New Manufacturing Process Optimization And Practice For Hub Of Shanghai Volkswagen

CITIC Dicastal, the first Aluminum wheel manufacturer in China, is the world’s top 500 auto parts supplier. The main product of Dicastal is Aluminum wheel which produced by going through melting, casting, heat treatment, machining, painting, packaging and several other processes.In this paper, we focused on promoting the mechanical property of a new wheel 00614C06 supplying for Volkswagen. We improved casting, painting process design and key process in producing. We also established new specification focusing on the ductility of spoke and inside rim. The results showed: in casting process, both reducing the cooling rate of casting head and flange and enhancing side mould would promote the ductility. By this method, we steadily produced qualified products which had larger than 7.5% ductility of spoke. By adding copper plunger in the interfacial contact between mould and inside rim, we improved the ductility of inside rim to 14%. In preparation of painting process, we found that improving polishing method could guarantee the stability and test passing probability of painting. By the process optimization above, we made casting process more fit for sequence solidification principle, and enlarged temperature gradient efficiently, which is the key to the improvement of the ductility. In addition, the creativity design of mould also improved the ductility of inside rim intuitively and efficiently.Now by using improved process our company produced over 30 batches, more than 15000 wheels in total. The product passed Shanghai Volkswagen initial workpiece test. In producing process, qualities of products keep steady and reach the requirement. The steady and efficiency process confirmed the process design is reasonable and mature.