opening diameter of the die (2) is 0.1 to 0.3 mm larger than the diameter of the finished valve hole.

5. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The diameter of the guide portion is 1-2 mm smaller than the diameter of the process hole.

6. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a wheel positioning table (5), which is used to support and fix the wheel to be processed, and the wheel positioning table (5) can move on the worktable (8). The worktable (8) is also provided with an inner limiting block (6) and an outer limiting block (7), which are used to limit the extrusion station and the loading station, respectively.

7. The aluminum alloy wheel valve hole forming process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The die (2) is fixed at the extrusion station by the die base (4). When the valve hole is extruded, the die (2) abuts against the inner side of the wheel.

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