TWI803345B - Hydroforming apparatus and method for manufacturing a main frame pipe of a two-wheeler - Google Patents

Abstract

A hydroforming apparatus is provided, comprising: a mold comprising an upper mold, a bottom mold, and a pipe contained in the bottom mold; the first hydraulic cylinder connected to the front end of the pipe; the second hydraulic cylinder connected to the back end of the pipe; the first pressure module connected to the first hydraulic cylinder; the second pressure module connected to the second hydraulic cylinder; and a controller.

Description

Applicable to the hydroforming device and method for manufacturing two-wheel vehicle skeleton tube beam

The present invention relates to a hydroforming device, in particular to a hydroforming device that does not require an external ultra-high pressure source.

The traditional hydroforming process uses a pre-forming process before expanding the shape, bending or flattening the pipe with a mold so that it can be placed into the cavity of the hydroforming mold. Due to the extrusion of the preformed pipe fittings, there will be small rounded corners or wrinkles in some areas, which must be bulged under extremely high pressure to eliminate them. When the pressure inside the tube is too high, the expansion process will cause the tube to crack. And when the energy of the machine is limited and the sealing pressure inside the tube cannot be increased, the material cannot fit the mold surface, resulting in poor surface profile formability.

Chinese patent CN104438540B invents a low-pressure internal high-pressure forming equipment suitable for torsion beams. During the pressing down process of the mold, a certain working pressure is maintained inside the pipe, so that the parts are pushed into the mold cavity without providing ultra-high working pressure from the outside. Can save equipment cost. This working principle is applicable to the volume forming of the torsion beam. By maintaining the pressure in the tube during the pressing process, excessive extrusion deformation of the tube can be avoided. Among them, only the servo pressure control device in the equipment is used for liquid discharge absorption and pressure regulation.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a hydroforming device suitable for manufacturing motorcycle frame pipe beams, suitable for manufacturing motorcycle or bicycle pipe beams, not only relying on the servo pressure control device in the equipment for liquid discharge absorption and pressure adjustment, including: A mold, including an upper mold and a lower mold, wherein the lower mold can accommodate a tube blank; a front hydraulic cylinder can be connected to a front end of the tube blank; a rear hydraulic cylinder can be connected to a rear end of the tube blank; A front pressure control module is connected to the front hydraulic cylinder; a rear pressure control module is connected to the rear hydraulic cylinder; and a controller; wherein the front pressure control module includes a pipeline, the pipeline includes an inlet and an outlet, The inlet is connected to the front hydraulic cylinder, the outlet is provided with a pressure relief valve, a throttle valve is provided between the inlet and the pressure relief valve, a front pressure gauge is provided between the inlet and the throttle valve to measure an upstream pressure, the A rear pressure gauge is arranged between the pressure relief valve and the throttle valve to measure a downstream pressure, and a liquid storage tank connected to the pipeline is included between the throttle valve and the pressure relief valve, and the liquid storage tank includes a pressure regulator The controller is used to adjust a pressure fluctuation of the pipeline; wherein the controller controls an opening and closing degree of the throttle valve according to a pressure difference between the front pressure gauge and the rear pressure gauge.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a hydroforming method suitable for manufacturing motorcycle frame pipe beams, suitable for manufacturing motorcycle or bicycle pipe beams, not only relying on the servo pressure control device in the equipment for liquid discharge absorption and pressure adjustment, including: Provide a hydraulic forming device, including a mold, including an upper mold and a lower mold, a tube blank is clamped between the upper mold and the lower mold, a front hydraulic cylinder is connected to a front end of the tube blank, a rear hydraulic cylinder A front pressure control module is connected to a rear end of the pipe blank, a front pressure control module is connected to the rear hydraulic cylinder, and a rear pressure control module is connected to the rear hydraulic cylinder, wherein the pipeline includes an inlet port and an outlet port, and the inlet port is connected to the The front hydraulic cylinder; the tube blank is filled with a liquid; the upper mold and the lower mold pressurize the tube blank; the front hydraulic cylinder and the rear hydraulic cylinder pressurize the tube blank; the front pressure control module is used and the rear pressure control module to adjust the hydraulic pressure of one of the preforms, wherein the front pressure control The module adjusts a pressure fluctuation of the pipeline according to an upstream pressure of the inlet port and a downstream pressure of the outlet port; drills at least one hole into the tube blank and discharges the liquid.

1: Hydroforming device

2: Tube beam after hydroforming

3: Pipe beam after reprocessing

10: upper mold seat

20: upper mold

21: Punch needle seat head

22: front punch needle

23: back punch needle

30: Lower mold base

40: Lower mold

41: front end of tube embryo

42: The rear end of the tube embryo

50: Front hydraulic cylinder

51: front plug

60: Rear hydraulic cylinder

61: rear plug

70: Front pressure control module

71: Injection port

72: one-way valve

73: air valve

74: throttle valve

75: pressure relief valve

76:Front pressure gauge

77: Rear pressure gauge

78: liquid storage tank

781: Pressure regulator

791: entry port

792: Export port

793: pipeline

80: Rear pressure control module

81: pressure chamber

82:piston rod

83: motor

84: motor

C1: Die down pressure

C2: Auxiliary pushing amount of plug

C3: the liquid capacity in the tube embryo

C4: Punch needle displacement

Fig. 1 is an embodiment of the present invention, a schematic diagram of a hydroforming device.

Fig. 2 is an embodiment of the present invention, a schematic diagram of a hydraulic cylinder and a plug.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a front pressure control module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a needle punching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a rear pressure control module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an embodiment of the present invention, a control graph of the hydroforming method.

Fig. 7 is an embodiment of the present invention, a schematic view of the appearance of the pipe beam after hydroforming.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the pipe beam after hydroforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the post-processing of the pipe beam after hydroforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In one embodiment, with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a kind of hydroforming device 1, is suitable for manufacturing the pipe beam of locomotive or bicycle, comprises upper mold base 10, upper mold 20, lower mold base 30, lower mold 40, front hydraulic pressure Cylinder 50, rear hydraulic cylinder 60, front pressure control module 70, rear pressure control module 80. One side of the front hydraulic cylinder 50 is connected to the front end 41 of the tube blank accommodated in the lower mold 40 through the front plug 51 , and the other side is connected to the inlet port 791 of the front pressure control module 70 . One side of the rear hydraulic cylinder 60 is connected to the rear end 42 of the tube blank accommodated in the lower mold 40 through the rear plug 61 , and the other side is connected to the rear pressure control module 80 . The upper mold 20 is provided with a punch seat head 21, The front punch pin is 22, and the back punch pin is 23. Wherein, the tube blank (not shown) is a bent but not preformed tube, which is set in the lower mold 40, and the upper mold 20 and the lower mold 40 can clamp and press the tube blank.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 3 , the front pressure control module 70 includes a pipeline 793, and the liquid injection port 71 is connected to the pipeline 793 through the one-way valve 72. Valve 73, throttle valve 74, pressure relief valve 75. A front pressure gauge 76 is provided between the throttle valve 74 and the inlet port 791 , and a rear pressure gauge 77 is provided between the throttle valve 74 and the pressure relief valve 75 . The liquid storage tank 78 is connected to the pipeline 793, and there is a pressure regulator 781 in the liquid storage tank 78, and the pressure fluctuation of the pipeline 793 can be adjusted by back pressure compensation.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 4 , the punching device 24 is disposed on the upper mold 20 , and the expansion and contraction of the front punch 22 and the rear punch 23 can be controlled through the design of the punch head 21 and the hydraulic pipeline.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 5 , the rear pressure control module 80 includes a pressure chamber 81 , a piston rod 82 , a motor 83 and a motor 84 . The pressure chamber 81 is connected to the rear hydraulic cylinder 60 , and the motor 83 and the motor 84 adjust the pressure of the pressure chamber 81 through the piston rod 82 .

In one embodiment, referring to Fig. 6, a control curve applicable to a hydroforming method is suitable for manufacturing a motorcycle or a bicycle beam, wherein C1 is the amount of mold depression, C2 is the amount of auxiliary thrust of the plug, and C3 is the inner diameter of the tube embryo. The liquid capacity, C4 is the displacement of the punching needle. The hydroforming device 1 includes a controller (not shown), using the front pressure control module 70 and the rear pressure control module 80 to adjust the hydraulic pressure of the tube embryo.

0~T0 section: the upper mold base 10 moves closer to the lower mold base 30, the upper mold 20 and the lower mold 40 clamp the tube blank set on the lower mold 40, the front plug 51 and the rear plug 61 tighten the tube blank to realize sealing .

Section T0~T1: (1) The liquid injection port 71 of the front pressure module 70 injects liquid, such as water, and the water enters the pipeline 793 of the front pressure module 70 through the one-way valve 72 at the same time, and passes through the front hydraulic cylinder 50. The front plug 51 flows into the tube embryo, and then passes through the rear plug 61 from the inside of the tube embryo, and flows from the rear hydraulic cylinder 60 to the rear pressure module 80, such as a servo pressure control device, and enters the pressure chamber 81; (2) the tube embryo is filled with Liquid, in the process, enters from the tube embryo The gas entering the front pressure module 70 can be discharged through the air valve 73, and the gas entering the pressure chamber 81 of the rear pressure module 80 from the tube blank can be discharged through a vent hole (not shown).

Section T1~T2: (1) The upper mold 20 and the lower mold 40 squeeze the tube embryo; (2) The front hydraulic cylinder 50 and the rear hydraulic cylinder 60 pass through the front plug 51 and the rear plug 61 respectively, facing the tube Extrusion of the preform is carried out with auxiliary push; the extrusion of the upper and lower molds 20 and 40, and the extrusion of the front and rear plugs 51 and 61 may be carried out simultaneously or separately; (3) the hydraulic pressure of the preform is too high, and the liquid in the preform It will flow into the pipeline 793 of the front pressure module 70, and the pressure relief valve 75 will release the pressure by discharging the liquid, and it will be closed immediately when the fluid pressure is lower than the set value; The pressure surge caused by too fast pressure velocity, and the pressure drop caused by making up for the excessive discharge; (5) The throttle valve 74 configures the upstream pressure of the pipeline 793 (close to the inlet port 791) and downstream (close to the outlet port 792) respectively. The gauge 76 and the rear pressure gauge 77 adjust the degree of opening and closing of the throttle valve 74 by measuring the upstream pressure P1 and downstream pressure P2 of the pipeline 793 . When both P1 and P2 are greater than the set pressure, the throttle valve 74 reaches the maximum opening and closing degree; when P1 is less than the setting pressure, the throttle valve 74 reaches the minimum opening and closing degree; The degree of opening and closing of flow valve 74 is negatively correlated with the difference between P1 and P2; Move backwards to assist the excess liquid in the pipe to flow into the pressure chamber 81 in the rear pressure module 80 through the rear plug 61; The piston rod 82 in the middle moves forward to assist the liquid in the pressure chamber 81 in the rear pressure module 80 to flow into the tube embryo through the rear plug 61; , and at the same time cooperate with the displacement of the piston rod 82 in the controlled pressure module 80 to perform closed-loop control.

Section T2~T3: When the expansion of the tube embryo is completed, the punching device 24 uses the front punching needle 22 and the rear punching needle 23 to punch both ends of the tube embryo out of the positioning holes to remove the liquid pressure in the tube.

Section T3~T4: After the pressure relief is completed, (1) the punching device 24 retracts the front and rear punching needles 22 and 23; (2) the front plug 51 and the rear plug 61 are withdrawn, and the seal is released; (3) the liquid storage tank 78 The pressure regulator 781 discharges the excess liquid due to the back pressure and returns to the initial state; (4) The upper mold base 10 and the upper mold 20 move up to realize mold opening.

Referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 , it is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the pipe beam 2 after hydroforming in the above embodiment at different angles. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the opposite sides of the pipe beam 3 processed after hydroforming.

In one embodiment, passive pressure building is used to achieve volumetric hydroforming, which is used to manufacture tube beams for motorcycles or bicycles. During the pressurization stage of the mold, the hydraulic pressure in the tube embryo is generated due to the volume compression, so that the tube can freely expand and fit the mold surface, without the need to provide super high pressure through the booster system.

In one embodiment, the hydroforming device has a dynamic sealing design, so that during the volume forming stage of mold pressurization, the plugs 51 and 61 at both ends of the tube blank can still maintain a seal on the tube blank, but when the hydraulic pressure of the tube blank is too high, it can pass through the tube blank. The plugs 51 and 61 at both ends of the blank allow the pressure control modules 70 and 80 to adjust the hydraulic pressure of the tube blank.

1: Hydroforming device

10: upper mold seat

20: upper mold

21: Punch needle seat head

22: front punch needle

23: back punch needle

30: Lower mold base

40: Lower mold

41: front end of tube embryo

42: The rear end of the tube embryo

50: Front hydraulic cylinder

60: Rear hydraulic cylinder

70: Front pressure control module

80: Rear pressure control module

Claims (6)

A hydroforming device suitable for manufacturing two-wheel vehicle skeleton tube beams, comprising: a mold, including an upper mold and a lower mold, wherein the lower mold can accommodate a tube blank; a front hydraulic cylinder can be connected to a front end of the tube blank; A rear hydraulic cylinder can be connected to one of the rear ends of the tube embryo; a front pressure control module is connected to the front hydraulic cylinder; a rear pressure control module is connected to the rear hydraulic cylinder; and a controller; wherein the front pressure control module Including a pipeline, the pipeline includes an inlet and an outlet, the inlet is connected to the front hydraulic cylinder, the outlet is provided with a pressure relief valve, a throttle valve is provided between the inlet and the pressure relief valve, the inlet and the throttle A front pressure gauge is set between the throttle valves to measure an upstream pressure, a rear pressure gauge is set between the pressure relief valve and the throttle valve to measure a downstream pressure, and the pipe connecting the throttle valve and the pressure relief valve is included A liquid storage tank of the pipeline, the liquid storage tank includes a pressure regulator to adjust a pressure fluctuation of the pipeline; wherein the controller controls the section according to a pressure difference between the front pressure gauge and the rear pressure gauge The opening and closing degree of one of the flow valves. In the hydroforming device described in Claim 1, the controller includes a set pressure, and when the upstream pressure is greater than the set pressure and the downstream pressure is lower than the set pressure, the degree of opening and closing is negatively correlated with the pressure difference. According to the hydroforming device described in claim 1, the rear pressure control module includes at least one motor, a piston rod, and a pressure chamber, wherein the controller controls the motor so that the piston rod is in the The pressure chamber moves back and forth to adjust the hydraulic pressure of the tube embryo, or to generate a pressure pulsation to the tube embryo. A hydroforming method suitable for manufacturing two-wheel vehicle skeleton tube beams, comprising: providing a hydroforming device, including a mold, including an upper mold and a lower mold, a tube embryo clamped between the upper mold and the lower mold, a A front hydraulic cylinder is connected to a front end of the tube blank, a rear hydraulic cylinder is connected to a rear end of the tube blank, a front pressure control module includes a pipeline, and a rear pressure control module is connected to the rear hydraulic cylinder, wherein the The pipeline includes an inlet port and an outlet port, the inlet port is connected to the front hydraulic cylinder; the tube blank is filled with a liquid; the upper mold and the lower mold pressurize the tube blank; the front hydraulic cylinder and the rear hydraulic cylinder The hydraulic cylinder pressurizes the tube embryo; using the front pressure control module and the rear pressure control module to adjust the hydraulic pressure of one of the tube embryos, wherein, when the front pressure control module adjusts the tube embryo hydraulic pressure, The front pressure control module adjusts a pressure fluctuation of the pipeline according to an upstream pressure of the inlet port and a downstream pressure of the outlet port; drills at least one hole into the tube blank and discharges the liquid. The hydroforming method as described in Claim 4, wherein the front pressure control module includes a throttle valve, when the upstream pressure is greater than a set pressure value and the downstream pressure is less than the set pressure value, the upstream pressure and the downstream pressure The pressure difference of one of the pressures is negatively correlated with the degree of opening and closing of one of the throttle valves. The hydroforming method as described in claim 4, wherein the rear pressure control module includes at least one motor, a piston rod, and a pressure chamber, wherein the motor controls the piston rod to move back and forth in the pressure chamber to adjust the hydraulic pressure of the tube embryo , or produce a pressure pulsation to the tube embryo.

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