Method for performing a hydroforming operation United States Patent 7096700 Abstract: A method for performing a hydroforming operation

on a hollow workpiece includes the initial step of filling the interior of the workpiece with a hydroforming fluid !he pressure e"erted by the hydroforming fluid against the interior of the workpiece is below the yield strength of the workpiece so as to not change the shape of the workpiece !hen# first and second die sections of the hydroforming apparatus are closed about the workpiece !he mo$ement of the two die sections causes some mechanical deformation of the workpiece# but the presence of the hydroforming fluid within the workpiece pre$ents the amount of this mechanical deformation of the hollow workpiece from being undesirably large !hereafter# the pressure e"erted by the hydroforming fluid against the interior of the workpiece is increased to abo$e the yield strength of the workpiece As a result# the workpiece is deformed into engagement with the first and second die sections of the hydroforming die

%epresentati$e &mage:

Hydro-forming services Manufacturing processes

Internal high-pressure forming (IHF) of hollow profiles: forming is carried out by the specific pressurisation of the workpiece. Hydro-mechanical sheet forming: with the aid of hydro-mechanical deep-drawing, components with comple geometries can be produced in a single forming step.

October 9, 2003 Hydroforming is one of the most important fields in production manufacturing. In recent years many single presses, groups of presses, and entire production plants for internal high-pressure (IHP) hydroforming of tubes and extrusions have been installed, especially in the Americas and in urope. !he driving force behind this development has been the efficient production of automotive parts.

!he first parts hydroformed in "ermany for the automoti#e industry were manifold components. !he process pro#ided both cost sa#ings and manifolds with good gas flow characteristics. $ther applications of IH% hydroforming are engine cradles and frames for lightweight trucks. &d#antages include reducing the number of parts, weight, and cost of finished assemblies. 'ore recent applications include roof rails and other e terior parts for automobiles(parts that ha#e surface class & re)uirements. For IH% hydroforming, special dies and special presses are re)uired. Press Requirements and esign for !ube Hydroforming & chief challenge with IH% hydroforming is designing presses that achie#e the high ram force needed for the process. For con#entional deep drawing, the ram force has to be applied o#er the entire forming stroke. In IH% hydroforming, the force is needed only for clamping the die during the forming process. !he stroke of the hydraulic cylinders during forming is necessary only for compensating for press frame elongation caused by the clamping force. !he ma imum amount of ram force is e)ual to the product of the ma imum internal pressure and the pro*ection of the part onto the press table. +ecause IH% hydroforming presses normally produce much higher forces than con#entional sheet metal stamping presses (hydroforming forces can be up to ,-- meganewtons), they must be designed to achie#e these high forces and ha#e se#eral other capabilities, features, and considerations, such as:
.ong closing stroke with small forces .arge press table for structural parts High clamping force with small stroke High table, ram, and frame stiffness /hort cycle time &bility to treat and manage hydraulic media &bility to accommodate se#eral dies Fa#orable press and e)uipment in#estment

"igure #

frame (right) hydroforming presses allow accessibility to the machine and flexibility for plant layout. Sources: (Left) Siempelkamp ressen

Power Steering Advantages:

radius#.

Systeme !mb" # $o. and (right) S. %unkes

!mb". -In comparison to Non-PW racks, the ratio is quicker. ( ess !ock-to-!ock "or the same turning - ess e""ort whi!e parking, at !ow speeds, or on tight turns. -$isadvantages o" parisitic !oss, oversensitivit% and !ightness can &e !essened &% adding a !arger pu!!e%, whi!e possi&!% retaining the advantages. -Works we!! "or !arge vehic!es. -'enera!!% reguarded as a standard sa"et% device "rom ()*+s. Power Steering $ISadvantages: -Parisitic !oss to the motor. (,owever, it is near!% neg!i&i&!e in most cases.# --ends to &e oversensitive ("o!!ows ruts in road, "a!se inputs "rom harsh &umps# -$epending on suspension settings, power steering can make the car "ee! !ight, particu!ar!% at high speeds. -Added weight, and comp!e.it%. Non-Power Assisted Advantages: -*uch &etter "ee! "or thresho!d grip. -Input "rom torque steer is !essened in some cases. -/oad irregu!arities not as noticea&!e. - ess weight, and !ess comp!e.it%. -No parisitic !oss on motor. -0an work ver% we!! "or a !ight vehic!e. Non-Power Assisted $ISadvantages: -*ore e""ort required at !ow speeds, in tight turns, and whi!e parking. -$oes not work we!! "or a !arge1heav% vehic!e. -S!ower ratio on non-PW steering racks. ( ock-to- ock num&er higher.# -0an make a car more unsa"e, i" not imp!emented correct!% .

Leaf spring : Design 'eaf springs are made out of flat plates !he ad$antage of leaf spring o$er helical spring is that the ends of the spring may be guided along a definite path as it deflects to act as a structural member in addition to energy absorbing de$ice !hus the leaf springs may carry lateral loads# brake tor(ue# dri$ing tor(ue etc # in addition to shocks )onsider a single plate fi"ed at one end and loaded at the other end !his plate may be used as a flat spring 'et t * !hickness of plate# b * +idth of plate# and L * 'ength of plate or distance of the load W from the cantile$er end

+e know that the ma"imum bending moment at the cantile$er end A# M*WL Section modulus# , * &-y * .-6 bt/0 !he ma"imum deflection for a cantile$er with concentrated load at the free end is gi$en by:

&t may be noted that due to bending moment# top fibres will be in tension and the bottom fibres are in compression# but the shear stress is 1ero at the e"treme fibres and ma"imum at the centre +hen bending stress alone is considered# the graduated lea$es may ha$e 1ero width at the loaded end 2ut sufficient metal must be pro$ided to support the shear !herefore# it becomes necessary to ha$e one or more lea$es of uniform cross3section e"tending clear to the end At the end# the deflection in full length and graduated lea$es is gi$en by e(uation:

+here n. * number of graduated lea$es

n0 * number of full3length lea$es b * width of lea$es

Manufacturing of Leaf Springs Construction A leaf spring commonly used in automobiles is of semi3elliptical form &t is built up of a number of plates 4known as lea$es5 !he lea$es are usually gi$en an initial cur$ature or cambered so that they will tend to straighten under the load !he lea$es are held together by means of a band shrunk around them at the centre or by a bolt passing through the centre Since the band e"erts a stiffening and strengthening effect# therefore the effecti$e length of the spring for bending will be o$erall length of the spring minus width of band &n case of a centre bolt# two3third distance between centres of U3 bolt should be subtracted from the o$erall length of the spring in order to find effecti$e length !he spring is clamped to the a"le housing by means of U3bolts !he longest leaf known as main leaf or master leaf has its ends formed in the shape of an eye through which the bolts are passed to secure the spring to its supports Usually the eyes# through which the spring is attached to the hanger or shackle# are pro$ided with bushings of some antifriction material such as bron1e or rubber !he other lea$es of the spring are known as graduated lea$es &n order to pre$ent digging in the ad6acent lea$es# the ends of the graduated lea$es are trimmed in $arious forms as Since the master leaf has to with stand $ertical bending loads as well as loads due to sideways of the $ehicle and twisting# therefore due to the presence of stresses caused by these loads# it is usual to pro$ide two full length lea$es and the rest graduated lea$es %ebound clips are located at intermediate positions in the length of the spring# so that the graduated lea$es also share the stresses induced in the full length lea$es when the spring rebounds Production process: A production process for a leaf spring for a car# the process comprising: holding a spring main body made from a spring steel in which a 2rinell hardness is under 777 82+ and not less than 9:: 82+# the hardness of the spring steel corresponding to a diameter of under 0 70 mm of hardness and not less than 9 .0 mm of hardness on a 2rinell ball mark# at .70; to <00; ) = applying a load to the spring main body in a direction that is the same direction of a load to be applied in actual use= and performing a first shotpeening at a plane of the spring main body where a tensile stress is applied to the spring body# wherein the tensile stress of .000 to .900 >Pa is applied by the load