A kind of expanding tool for axle housing expansion
By designing an expansion tooling for the bridge housing expansion process, and adopting a combination structure of support and clamping components, the center line of the bridge housing casting is aligned, solving the problem of poor forming quality in the expansion process of the bridge housing and adapting to the processing needs of bridge housings of different sizes.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- HEFEI MINGHUI AUTO PARTS MFG CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-24
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-09
AI Technical Summary
In the existing technology, during the expansion molding process of the bridge shell, it is difficult to ensure the alignment of the axial and radial center lines of the bridge shell casting, which affects the molding quality.
Design an expansion tooling for bridge housing expansion, comprising a support component, a square clamping component, and a shaft head clamping component. The centerline is aligned by driving the slider and slide rail with a hydraulic cylinder, and the clearance and clamping width can be adjusted to meet the needs of bridge housing castings of different sizes.
Ensure that the axial and radial centerlines of the bridge housing casting are aligned with the tooling centerline to improve the forming quality of the expansion mold and adapt to the processing requirements of bridge housing castings of different sizes.
Smart Images
Figure CN224333247U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of bridge housing processing technology, specifically an expansion tooling for expanding a bridge housing. Background Technology
[0002] The axle housing is the base for mounting the main reducer, differential, half-shafts, and wheel assemblies. Its main function is to support and protect the main reducer, differential, and half-shafts. Currently, the machining process for axle housings involves casting pre-formed axle housing parts (such as...) Figure 6 As shown, the bridge housing casting 5 mainly includes a square body 51 and a shaft head 52 integrally connected to both ends of the square body 51. It is placed on the expansion mold and undergoes four hot expansion molding processes in sequence, namely, the first expansion molding, the second expansion molding, the third expansion molding, and the fourth expansion molding, so that the outline dimensions and form and position tolerances of the bridge housing can meet the design requirements.
[0003] The first expansion molding process, as the initial step, has a crucial impact on the quality of subsequent expansion molding processes, and consequently, on the quality (dimensional outline and geometric tolerances) of the final machined axle housing product. Before implementing the first expansion molding, ensuring the axle housing casting gripped by the robotic arm and placed on the fixture is critical to guaranteeing its molding quality. This involves aligning the axial centerline of the axle housing casting with the centerline along the length of the fixture, and the radial centerline with the centerline along the width of the fixture. Therefore, it is necessary to design the first expansion molding fixture accordingly. Utility Model Content
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the defects and deficiencies of the existing technology and provide an expansion tooling for the expansion of a bridge housing. While clamping the square ends of the expansion part of the bridge housing casting, it can keep the axial centerline of the bridge housing casting aligned with the centerline of the base along its length. Furthermore, while clamping the two ends of the bridge housing casting, it can keep the radial centerline of the bridge housing casting aligned with the centerline of the base along its width, thereby ensuring the forming quality of the expansion mold.
[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution:
[0006] An expansion tooling for a bridge housing includes a base, characterized in that: a support member is installed on the base to support the expansion portion of the bridge housing casting; a square clamping member is installed on the base to clamp the square ends of the expansion portion of the bridge housing casting and to keep the axial centerline of the bridge housing casting aligned with the centerline of the base along its length; and shaft clamping members are provided at both ends of the base to clamp the shaft ends of the bridge housing casting and to keep the radial centerline of the bridge housing casting aligned with the centerline of the base along its width.
[0007] Furthermore, the support member includes a front support plate and a rear support plate, with a gap between the front support plate and the rear support plate for an expanding punch to pass through, and the distance between the front support plate and the rear support plate is adjustable.
[0008] Furthermore, a front slide rail assembly and a rear slide rail assembly are fixedly installed in the middle part of the base. Each of the front and rear slide rail assemblies includes two slide rails that are arranged opposite each other and extend along the width direction of the base. A slider is slidably installed between the two slide rails that are arranged opposite each other. The front support plate and the rear support plate are respectively fixedly installed on the sliders on the front and rear sides. A front hydraulic cylinder and a rear hydraulic cylinder are respectively fixedly installed on the front and rear sides of the base, which are used to drive the sliders on the front and rear sides to move back and forth between the corresponding two slide rails.
[0009] Furthermore, the square clamping component includes two sets, each set of which includes a fixed clamping block and a movable clamping block. The fixed clamping block is fixedly installed on the base and its installation position on the base is adjustable. The movable clamping block is slidably installed on the base and can move back and forth relative to the fixed clamping block.
[0010] Furthermore, the base has screw holes on both sides of the fixed clamping block, and the fixed clamping block has strip-shaped through grooves on both sides. Bolts pass through the strip-shaped through grooves from top to bottom and are screwed into the corresponding screw holes to fix the fixed clamping block to the base. The base has a sliding groove, and the movable clamping block is slidably installed in the sliding groove. A hydraulic cylinder is fixedly installed on the front side of the base to drive the movable clamping block to move back and forth along the sliding groove.
[0011] Furthermore, the shaft head clamping component includes a left clamp and a right clamp, and a left hydraulic cylinder and a right hydraulic cylinder are respectively installed at both ends of the base to drive the left and right clamps to move laterally.
[0012] Furthermore, a lifting component is installed on the base to lift the expanded bridge housing casting.
[0013] Furthermore, there are two sets of lifting components, each set including a lifting block and a lifting cylinder. The lifting cylinder is installed at the bottom of the base, and the piston rod of the lifting cylinder extends upward through the base and is fixedly connected to the lifting block.
[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are:
[0015] 1. This utility model adopts a square clamping component, which can keep the axial center line of the bridge shell casting aligned with the center line of the base along its length while clamping the square ends of the bridge shell casting to be expanded; and adopts a shaft head clamping component, which can keep the radial center line of the bridge shell casting aligned with the center line of the base along its width while clamping the shaft heads at both ends of the bridge shell casting, thereby ensuring the forming quality of the expansion mold.
[0016] 2. The support component used in this utility model has an adjustable gap width for a punch to pass through, and the square clamping component has an adjustable clamping width, thereby meeting the expansion mold requirements of bridge housing castings of different sizes. Attached Figure Description
[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention. Figure 1 .
[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A partial structural diagram.
[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention. Figure 2 .
[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention. Figure 3 .
[0021] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the present invention when the bridge housing is expanded.
[0022] Figure 6 This is a structural schematic diagram of a bridge shell casting of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0023] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.
[0024] See Figure 1-6An expansion tooling for expanding an axle housing includes a base 1, a support member 2 mounted on the base 1 for supporting the expansion portion 53 of the axle housing casting 5, a square clamping member 3 mounted on the base 1 for clamping the squares 51 at both ends of the expansion portion 53 of the axle housing casting 5 and for keeping the axial centerline of the axle housing casting 5 aligned with the centerline of the length direction of the base 1, and shaft head clamping members 4 provided at both ends of the base 1 for clamping the shaft heads 52 at both ends of the axle housing casting 5 and for keeping the radial centerline of the axle housing casting 5 aligned with the centerline of the width direction of the base 1.
[0025] In this utility model, the support member 2 includes a front support plate 21 and a rear support plate 22. There is a gap 7 between the front support plate 21 and the rear support plate 22 for an expanding punch 6 to pass through, and the distance between the front support plate 21 and the rear support plate 22 is adjustable.
[0026] Furthermore, a front slide rail assembly and a rear slide rail assembly are fixedly installed in the middle part of the base 1. Both the front slide rail assembly and the rear slide rail assembly include two slide rails 8 that are arranged opposite each other and extend along the width direction of the base. A slider 9 is slidably installed between the two slide rails 8 that are arranged opposite each other. The front support plate 21 and the rear support plate 22 are respectively fixedly installed on the slider 9 on the front and rear sides. The front oil cylinder 10 and the rear oil cylinder 11 are respectively fixedly installed on the front and rear sides of the base 1, which are used to drive the slider 9 on the front and rear sides to move back and forth between the corresponding two slide rails 8.
[0027] Therefore, by using the front oil cylinder 10 and the rear oil cylinder 11 to move the slider 9 applied to the front and rear sides of the drive back and forth between the corresponding two slide rails 8, the width of the gap 7 for the expansion punch 6 to pass through is adjusted, thereby meeting the needs of expansion punches 6 of different sizes to pass through, and thus meeting the expansion needs of bridge housing castings 5 of different sizes.
[0028] In this utility model, the square clamping member 3 includes two sets. Each set of square clamping members 3 includes a fixed clamping block 31 and a movable clamping block 32. The fixed clamping block 31 is fixedly installed on the base 1 and its installation position on the base 1 is adjustable. The movable clamping block 32 is slidably installed on the base 1 and can move back and forth relative to the fixed clamping block 31.
[0029] Furthermore, the base 1 has screw holes (not shown in the figure) on both sides of the fixed clamping block 31, and a strip-shaped through groove 12 on both sides of the fixed clamping block 31. Bolts (not shown in the figure) pass through the strip-shaped through groove 12 from top to bottom and are screwed into the corresponding screw holes to fix the fixed clamping block 31 to the base 1. The base 1 has a sliding groove 13, and the movable clamping block 32 is slidably installed in the sliding groove 13. A hydraulic cylinder 14 is fixedly installed on the front side of the base 1 to drive the movable clamping block 32 to move back and forth along the sliding groove 13.
[0030] Therefore, the hydraulic cylinder 14 drives the movable clamping block 32 to move back and forth along the slide groove 13, thereby clamping the square bodies 51 at both ends of the expansion part 53 of the bridge housing casting 5 and releasing the clamping of the square bodies 51 at both ends of the expansion part 53 of the bridge housing casting 5; at the same time, it keeps the axial center line of the bridge housing casting 5 aligned with the center line of the length direction of the base 1.
[0031] In addition, after loosening the bolts, the installation position of the fixed clamping block 31 is adjusted, and the extension and retraction stroke of the hydraulic cylinder 14 is adjusted, so as to adjust the clamping width between the fixed clamping block 31 and the movable clamping block 32, thereby meeting the expansion requirements of bridge housing castings 5 of different sizes.
[0032] In this utility model, the shaft head clamping member 4 includes a left clamp 41 and a right clamp 42. The two ends of the base 1 are respectively equipped with a left oil cylinder 15 and a right oil cylinder 16, which are used to drive the left clamp 41 and the right clamp 42 to move left and right.
[0033] Therefore, by using the left hydraulic cylinder 15 and the right hydraulic cylinder 16 to move the left and right chucks 41 and 42 to move laterally, the two ends of the bridge housing casting 5 shaft head 52 can be clamped while keeping the radial center line of the bridge housing casting 5 aligned with the center line of the width direction of the base 1.
[0034] In this utility model, a lifting component 17 is installed on the base 1 to lift the bridge shell casting 5 after it has expanded.
[0035] Specifically, there are two sets of lifting components 17. Each set of lifting components 17 includes a lifting block 171 and a lifting cylinder 172. The lifting cylinder 172 is installed at the bottom of the base 1. The piston rod of the lifting cylinder 172 extends upward through the base 1 and is fixedly connected to the lifting block 171.
[0036] Therefore, the lifting block 171 is driven to rise by the lifting cylinder 172, thereby lifting the bridge housing casting 5 after expansion, so that it can be grasped by the robotic arm.
[0037] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:
[0038] In use, the robotic arm first grabs the bridge housing casting 5, which is to be expanded, onto the front support plate 21 and the rear support plate 22.
[0039] Next, the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 14 extends, driving the movable clamping block 32 to move laterally backward along the slide groove 13, that is, to move laterally towards the position of the fixed clamping block 31, pushing the bridge housing casting 5 to move laterally backward until one side of the square body 51 abuts against the clamping surface of the fixed clamping block 31, while the other side of the square body 51 abuts against the clamping surface of the movable clamping block 32, that is, the square body 51 is clamped between the fixed clamping block 31 and the movable clamping block 32.
[0040] At this time, the axial centerline of the bridge housing casting 5 is aligned with the centerline of the base 1 along its length.
[0041] Then, the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 14 retracts, driving the movable clamping block 32 to move forward laterally along the slide groove 13, releasing the clamping of the opposite body 51. The piston rods of the left hydraulic cylinder 15 and the right hydraulic cylinder 16 extend, respectively driving the left chuck 41 to move laterally to the right and the right chuck 42 to move laterally to the left, until the two ends of the bridge housing casting 5 abut against the clamping surfaces of the left chuck 41 and the right chuck 42, respectively, that is, the two ends of the shaft 52 are clamped between the left chuck 41 and the right chuck 42.
[0042] At this time, the radial centerline of the bridge housing casting 5 is aligned with the centerline of the base 1 in the width direction.
[0043] Then, the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 14 extends again, clamping the square body 51 between the fixed clamping block 31 and the movable clamping block 32 once more.
[0044] Then, an expansion punch 6 descends and inserts into the elongated hole 54 of the expansion portion 53 of the bridge housing casting 5 until it penetrates the elongated hole 54 and travels through the gap 7.
[0045] The 6-stage rise-and-fall punch moves up and down repeatedly until the rise-and-fall process is completed.
[0046] After the expansion process is completed, the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 14 retracts again, driving the movable clamping block 32 to move forward along the slide groove 13 and release the clamping of the opposite body 51; at the same time, the piston rods of the left hydraulic cylinder 15 and the right hydraulic cylinder 16 retract, respectively driving the left chuck 41 to move to the left and the right chuck 42 to move to the right, releasing the clamping of the two ends of the shaft head 52.
[0047] Then, the piston rod of the lifting cylinder 172 extends, driving the lifting block 171 to rise, lifting the expanded bridge housing casting 5, which can then be grasped by the robotic arm.
[0048] Although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
[0049] Therefore, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of this application; that is, all equivalent modifications made in accordance with the scope of the claims of this application shall be within the protection scope of the claims of this application.
Claims
1. An expansion tooling for expanding a bridge housing, comprising a base, characterized in that: The base is equipped with a support member for supporting the expansion portion of the bridge housing casting. A square clamping member is also installed on the base for clamping the square ends of the expansion portion of the bridge housing casting and for keeping the axial centerline of the bridge housing casting aligned with the centerline of the base along its length. Shaft head clamping members are provided at both ends of the base for clamping the shaft heads of the bridge housing casting and for keeping the radial centerline of the bridge housing casting aligned with the centerline of the base along its width.
2. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support member includes a front support plate and a rear support plate, with a gap between the front support plate and the rear support plate for an expanding punch to pass through, and the distance between the front support plate and the rear support plate is adjustable.
3. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base has a front slide rail assembly and a rear slide rail assembly fixedly installed in the middle. Each of the front and rear slide rail assemblies includes two slide rails that are arranged opposite each other and extend along the width direction of the base. A slider is slidably installed between the two slide rails. The front support plate and the rear support plate are respectively fixedly installed on the sliders on the front and rear sides. The front and rear sides of the base are respectively fixedly installed with a front hydraulic cylinder and a rear hydraulic cylinder, which are used to drive the sliders on the front and rear sides to move back and forth between the corresponding two slide rails.
4. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The square clamping component includes two sets, each set of which includes a fixed clamping block and a movable clamping block. The fixed clamping block is fixedly installed on the base and its installation position on the base is adjustable. The movable clamping block is slidably installed on the base and can move back and forth relative to the fixed clamping block.
5. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 4, characterized in that: The base has screw holes on both sides of the fixed clamping block, and the fixed clamping block has a strip-shaped through groove on both sides. A bolt passes through the strip-shaped through groove from top to bottom and is screwed into the corresponding screw hole to fix the fixed clamping block to the base. The base has a sliding groove, and the movable clamping block is slidably installed in the sliding groove. A hydraulic cylinder is fixedly installed on the front side of the base to drive the movable clamping block to move back and forth along the sliding groove.
6. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shaft head clamping component includes a left clamp and a right clamp. The two ends of the base are respectively equipped with a left hydraulic cylinder and a right hydraulic cylinder, which are used to drive the left and right clamps to move laterally left and right.
7. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base is equipped with a lifting component for lifting the bridge shell casting after it has expanded.
8. The expansion tooling for a bridge housing expansion according to claim 7, characterized in that: The lifting components are in two sets, each set including a lifting block and a lifting cylinder. The lifting cylinder is installed at the bottom of the base, and the piston rod of the lifting cylinder extends upward through the base and is fixedly connected to the lifting block.