A vertical hydraulic bridge shell bulging device

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of automotive parts processing technology and discloses a vertical hydraulic axle housing bulging device, including a hydraulic press body and a hydraulic bulging system. The hydraulic press body includes a frame with a worktable, on which a hydraulic expansion tank is fixedly mounted. The hydraulic bulging system includes a bulging mold with the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank for bulging the axle housing workpiece. The hydraulic expansion tank is connected to an automatic water inlet mechanism. The bulging mold includes a left module, a right module, an upper module, and a lower module. The left and right sides of the bulging mold are respectively provided with transverse bulging drive parts for driving the left and right modules to move in opposite directions or in the opposite direction. A longitudinal bulging drive part is provided above the bulging mold and is connected to the upper module of the bulging mold. This invention effectively solves the problem of low processing efficiency in hydraulic bulging forming of axle housing workpieces and has the advantages of high processing efficiency, high processing accuracy, and low production cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automotive parts processing technology, and in particular to a vertical hydraulic axle housing bulging device. Background Technology

[0002] The automotive manufacturing industry plays a pivotal role in my country's national economy. In recent years, with the rapid development of my country's national economy, the automotive industry has also flourished. The performance of everything from complete vehicles to individual components has become a major research topic in the industry. As a crucial automotive part, the axle housing not only provides structural support but also serves as the housing for the differential, final drive, and drive wheel transmission. The quality of the axle housing has a significant impact on the overall vehicle performance. It requires sufficient strength, rigidity, and fatigue life, while also being simple in structure, low in cost, lightweight, and easy to disassemble and maintain.

[0003] Currently, axle housing production typically uses large-tonnage specialized hydraulic forming equipment to drive hydraulic axle housing forming molds, achieving the forming of the axle housing and axle bundle of automobiles. The forming method involves using high-pressure water to expand seamless steel pipes to the required dimensions for forming the automobile drive axle housing. The high-pressure water directly enters the inner cavity of the seamless steel pipe through the mold. Due to the high sealing requirements of high-pressure water, an excessively large inlet can easily cause leakage. Therefore, the inlet on the mold is generally made relatively small, resulting in a small inlet flow rate. This causes the water pressure inside the seamless steel pipe to reach the hydraulic expansion pressure for a longer period of time, resulting in low processing efficiency. Furthermore, existing forming equipment can only produce one product at a time, which is insufficient to meet production demands. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a vertical hydraulic axle housing bulging device, which aims to solve the technical problem of low processing efficiency of hydraulic bulging forming of axle housing workpieces in the background art, and has the advantages of high processing efficiency, high processing accuracy and low production cost.

[0005] The above-mentioned technical objective of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0006] A vertical hydraulic axle housing bulging device includes a hydraulic press body and a hydraulic bulging system. The hydraulic press body includes a frame with a worktable, on which a hydraulic expansion tank is fixedly mounted. The hydraulic bulging system includes a bulging mold disposed at the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank for bulging the axle housing workpiece. The hydraulic expansion tank is connected to an automatic water inlet mechanism. The bulging mold includes a left module, a right module, an upper module, and a lower module. The left and right sides of the bulging mold are respectively provided with transverse bulging drive parts for driving the left and right modules to move in opposite directions or in reverse. A longitudinal bulging drive part is provided above the bulging mold and is connected to the upper module of the bulging mold.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, the hydraulic bulging system realizes the hydraulic bulging forming operation of the axle housing workpiece through the bulging mold. During feeding, the axle housing workpiece blank is first placed on the lower module. Then, the left and right modules are driven to move towards each other by the transverse bulging drive unit, while the upper module is driven to move downward by the longitudinal bulging drive unit. This causes the left, right, upper, and lower modules to close the mold, thereby extruding and forming the axle housing workpiece blank and sealing both ends of the axle housing workpiece blank in the cavity of the bulging mold. Then, high-pressure water is injected into the inner cavity of the axle housing workpiece through the cavity of the bulging mold, thereby causing the axle housing workpiece blank to expand from the inside and reach the size of the automotive drive axle housing. By placing the liquid expansion forming system in a liquid expansion tank, the expansion mold can be encased in water. This allows the inner cavity of the bridge housing workpiece blank to be pre-filled with liquid during the process of placing it into the expansion mold, effectively saving the water replenishment time in the expansion cycle and improving the efficiency of liquid expansion forming of the bridge housing workpiece. In addition, the water in the liquid expansion tank can also cool the expansion mold during the expansion process, keeping the expansion mold at a near constant temperature. This prevents the heat generated by the bridge housing workpiece during liquid expansion from being transferred to the expansion mold, thus avoiding thermal expansion and contraction of the expansion mold and affecting the processing accuracy of the bridge housing workpiece.

[0008] A further provision of the present invention is that: the left module and the right module are respectively provided with a left mold cavity and a right mold cavity with the same shape and structure as the two ends of the bridge shell workpiece; the left mold cavity is connected to the filling high-pressure pipe; the right mold cavity is connected to the depressurization high-pressure pipe; and the upper module and the lower module are respectively provided with an upper mold cavity and a lower mold cavity with the same shape and structure as the upper and lower outer walls of the bridge shell workpiece.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the left mold cavity and the right mold cavity are used to laterally extrude and shape both ends of the bridge shell workpiece, so that both ends of the bridge shell workpiece reach the set shape and size. At the same time, the left mold cavity is connected to the liquid filling high-pressure pipe, so that the left mold can also fill the inner cavity of the bridge shell workpiece with high-pressure water through the liquid filling high-pressure pipe, so that the bridge shell workpiece blank expands from the inside, thereby realizing the pipa-shaped forming of the bridge shell workpiece. After the bridge shell workpiece is formed, the pressure is released through the pressure relief high-pressure pipe connected to the right mold cavity, and the bridge shell workpiece can be taken out.

[0010] A further configuration of the present invention is as follows: the transverse expansion drive unit includes a left thrust hydraulic cylinder and a right thrust hydraulic cylinder disposed at both ends of the worktable for applying expansion thrust to the left module and the right module respectively; the two ends of the left module and the right module are respectively connected to the piston rods of the left thrust hydraulic cylinder and the right thrust hydraulic cylinder; and the left module and the right module are respectively slidably engaged with transverse guide rods fixed on both sides of the liquid expansion tank.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, the left thrust hydraulic cylinder and the right thrust hydraulic cylinder are used to apply lateral force to the left module and the right module respectively, so that the left module and the right module move towards each other or in opposite directions. When the left module and the right module move towards each other, the expansion thrust can be applied to both ends of the axle housing workpiece. When the left module and the right module move in opposite directions, they will separate from the axle housing workpiece after expansion, which facilitates the unloading of the axle housing workpiece. The horizontal guide rod is used to guide the left module and the right module during the movement of the left module and the right module towards each other or in opposite directions. The movement trajectory of the two is always on the same axis, thereby effectively ensuring the stability of the forming quality of the axle housing workpiece.

[0012] A further configuration of the present invention is as follows: the longitudinal expansion drive unit includes a first drive rod and a second drive rod, both of which are rotatably connected to a fixed shaft fixed on the frame above the worktable. The lower ends of the first drive rod and the second drive rod are respectively hinged to a first sliding plate and a second sliding plate disposed on the top of the upper module. The first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are respectively slidably engaged with a transverse sliding groove on the top of the upper module. The opposite ends of the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are connected by a return spring. The ends of the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate that are far apart from each other are respectively opposite to a limiting plate one and a limiting plate two fixed on the left module and the right module. The limiting plate one and the limiting plate two are respectively located above the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate.

[0013] By adopting the above technical solution, limiting plate one and limiting plate two are used to limit the height of the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate, respectively, so that the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate are always below the first limiting plate and the second limiting plate. This allows the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate to abut against the sides of the left and right modules respectively after the left and right modules move towards each other to the set position. As the left and right modules continue to move towards each other, the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate move towards each other from both ends of the return spring and squeeze the return spring. When the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate move towards each other, they respectively drive the lower ends of the first driving rod and the second driving rod hinged to them to move towards each other, causing the upper ends of the first driving rod and the second driving rod to press upward against the fixed shaft. Under the reaction force of the fixed shaft, the first driving rod and the second driving rod push the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate downward, thus causing the upper module to move with the first sliding plate and the second sliding plate towards the fixed shaft. The upper module moves downwards, causing the left and right modules to move towards each other while the upper module moves downwards, resulting in the left, right, upper, and lower modules closing the mold. After the bridge housing workpiece is bulged, the left and right modules move in opposite directions, and the first and second sliding plates slide in opposite directions under the restoring force of the return spring. This causes the lower ends of the first and second driving rods, which are respectively hinged to the first and second sliding plates, to move in opposite directions. When the lower ends of the first and second driving rods move in opposite directions, their upper ends generate a pulling force on the fixed shaft. Under the action of the reverse pulling force of the fixed shaft, the lower ends of the first and second driving rods begin to move upwards, causing the upper module to move upwards with the first and second sliding plates. This achieves the separation of the left and right modules, as well as the separation of the upper and lower modules, facilitating the unloading of the formed bridge housing workpiece. Repeating the above process allows for continuous processing of the bridge housing workpiece.

[0014] A further configuration of the present invention is as follows: the transverse slide is an inverted "T" shaped groove, the cross sections of the first and second slides match the transverse slide, and the first drive rod and the second drive rod are respectively hinged to the top of the first and second slides.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the transverse slide is an inverted "T" shaped groove, which allows the first and second slide plates to slide horizontally relative to the transverse slide without detaching from the upper module. This allows the upper module to move only up and down with the first and second slide plates, thereby realizing the mold closing and mold opening operations of the upper and lower modules. The first and second drive rods are respectively hinged to the top of the first and second slide plates, so that when the first and second drive rods rotate around the fixed axis in opposite directions, they can drive the first and second slide plates to move in opposite directions while also moving downward or upward, thereby driving the upper module to move closer to or away from the lower module, thus realizing the mold closing and mold opening operations of the upper and lower modules.

[0016] A further configuration of the present invention is as follows: the hydraulic bulging system includes two sets of bulging molds with identical structures and arranged in parallel, one set of bulging molds being connected to a transverse bulging drive unit, and the two sets of bulging molds being connected by a power linkage mechanism. The power linkage mechanism includes a gear one disposed between two left modules in the two sets of bulging molds and a gear two disposed between two right modules in the two sets of bulging molds. The gear one is rotatably connected to the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank via a rotating shaft one, and the gear two is rotatably connected to the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank via a rotating shaft two. The gear one meshes with rack one and rack two on the two left modules respectively, and the gear two meshes with rack three and rack four on the two right modules respectively.

[0017] By adopting the above technical solution, the two sets of bulging dies can respectively realize the alternating forming operation of the bridge shell workpiece at two workstations. That is, while one workstation is producing, the other workstation is loading and unloading, which effectively reduces the waiting time for loading and unloading, and improves production efficiency. Moreover, the two sets of bulging dies are connected by a power linkage mechanism to realize the power linkage and conversion between the two sets of bulging dies, so that only one set of transverse bulging drive unit is needed to realize the alternating forming operation of the two sets of bulging dies: First, the bulging die connected to the transverse bulging drive unit is loaded. Then, the transverse bulging drive unit drives the left and right modules of the set of bulging dies connected to it to move towards each other to compress and bulge the two ends of the loaded bridge shell workpiece. During the bulging process, the... In the bulging mold, racks 1 and 3 on the left and right modules move towards each other. When racks 1 and 3 move towards each other, they drive gears 1 and 2, which mesh with them, to rotate relative to each other. When gears 1 and 2 rotate relative to each other, they drive racks 2 and 4 on the left and right modules of the other bulging mold to move in opposite directions. This causes the left and right modules of the other bulging mold to move in opposite directions. When the left and right modules of the other bulging mold move in opposite directions, they separate from the previously bulged bridge shell workpiece so that the previously bulged bridge shell workpiece can be unloaded. This process is repeated to achieve continuous and alternating forming operations between the two sets of bulging molds. The structure is simple and the operation is convenient.

[0018] A further provision of the present invention is that: the workbench is provided with robotic arms on the side opposite to the two sets of bulging molds for loading and unloading the two sets of bulging molds.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, the two sets of forming molds form a dual-station structure. Under the control of PLC logic, the robot arm cooperates with the two sets of forming molds to realize a continuous and alternating operation mode in which one station is producing while the other station is loading and unloading, which effectively improves the production efficiency of bridge housing workpieces.

[0020] A further configuration of the present invention is as follows: the automatic water inlet mechanism includes a water storage tank disposed on the frame, the water storage tank being located above the workbench, a water inlet pipe being disposed at the bottom of the water storage tank, the water inlet pipe extending into a liquid expansion tank, a support rod coaxial with the water inlet pipe being fixedly disposed at the bottom of the liquid expansion tank, a floating plug being disposed on the support rod, the floating plug slidingly engaging with the outer wall of the water inlet pipe, the diameter of the floating plug being larger than the diameter of the water inlet pipe, and the density of the floating plug being less than the density of water.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution, the water storage tank is used to store a certain amount of replenishment water. When the water level in the expansion tank is high, the floating plug slides upward along the support rod under the action of buoyancy and blocks the gap between the water inlet pipe and the support rod, so that water in the storage tank will not enter the expansion tank through the water inlet pipe. This ensures that the water level in the expansion tank meets production needs without overflowing. When the water in the expansion tank decreases and the water level drops, the floating plug will drop synchronously with the water level in the expansion tank. Therefore, the floating plug will gradually separate from the water inlet pipe. This opens the gap between the inlet pipe and the support rod, allowing water in the storage tank to enter the expansion tank through the gap under gravity. This replenishes the expansion tank until the water level rises to the point where the floating plug rises again to block the gap between the inlet pipe and the support rod. Only manual replenishment of water to the storage tank is required periodically, eliminating the need for frequent pumping of the water pump. Furthermore, gravity-based water replenishment replaces pump-based replenishment, resulting in lower production costs and higher replenishment efficiency.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0023] 1. This invention sets the liquid expansion forming system in a liquid expansion water tank, allowing the expansion mold to be encased in water. This enables the inner cavity of the bridge housing workpiece blank to be pre-filled with liquid during the process of placing it into the expansion mold, effectively saving the water replenishment time during the expansion forming cycle and improving the processing efficiency of the bridge housing workpiece liquid expansion forming. In addition, the water in the liquid expansion water tank can also cool the expansion mold during the expansion process, keeping the expansion mold at a near constant temperature. This prevents the heat generated by the bridge housing workpiece during liquid expansion from being transferred to the expansion mold, thus avoiding thermal expansion and contraction of the expansion mold and affecting the processing accuracy of the bridge housing workpiece.

[0024] 2. This invention utilizes two sets of bulging dies to achieve alternating forming operations for bridge housing workpieces at two different workstations. That is, while one workstation is producing, the other is simultaneously loading and unloading materials, effectively reducing waiting time and increasing production efficiency. Furthermore, the two sets of bulging dies are connected by a power linkage mechanism to achieve power linkage and switching between them. This allows only one set of transverse bulging drive units to achieve the alternating forming operation of the two sets of bulging dies: First, the bulging die connected to the transverse bulging drive unit is loaded. Then, the transverse bulging drive unit drives the left and right modules of the connected set of bulging dies to move towards each other, extruding and bulging both ends of the loaded bridge housing workpiece. During bulging, the bulging... In the mold, racks 1 and 3 on the left and right modules move towards each other. When racks 1 and 3 move towards each other, they drive gears 1 and 2, which mesh with them, to rotate relative to each other. When gears 1 and 2 rotate relative to each other, they drive racks 2 and 4 on the left and right modules of the other bulging mold to move in opposite directions. This causes the left and right modules of the other bulging mold to move in opposite directions. When the left and right modules of the other bulging mold move in opposite directions, they separate from the previously bulged bridge shell workpiece so that the previously bulged bridge shell workpiece can be unloaded. This process is repeated to achieve continuous and alternating forming operations between the two sets of bulging molds. The structure is simple and the operation is convenient.

[0025] 3. This invention drives the first and second sliding plates to move in opposite directions by moving the left and right modules toward or in opposite directions. This causes the lower ends of the first and second driving rods, which are hinged to the upper ends of the first and second sliding plates, to move toward or in opposite directions. As a result, when the upper ends of the first and second driving rods rotate around a fixed axis in opposite directions, they drive the first and second sliding plates to move downward or upward simultaneously under the reverse force of the fixed axis. This causes the upper module to move toward or away from the lower module, thereby realizing the mold closing and mold opening operations of the upper and lower modules. That is, it achieves the effect of simultaneous mold closing and opening of the upper and lower modules while the left and right modules are closing and opening.

[0026] 4. This invention uses an automatic water inlet device to automatically replenish the expansion tank. The water storage tank in the automatic water inlet device stores a certain amount of replenishment water. When the water level in the expansion tank is high, the floating plug slides upwards along the support rod under buoyancy, blocking the gap between the inlet pipe and the support rod. This prevents water from the storage tank from entering the expansion tank through the inlet pipe, ensuring the water level in the expansion tank meets production needs without overflowing. When the water level in the expansion tank decreases, the floating plug lowers synchronously with the water level in the expansion tank. Therefore, the floating plug... The moving plug will gradually separate from the water inlet pipe, opening the gap between the water inlet pipe and the support rod. Under the action of gravity, the water in the storage tank will enter the liquid expansion tank through the gap between the water inlet pipe and the support rod, thus replenishing the liquid expansion tank until the water level in the liquid expansion tank rises to the point where the floating plug rises again to block the gap between the water inlet pipe and the support rod. Only manual periodic addition of water to the storage tank is required, eliminating the need to frequently start the water pump to replenish the liquid expansion tank. Moreover, the gravity-based water replenishment method replaces the water pump process, resulting in lower production costs and higher water replenishment efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a vertical hydraulic bridge shell bulging device according to the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a vertical hydraulic bridge shell bulging device according to the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic water inlet mechanism in a vertical hydraulic bridge shell bulging device according to the present invention.

[0031] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the power linkage mechanism in a vertical hydraulic bridge shell bulging device of the present invention.

[0032] In the diagram, 1. Hydraulic press body; 101. Worktable; 102. Frame; 2. Hydraulic bulging system; 3. Hydraulic expansion tank; 4. Automatic water inlet mechanism; 401. Water storage tank; 402. Water inlet pipe; 403. Support rod; 404. Floating plug; 5. Bridge housing workpiece; 6. Bulging mold; 601. Left module; 602. Right module; 603. Upper module; 604. Lower module; 605. Left mold cavity; 606. Right mold cavity; 607. Upper mold cavity; 608. Lower mold cavity; 609. Limiting plate one; 610. Limiting plate two; 611. Transverse slide; 7. Transverse bulging drive unit; 70 1. Left thrust hydraulic cylinder; 702. Right thrust hydraulic cylinder; 8. Longitudinal expansion drive unit; 801. First drive rod; 802. Second drive rod; 803. Fixed shaft; 804. First sliding plate; 805. Second sliding plate; 806. Return spring; 9. High-pressure filling pipe; 10. High-pressure relief pipe; 11. Power linkage mechanism; 1101. Gear one; 1102. Gear two; 1103. Rotating shaft one; 1104. Rotating shaft two; 1105. Rack one; 1106. Rack two; 1107. Rack three; 1108. Rack four; 12. Transverse guide rod; 13. Robotic arm. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] like Figures 1-4 As shown, a vertical hydraulic axle housing bulging device includes a hydraulic press body 1 and a hydraulic bulging system 2. The hydraulic press body 1 includes a frame 102 with a worktable 101. A hydraulic expansion tank 3 is fixed on the worktable 101. The hydraulic bulging system 2 includes a bulging mold 6 disposed at the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank 3 for bulging the axle housing workpiece 5. The hydraulic expansion tank 3 is connected to an automatic water inlet mechanism 4. The bulging mold 6 includes a left module 601, a right module 602, an upper module 603, and a lower module 604. The left and right sides of the bulging mold 6 are respectively provided with transverse bulging drive parts 7 for driving the left module 601 and the right module 602 to move in opposite directions or in the opposite direction. A longitudinal bulging drive part 8 is provided above the bulging mold 6 and is connected to the upper module 603 of the bulging mold 6.

[0035] Furthermore, the left module 601 and the right module 602 are respectively provided with a left mold cavity 605 and a right mold cavity 606 with the same shape and structure as the two ends of the bridge shell workpiece 5. The left mold cavity 605 is connected to the liquid filling high pressure pipe 9, and the right mold cavity 606 is connected to the pressure relief high pressure pipe 10. The upper module 603 and the lower module 604 are respectively provided with an upper mold cavity 607 and a lower mold cavity 608 with the same shape and structure as the upper and lower outer walls of the bridge shell workpiece 5.

[0036] Furthermore, the transverse expansion drive unit 7 includes a left thrust hydraulic cylinder 701 and a right thrust hydraulic cylinder 702 disposed at both ends of the worktable 101 for applying expansion thrust to the left module 601 and the right module 602 respectively. The two ends of the left module 601 and the right module 602 are respectively connected to the piston rods of the left thrust hydraulic cylinder 701 and the right thrust hydraulic cylinder 702. The left module 601 and the right module 602 are respectively slidably engaged with the transverse guide rods 12 fixed on both sides of the hydraulic expansion tank 3.

[0037] Furthermore, the longitudinal expansion drive unit 8 includes a first drive rod 801 and a second drive rod 802. Both the first drive rod 801 and the second drive rod 802 are rotatably connected to a fixed shaft 803 fixed on the frame 102 above the worktable 101. The lower ends of the first drive rod 801 and the second drive rod 802 are respectively hinged to a first slide plate 804 and a second slide plate 805 disposed on the top of the upper module 603. The first slide plate 804 and the second slide plate 805 are respectively slidably engaged with the transverse slide groove 611 on the top of the upper module 603. The opposite ends of the first slide plate 804 and the second slide plate 805 are connected by a return spring 806. The ends of the first slide plate 804 and the second slide plate 805 that are far apart from each other are respectively opposite to a limiting plate 609 and a limiting plate 610 fixed on the left module 601 and the right module 602. The limiting plate 609 and the limiting plate 610 are respectively located above the first slide plate 804 and the second slide plate 805.

[0038] Furthermore, the transverse slide 611 is an inverted "T" shaped groove, the cross sections of the first slide plate 804 and the second slide plate 805 match the transverse slide 611, and the first drive rod 801 and the second drive rod 802 are respectively hinged to the top of the first slide plate 804 and the second slide plate 805.

[0039] Furthermore, the hydraulic bulging system 2 includes two sets of bulging molds 6 with identical structures and arranged in parallel. One set of bulging molds 6 is connected to the transverse bulging drive unit 7. The two sets of bulging molds 6 are connected by a power linkage mechanism 11. The power linkage mechanism 11 includes a gear 1101 disposed between the two left modules 601 in the two sets of bulging molds 6 and a gear 2 1102 disposed between the two right modules 602 in the two sets of bulging molds 6. The gear 1101 is rotatably connected to the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank 3 through a rotating shaft 1103. The gear 2 1102 is rotatably connected to the bottom of the hydraulic expansion tank 3 through a rotating shaft 2 1104. The gear 1101 meshes with racks 1105 and 2106 on the two left modules 601 respectively. The gear 2 1102 meshes with racks 3107 and 4108 on the two right modules 602 respectively.

[0040] Furthermore, the workbench 101 is provided with robotic arms 13 on the side opposite to the two sets of bulging molds 6 for loading and unloading the two sets of bulging molds 6.

[0041] Furthermore, the automatic water inlet mechanism 4 includes a water storage tank 401 mounted on the frame, the water storage tank 401 being located above the workbench 101, and a water inlet pipe 402 being provided at the bottom of the water storage tank 401. The water inlet pipe 402 extends into the liquid expansion tank 3, and a support rod 403 coaxial with the water inlet pipe 402 is fixedly provided at the bottom of the liquid expansion tank 3. A floating plug 404 is provided on the support rod 403, and the floating plug 404 slides in cooperation with the outer wall of the water inlet pipe 402. The diameter of the floating plug 404 is larger than the diameter of the water inlet pipe 402, and the density of the floating plug 404 is less than the density of water.

[0042] The working principle of this invention is as follows: The hydraulic bulging system 2 realizes the hydraulic bulging forming operation of the axle housing workpiece 5 through the bulging mold 6. During feeding, the axle housing workpiece 5 blank is first placed on the lower module 604. Then, the left module 601 and the right module 602 are driven to move towards each other by the transverse bulging drive unit 7. At the same time, the upper module 603 is driven to move downward by the longitudinal bulging drive unit 8. This causes the left module 601, the right module 602, the upper module 603 and the lower module 604 to close the mold, thereby extruding and forming the axle housing workpiece 5 blank and sealing both ends of the axle housing workpiece 5 blank in the cavity of the bulging mold 6. Then, high-pressure water is injected into the inner cavity of the axle housing workpiece 5 through the cavity of the bulging mold 6, thereby causing the axle housing workpiece 5 blank to expand from the inside and reach the size of the automotive drive axle housing. The hydraulic bulging system 2 is set in the hydraulic expansion tank 3, so that the bulging mold 6 can be surrounded by water. This allows the inner cavity of the axle housing workpiece 5 blank to be filled with liquid in advance when it is placed into the bulging mold 6. This effectively saves the water replenishment time in the bulging cycle of the axle housing workpiece 5 blank, and effectively improves the hydraulic expansion forming efficiency of the axle housing workpiece 5. In addition, the water in the hydraulic expansion tank 3 can also cool the bulging mold 6 during the bulging process, so that the bulging mold 6 is always close to a constant temperature. This avoids the problem of the heat generated by the axle housing workpiece 5 during the hydraulic expansion process being transferred to the bulging mold 6, which would cause the bulging mold 6 to expand and contract, thus affecting the processing accuracy of the axle housing workpiece 5.

Claims

1. A vertical hydraulic axle shell expansion apparatus comprising a hydraulic press body (1) and a hydraulic expansion system (2), characterized in that: The hydraulic machine body (1) includes a rack (102) provided with a workbench (101), the workbench (101) is fixedly provided with a liquid expansion tank (3), the hydraulic expansion system (2) includes an expansion die (6) arranged at the bottom of the liquid expansion tank (3) and used for expanding the axle housing workpiece (5), the liquid expansion tank (3) is connected with an automatic water inlet mechanism (4), the expansion die (6) includes a left module (601), a right module (602), an upper module (603) and a lower module (604), the left and right sides of the expansion die (6) are respectively provided with transverse expansion drive parts (7) used for driving the left module (601) and the right module (602) to move towards or reversely, and the upper side of the expansion die (6) is provided with a longitudinal expansion drive part (8), the longitudinal expansion drive part (8) is connected with the upper module (603) of the expansion die (6); The left module (601) and the right module (602) are respectively provided with a left die cavity (605) and a right die cavity (606) with the same shape structure as the two ends of the axle housing workpiece (5), the left die cavity (605) is communicated with a liquid filling high-pressure pipe (9), the right die cavity (606) is communicated with a pressure relief high-pressure pipe (10), and the upper module (603) and the lower module (604) are respectively provided with an upper die cavity (607) and a lower die cavity (608) with the same shape structure as the upper and lower side outer walls of the axle housing workpiece (5); The transverse expansion drive part (7) includes a left thrust hydraulic cylinder (701) and a right thrust hydraulic cylinder (702) arranged at both ends of the workbench (101) and used for applying expansion thrust to the left module (601) and the right module (602), respectively, both ends of the left module (601) and the right module (602) are connected with piston rods of the left thrust hydraulic cylinder (701) and the right thrust hydraulic cylinder (702), respectively, and the left module (601) and the right module (602) are respectively in sliding fit with transverse guide rods (12) fixed at both sides of the liquid expansion tank (3). The longitudinal expansion drive part (8) comprises a first drive rod (801) and a second drive rod (802), both of which are rotationally connected with a fixed shaft (803) fixed on the rack (102) above the workbench (101), the lower ends of the first drive rod (801) and the second drive rod (802) are respectively hinged with a first sliding plate (804) and a second sliding plate (805) arranged on the top of the upper module (603), the first sliding plate (804) and the second sliding plate (805) are respectively in sliding fit with a transverse sliding groove (611) on the top of the upper module (603), the opposite ends of the first sliding plate (804) and the second sliding plate (805) are connected through a reset spring (806), and the opposite ends of the first sliding plate (804) and the second sliding plate (805) away from each other are respectively opposite to a limiting plate one (609) and a limiting plate two (610) fixed on the left module (601) and the right module (602), and the limiting plate one (609) and the limiting plate two (610) are respectively located above the first sliding plate (804) and the second sliding plate (805). The transverse sliding groove (611) is a reverse "T" shaped groove, the cross sections of the first sliding plate (804) and the second sliding plate (805) are matched with the transverse sliding groove (611), and the first drive rod (801) and the second drive rod (802) are respectively hinged with the top of the first sliding plate (804) and the second sliding plate (805).

2. A vertical hydraulic axle shell expansion apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein: The hydraulic expansion system (2) comprises two groups of expansion dies (6) which are the same in structure and arranged in parallel, one group of expansion dies (6) is connected with the transverse expansion drive part (7), and the two groups of expansion dies (6) are connected through a power linkage mechanism (11), the power linkage mechanism (11) comprises a gear one (1101) arranged between the two left modules (601) in the two groups of expansion dies (6) and a gear two (1102) arranged between the two right modules (602) in the two groups of expansion dies (6), the gear one (1101) is rotationally connected with the bottom of the liquid expansion tank (3) through a rotating shaft one (1103), the gear two (1102) is rotationally connected with the bottom of the liquid expansion tank (3) through a rotating shaft two (1104), the gear one (1101) is respectively engaged with a rack one (1105) and a rack two (1106) on the two left modules (601), and the gear two (1102) is respectively engaged with a rack three (1107) and a rack four (1108) on the two right modules (602).

3. A vertical hydraulic axle shell expansion apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein: The workbench (101) is provided with a mechanical hand (13) for feeding and discharging the two groups of expansion dies (6) on the side opposite to the two groups of expansion dies (6).

4. A vertical hydraulic axle shell expansion apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein: The automatic water inlet mechanism (4) comprises a water storage tank (401) arranged on the frame, the water storage tank (401) is located above the workbench (101), the bottom of the water storage tank (401) is provided with a water inlet pipe (402), the water inlet pipe (402) extends into the liquid expansion tank (3), the bottom of the liquid expansion tank (3) is fixedly provided with a support rod (403) coaxial with the water inlet pipe (402), the support rod (403) is provided with a floating plug (404), the floating plug (404) is in sliding fit with the outer wall of the water inlet pipe (402), the diameter of the floating plug (404) is greater than that of the water inlet pipe (402), and the density of the floating plug (404) is less than that of water.

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