JPH0465737B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention relates to a method for manufacturing a frame for a vehicle, in particular a method for manufacturing an automobile frame made of aluminum.

BACKGROUND TECHNIQUES Various types of frames forming the framework of automobiles are known, such as perimeter frames, ladder frames, X-shaped frames, and space frames. This is manufactured by using steel for the frame material and assembling it into a predetermined shape using a welded structure.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention For this reason, conventional vehicle frames are heavy and have an essential drawback of being difficult to adequately meet the recent increasingly strong demand for weight reduction. Since welding is required, the number of welding steps is large, which is not desirable in terms of production efficiency, and there are also problems such as poor strength reliability due to the presence of a large number of welding points.

In order to reduce the weight of the vehicle body, a frameless vehicle body called a monokotsuk frame has recently been widely used, especially in passenger cars. , it has become an important issue to promote weight reduction while adopting a frame structure.

To address these issues, attempts have been made to replace part of the frame with lightweight aluminum material, but conventional designs for aluminum frames simply involve replacing part of the steel material with aluminum material. However, it is not completely satisfactory in terms of weight reduction, and there is a fear that it will increase the cost, so the reality is that it has not yet been put into practical use.

In view of the background of the prior art as described above, the present invention aims to provide the most rational method of manufacturing a vehicle frame that can achieve the use of aluminum entirely, and more specifically, In the past, we provided a manufacturing method that enabled the practical use of all-aluminum frames by significantly reducing the weight of the frame, improving manufacturing efficiency by significantly reducing welding man-hours, and overcoming problems in strength reliability and cost. The purpose is to

Means for Solving the Problems As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention provides an integral frame material having a desired three-dimensional shape by using an extruded aluminum mold material as a starting material and subjecting it to a stretching process. The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a series of frames by manufacturing a frame, performing the necessary bending and welding for edge joining, and then attaching reinforcing beams.

That is, the present invention has skeleton beams on both side edges,
Using an extruded aluminum material whose spaces are connected by a plate-like web part, the web part is cut out over a predetermined length range, and then the skeletal crosspiece part is expanded in the direction of separation in the range of the cut part. A predetermined opening is created by applying a stretching process, and the above-mentioned shape material is bent into a predetermined shape in the length direction, and both ends are welded together in a butt-like manner to form an endless annular frame body, and further The gist of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a vehicle frame, characterized in that a reinforcing crosspiece is welded and fixed to the frame crosspiece in a portion of the frame body around the engine compartment.

Embodiments Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

In carrying out the present invention, first, an aluminum extruded profile 1 is produced as a starting material for frame production. Although the aluminum alloy used for manufacturing the shape material is not particularly limited,
It is desirable to use an A-Mg-Si based A6000 alloy, for example a 6N01 alloy. That is, the 6000 series alloy is
This is because it has good extrudability, moderate strength, and overall excellent properties such as workability, corrosion resistance, and weldability.

The shape of the extruded material 1 must be such that it has frame sections 2 and 3 that constitute the main frame of the frame on at least the upper and lower side edges, and a plate-shaped web section 4 connects them. Preferably, one or more ribs 5 connected in the length direction are formed in parallel on one or both sides of the web portion 4. Further, it is advantageous that the frame members 2 and 3 are formed into hollow shapes as shown in FIG. 2 in order to have sufficient bending strength.
In this case, the hollow portions 2a, 3a can be used as wiring ducts for equipment mounted on the vehicle, etc., if necessary. In addition, especially the lower skeleton crosspiece 13
may be manufactured to have an irregular cross-sectional shape that also serves as a lower edge decorative material of the vehicle body. Furthermore, the extruded material 1 is not limited to being manufactured as a single piece of aluminum material as shown in the figure, but can also be manufactured as a composite material with a different type of reinforcing material such as a piano wire embedded therein to achieve even greater strength. It is also possible to do so.

The extruded material used as the starting material for frame production is a _T4 material that has been solution-treated and naturally aged.
It is preferable to use a tempered material or a _T1 tempered material that has been cooled from extrusion processing and then naturally aged.

Next, the web portion 4 of the extruded material 1 having a predetermined length is cut out at a predetermined position over a predetermined length range to form a cutout portion 6 as shown in FIG. This cutout 6 is for forming an opening for a passenger entrance, a window, an opening for mounting a radiator grill, etc., and is drilled at a predetermined position where these are to be formed. be.

Then, in the range of the excised portion 6, a stretching process is performed in a direction to separate the upper and lower skeletal beams 2 and 3, and the skeletal beams 2 and 3 are bent into a predetermined shape, thereby expanding the excised portion 6. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, expanded openings 7 and 8 are formed to a desired size. As mentioned above, the opening 7 can be used as a passenger entrance, a window, an opening for installing a radiator/grill,
It can also be used as other required openings.

Next, the stretched material is
It is bent into a desired shape in the length direction and welded at both ends to form an endless annular frame body A as shown in FIG. 9 in the diagram
indicates this butt weld. Further, in a portion A' of the frame body around the engine room where particularly high strength is required, an aluminum reinforcing beam 10, which is separately prepared in advance, is welded and fixed to the lower frame beam portion 3 in a hanging state. The reinforcing bar 10 may be made of the same material as the frame body A, but other types of aluminum alloys may also be used.

The frame body A to which the reinforcing beam 10 is attached is then subjected to an aging treatment, and if necessary, reinforcing materials are separately attached to required parts, thereby completing a vehicle frame that is basically made entirely of aluminum. .

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention starts with an aluminum extruded material, stretches it to form an integral frame material with the required skeletal structure and openings, and then bends it. The ends of the frame are welded together to produce an endless ring-shaped three-dimensional frame body, and reinforcing bars are welded and fixed in areas around the engine room where particularly high strength is required to provide further reinforcement. Therefore, when manufacturing the frame, the number of welding points can be significantly reduced compared to frames based on conventional design specifications, and manufacturing efficiency can be significantly improved. Therefore, it is possible to absorb the material cost with the work cost and manufacture and provide a sufficiently inexpensive aluminum frame. Also,
Since it is made of aluminum, it is significantly lighter in weight than conventional steel frames, making it possible to downsize suspensions, power transmission devices, etc., and also being compatible with aluminum bodies. By guaranteeing good bondability and resistance to electrolytic corrosion when bonded, this opens the door to the use of aluminum bodies, making it possible to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle body.

Furthermore, the annular frame body is made of a series of aluminum materials into an almost seamless, one-piece structure, and the area around the engine compartment is further reinforced to compensate for the lack of strength due to the material. As a result, a frame with extremely high strength and reliability can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vehicle frame manufactured according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the state in which the cutout is formed, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 1. 1... Aluminum extrusion shaped material, 2, 3... Skeletal crosspiece part, 2a, 3a... Hollow part, 4... Web part,
5...Rib, 6...Removed portion, 7, 8...Expansion opening, 9...Welded portion, 10...Reinforcement bar, A...Frame body, A'...Part around the engine room.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An extruded aluminum material having frame sections on both sides and connected by a plate-like web section is used, and after cutting off the web section over a predetermined length range. , A predetermined opening is created by applying a stretching process to expand the skeleton crosspiece in the direction of separation in the range of the cut portion, and the shape is bent into a predetermined shape in the length direction, and both ends are butted. A frame for a vehicle, characterized in that an endless annular frame body is formed by welding and integrating, and furthermore, a reinforcing bar is welded and fixed to the skeleton bar in a portion around the engine room of the frame body. Production method. 2. The method for manufacturing a three-dimensional frame for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing crosspiece is fixed in a vertical manner to the lower surface of the skeleton crosspiece on the lower side of the frame body.