The process and advantages of casting wheels
Generally speaking, cast wheels will also be divided into two manufacturing methods: gravity casting and low pressure casting.
The manufacturing process of gravity casting is simple, that is, just pour the liquid alloy into the mold to cool and form. Also, because the mold is durable and the process is simple, it is the lowest cost manufacturing method; low pressure casting uses low pressure to press the liquid alloy into the mold to let The molecules are evenly distributed, the pores are less, the metal density is high, so the strength is stronger, the safety factor is higher than the former, and the shape can be more complicated (and more refined and beautiful).
The advantages of cast aluminum wheels are: lower price, less restrictions on styling, bending after impact, and not easy to break.
The process and advantages of forging wheels
The process of forging aluminum wheels is to use high pressure (mostly 10,000 tons of pressure) to press a piece of alloy that has been heated to nearly 500 degrees into a rough embryo (prototype) of the wheel, undergo a powerful cold spinning process, and then enter T6 Heat treatment, then secondary processing with CNC detail engraving.
Due to the high pressure axial forging and the transverse super cold forging (spinning), the molecules between the alloys will be smaller, the gap will be finer, the density will be higher, and the interaction force between the material molecules will be stronger, so the wheel hub Only less raw materials are needed to achieve sufficient rigidity, making the overall weight lighter.
Since the metal is still in a solid state during forging, the shape cannot be as varied as liquid casting, and the body is plump. The appearance of forged aluminum wheels is mostly simple thick lines. Forging can eliminate defects such as loose as-cast during the smelting process and optimize the microstructure. At the same time, due to the preservation of complete metal flow lines, the mechanical properties of forgings are generally better than castings of the same material. For the important parts of related machinery with high load and severe working conditions, forgings are mostly used except for simpler shapes that can be rolled, profiles or welded parts.
The advantages of forged aluminum wheels are: light weight and high rigidity.
The production process and characteristics of cast and forged wheels and the difference between the two
1. The production process of forged wheels
One is "solid forging." For truck aluminum wheels with a simple structure, they can be produced by a solid forging process.
The second is "forging first and then forging". For more and more exquisite car aluminum wheels, a single solid forging is difficult to produce. This requires the use of "casting first and then forging", first using traditional processes such as low pressure casting, gravity casting, metal mold casting and other processes to produce basic shapes of blanks, and then transfer to forging machine tools for precision forging. Most of the aluminum wheels with complex structures and beautiful appearances can be produced in this way.
The third is "continuous casting and continuous forging." The "continuous casting and continuous forging" process can produce forged aluminum wheels with a more complex structure and more exquisite patterns than the "casting and forging" process. The comprehensive mechanical performance is one grade higher than that of cast aluminum wheels, and its spokes will be more concise and fine, and more beautiful like fairy bones.
2. Process characteristics of forged wheels
(1) The cylindrical design is adopted, and the larger the diameter of the wheel hub is to use thicker aluminum to forge, which is more different from the manufacturing method of using "raw materials" for cast aluminum ring hubs.
(2) Cut the aluminum material according to the J number required for the width of the aluminum hub.
(3) First, heat the aluminum ingot to around 400°C, and then prepare for forging.
(4) Hot forging and pressing. The higher the tonnage of the forging press requires the lower the working temperature of the aluminum ingot, the smaller the grains of the forged product, and the higher the toughness.
(5) The temperature of the rough embryo formed by high temperature and high pressure is very high, and the surface is covered with black carbide, which must be handled by a fork motor. The rough embryo after pickling and surface treatment already has the embryonic form of a wheel hub.
(6) After long-term reprocessing and heat treatment of the T4 and T6 heat treatment machines, the grains of the rough embryo will be firmer and the toughness of the product will also be improved.
(7) Forged aluminum hub must rely on mechanical processing to process the rough embryo to the hub forming, so the work content includes the steps of bead forming, screw hole drilling, disk turning and detail processing.
(8) Before painting, you must check the surface of the wheel again for flaws
