DE102017219752B4 - Process for manufacturing a chassis control arm for a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for producing a chassis control arm (1) for a vehicle, comprising the following steps:- Providing a plate-shaped semi-finished product made from a one-piece metal sheet with two side walls (3) lying opposite one another like wings, the side walls (3) being at least at one axial end (1a) in each case have at least one radially protruding connecting lug (4);- flexural forming of the handlebar body (2) until the two side walls (3) lie opposite one another at a distance;- flexural forming of the connecting shackles (4) so that they overlap in pairs in an overlapping section;- integral Connecting the corresponding connecting flaps (4) in the overlapping section.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing a chassis control arm for a vehicle according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

Such chassis control arms are used in the wheel suspension of vehicles, where they guide the wheel relative to the structure of the vehicle, while being restricted to certain degrees of freedom. One design of the chassis control arm includes the provision of a sheet metal blank, preferably made of an iron alloy, as the starting material, which is further processed in several processing steps, including forming and cutting processing, to form a double-walled sheet metal control arm. This type of chassis control arm is characterized above all by its low material and manufacturing costs. The chassis control arm can, for example, accommodate rubber-metal bearings in terminal bearing receiving openings, with which it can be arranged on a wheel guide element (wheel carrier) or on the other hand on the body or the subframe.

The DE 10 2008 015 393 A1 describes such a suspension arm in a one-piece design, with the two partial shells being connected to one another at the back and being formed into a double-walled suspension arm by a further machining process. The terminal bearing openings are used to accommodate bearings.

The DE 10 2013 011 589 A1 discloses a method for producing a chassis control arm for a vehicle, comprising the steps: providing a plate-shaped semi-finished product for a control arm body with two side walls made from a one-piece metal sheet, making bearing openings in the axial ends of the side walls of the control arm body to accommodate at least one rubber-metal bearing in a later process step, bending of the link body, in particular about an axis of symmetry, until the two side walls are spaced apart from one another, at least section-wise joining of the side walls on their free longitudinal sides, with the joining technique being designed in such a way that the torsional rigidity of the link body is higher than the gimbal stiffness of at least one of the rubber-metal bearings and inserting the at least one rubber-metal bearing in the corresponding coaxial bearing openings.

The DE 10 2013 003 145 A1 shows a sheet metal control arm for a wheel suspension of a motor vehicle, having a control arm base and, at least at one end of the control arm base, two passages spaced apart from one another with holes for receiving a chassis mount, with at least one of the two passages having lugs arranged on a wall, which close the gap to the wall of the at least partially cover each other passage.

A disadvantage of the prior art described at the outset is that the chassis control arms in the area of the bearing mounts are not yet sufficiently stiff for certain applications.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for producing a suspension arm for a vehicle, with which particularly rigid bearing mounts can be produced on at least one axial end of the suspension arm.

This object is solved by the features of patent claim 1.

• - Bereitstellen eines plattenförmigen Halbzeugs aus einem einstückigen Metallblech mit zwei flügelartig einander gegenüberliegenden Seitenwänden, wobei die Seitenwände zumindest an einem axialen Ende jeweils mindestens eine radial abragende Verbindungslasche aufweisen;
• - biegetechnische Umformung des Lenkerkörpers bis die beiden Seitenwände einander beabstandet gegenüberliegen;
• - biegetechnische Umformung der Verbindungslaschen, so dass diese sich paarweise in einem Überlappungsabschnitt überlappen;
• - stoffschlüssiges Verbinden der entsprechenden Verbindungslaschen in dem Überlappungsabschnitt.

A method for manufacturing a chassis control arm for a vehicle comprises the following steps:

• - Providing a plate-shaped semi-finished product made of a one-piece metal sheet with two wing-like opposite side walls, wherein the side walls each have at least one radially projecting connecting strap at least at one axial end;
• - Bending technical deformation of the handlebar body until the two side walls are spaced apart from each other;
• - Reshaping of the connecting straps by bending technology, so that they overlap in pairs in an overlapping section;
• - Cohesively connecting the corresponding connecting straps in the overlapping section.

By producing the semi-finished product with connecting lugs that protrude radially at the at least one axial end of the side walls, a one-piece chassis control arm made of sheet metal can be created by subsequent bending and a material connection of the connecting lugs in the overlapping area that is created, which in the axial end around the bearing receiving openings around is particularly stiff. The process is simple, process-reliable and cost-efficient.

In a preferred embodiment, the sheet metal is pre-galvanized, and in a particularly preferred embodiment, the integral connection produces a welded connection, in particular a spot welded connection. For long welds, a pre-galvanized metal sheet can be used in the Generally not readily used, since the outgassing of the zinc layer means that the quality of the weld seams cannot be reliably demonstrated and, in addition, concentrations of harmful substances that are harmful to health can occur in the welding fumes. Instead, an ungalvanized metal sheet would have to be batch galvanized after the welding process, but this is much more expensive. On the other hand, a pre-galvanized metal sheet can be easily welded if the welded area is relatively small, for example in the case of a spot weld, which is produced in particular by resistance welding. Here the zinc fumes can escape to all sides and a high-quality welded joint is obtained.

Further details and advantages of the invention result from the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings.

• 1 ein axiales Ende eines teilweise bearbeiteten Halbzeugs eines Fahrwerkslenkers;
• 2 ein axiales Ende eines fertig bearbeiteten Fahrwerkslenkers;
• 3 den Fahrwerkslenker.

Show in it:

• 1 an axial end of a partially machined semi-finished product of a chassis control arm;
• 2 an axial end of a finished suspension arm;
• 3 the chassis control arm.

According to the figures, a chassis control arm 1 consists of two spaced-apart opposite side walls 3 which are integrally connected via a web 2 to form a U-shaped or pi-shaped cross section. The chassis control arm 1 has two axial ends 1a and 1b, which are each characterized by bearing receiving openings 5 made coaxially with one another in the side walls 3. The bearing receiving openings 5 have preferably been punched out. The entire chassis control arm 1 is produced in one piece from a pre-galvanized sheet metal by means of bending and cutting processing steps.

In 1 an axial end 1a of a partially machined semi-finished product of a suspension arm 1 is shown, in which a basic shape has already been produced by cutting and the side walls 3 have been bent like wings essentially at right angles to the web 2 . From the axial end 1a of the side walls 3, two connecting lugs 4 protrude radially. By bending the connecting straps 4 towards each other, the in 2 configuration shown, in which the connecting straps 4 overlap in pairs in an overlapping section. The connecting straps 4 are (resistance) spot welded to one another in the overlapping section.

reference list

1

suspension arm

1a

axial end

1b

axial end

2

web

3

Side wall

4

connection tab

5

bearing receiving opening

Claims (4)

Method for producing a chassis control arm (1) for a vehicle, comprising the following steps: - Providing a plate-shaped semi-finished product made of a one-piece metal sheet with two wing-like opposite side walls (3), the side walls (3) at least at one axial end (1a) each having at least one radially projecting connecting strap (4); - Reshaping of the handlebar body (2) by bending until the two side walls (3) are spaced apart from one another; - Reshaping of the connecting straps (4) by bending so that they overlap in pairs in an overlapping section; - Cohesively connecting the corresponding connecting straps (4) in the overlapping section. procedure after claim 1 , characterized in that the sheet metal is pre-galvanised. procedure after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the material connection creates a welded joint. procedure after claim 3 , characterized in that the weld is a spot weld.

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