If the tires of a vehicle are compared to shoes that touch the ground, then the wheel hub can undoubtedly be regarded as a human foot, and its importance for the vehicle to self-ignite is self-evident. In addition to connecting the tires and supporting the vehicle, the wheel hub also plays an important function of adding value to the vehicle. Therefore, there are various personalized designs in the market that can make the vehicle look more distinctive.
What is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of each
Early vehicles were mostly equipped with steel wheels, but now they are usually only used in commercial vehicles, trucks and relatively inexpensive passenger cars. Its advantages are simple manufacturing processes, low prices, and strong resistance to metal fatigue. The disadvantage is weight. Larger, ugly style, poor heat dissipation. Therefore, the current common vehicles are equipped with lighter aluminum alloy wheels, which are rich in shape and lighter, and can also give users more choices.
So what are the benefits of aluminum alloy wheels?
Compared with traditional steel wheels, aluminum alloy wheels have the following advantages:
What is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of each
1. Heat dissipation: due to the friction between the tire and the ground and the braking system during the driving process, heat will be generated. If this heat cannot be dissipated in time, it will affect the grip and braking performance of the tire. At the same time, the air pressure in the tire will also change As the temperature rises, it becomes larger, and there is a safety hazard. Because the thermal conductivity of aluminum alloy is three times larger than that of steel, the heat dissipation performance of this material wheel is better than that of steel wheels.
2. Weight: The overall weight of aluminum alloy wheels is much lower than that of steel wheels. The lighter wheels can reduce the power consumption of the vehicle, make the start and acceleration become lighter, and it also helps to save fuel consumption. At the same time, lighter wheels can also be exchanged for lower unsprung mass, which reduces the burden on the suspension system and also provides faster response, which is also helpful to the control of the vehicle.
3. Beautiful appearance: Because aluminum alloy has better fluidity and tension than steel in high temperature liquid state, it can be processed with various molds of different shapes, and at the same time, it has different colors through various surface treatment processes. So compared to the same style of steel wheels, aluminum alloy wheels will undoubtedly look better.
Aluminum alloy wheels manufactured by different processes are very different
At present, there are two main production processes for aluminum alloy wheels: casting and forging. Forged wheels have higher cost, lighter weight and better performance, but the price is relatively higher. Therefore, out of cost considerations, car manufacturers usually choose cast wheels, but relatively cheap cast wheels are not completely inferior to forged wheels, and cast wheels with special processes have comprehensive performance that is very close to more expensive forged wheels.
1. Casting:
According to different casting production processes, cast wheels can be divided into three types: gravity casting, low pressure casting, and spinning casting.
What is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of each
1. Gravity casting: This is the most primitive processing method for aluminum alloy wheels, which can be formed by pouring high-temperature liquid metal into a mold and cooling it. This method has high efficiency and low cost, but the uniformity of each part of the manufactured wheel hub is poor, and the molecular density is relatively low, resulting in low strength, so it is not suitable for high-strength passenger vehicles.
What is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of each
2. Low-pressure casting: It is more advanced than gravity casting. Although it is also formed by pouring high-temperature liquid metal into the mold, it uses low-pressure nitrogen propelling to accelerate the speed of filling the mold, so the metal is with the help of constant pressure. The molecular density will be higher, and the strength of the wheel will be higher after forming. At present, most of the original wheel hubs of vehicles are usually used in this process.
What is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of eachWhat is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of each
3. Spinning casting: This process first requires low-pressure casting to process the blank, and then heat the wheel hub blank, and at the same time, rotate and stamp the machine to gradually extrude the final shape. Under the appropriate temperature and the pressure of the press, the metal molecules have a higher density and are arranged in a fibrous shape, which can bring higher strength and toughness than low-pressure casting, and at the same time greatly reduce the overall weight, making it close to forging The comprehensive level of the wheel hub.
2. Forging:
Forging is the use of forging machinery to apply high pressure to the aluminum alloy blank to process the shape of the wheel hub. In this way, the defects generated during the smelting process of the metal can be eliminated, and the internal density of the metal can be uniform and the surface smooth. Under the same conditions, forged wheels can be lighter while ensuring strength, and can provide higher strength under the same size and thickness, so in short, they are high in strength, light in weight, and relatively fuel-efficient. , And can improve the controllability.
What is the difference between forged and cast wheels? What are the characteristics of each
Compared with casting, the production process of forged wheels is a change from solid to solid. The shape of the wheel is processed through physical methods. Therefore, the mechanical properties are much higher than that of casting, which can maintain solidity and reduce weight. However, the cost of forging presses used to process forged wheels is high, which leads to the high cost of forged wheels, and the price of the same cast wheels is also higher than that of high-end refitting players.
