Method for producing a motor vehicle component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10486221-B2
Application number	US-201615769820-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2016
Priority date	Oct 23, 2015
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

A method for producing a motor vehicle component from a lightweight metal alloy is disclosed including extruding a profile having at least two wall thicknesses that are mutually dissimilar in the cross section, rolling the extruded profile in portions in the extrusion direction. The rollers in the roller spacing thereof are variable. Cutting-to-length the extruded and in portions rolled profile so as to form a semi-finished product, and forming the semi-finished product so as to form the motor vehicle component.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing a motor vehicle component from a lightweight metal alloy, wherein a profile having at least two dissimilar wall thicknesses in the cross section is extruded, comprising:
providing rollers having variable spacing;
rolling the extruded profile in portions between the rollers to set, by said rolling, a wall thickness which is smaller than or equal to a smaller wall thickness of the extruded profile;
cutting the extruded cross section to length and in portions of the rolled profile so as to form a semi-finished product; and
forming the semi-finished product so as to form the motor vehicle component.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming comprises press-forming, said method further comprising:
trimming or perforating the semi-finished product prior to or during the press-forming, or
performing the rolling in an extrusion direction in which the profile is extruded.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the two dissimilar wall thicknesses differ by at least 10%.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising extruding the profile to have an undulating cross section.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising widening, by the rolling, the cross section across an entire length of the extruded profile.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein at least some portions of the semi-finished product in a longitudinal direction of the profile have a width larger than a diameter of an envelope circle which frames the cross section of the extruded profile.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising widening a portion of the cross section of the profile in a longitudinal direction of the profile by the rolling.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rolling is performed directly after extruding the profile, and while the profile being rolled in the rolling still has a residual heat from the extruding.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the residual heat is between 350° C. and 550° C.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the residual heat is between 400° C. and 500° C.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the extruded profile comprises an aluminum wrought alloy 5000, 6000, or 7000 as per DIN ENT 573-3.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
performing the rolling or the forming in a state of residual heat from extruding the profile, the residual heat being between 400° C. and 500° C., or
performing the rolling or the forming upon cooling of the semi-finished product at 20° C. to 100° C.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the cooling comprises cooling the semi-finished product at 30° C. to 70° C.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the motor vehicle component is a pillar having an upper roof connection region and a lower sill connection region, and a pillar portion extending therebetween, further comprising:
configuring at least two mutually dissimilar wall thicknesses in the cross section in the pillar portion, and
configuring a homogeneous wall thickness in each case in the cross section of the roof connection region and in the cross section of the sill connection region.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the wall thickness of the sill connection region and the wall thickness of the roof connection region are mutually dissimilar.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forming comprises press-forming.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising extruding the profile so as to have a hat-shaped cross section.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising producing a wall thickness in the cross section in radii regions of the motor vehicle, wherein the wall thickness is larger in relation to a web of a sill or to a plurality of legs of the web.

19. A method of producing a motor vehicle component, the method comprising:
extruding a lightweight metal alloy into a profile having at least two dissimilar wall thicknesses in a cross section of the profile;
feeding the extruded profile into a variable spacing between rollers, and rolling a portion of the extruded profile between the rollers to set, by said rolling, a wall thickness which is smaller than or equal to a smaller wall thickness of the extruded profile;
after said rolling, cutting the profile in a portion other than the rolled portion to form a semi-finished product; and
forming the semi-finished product so as to form the motor vehicle component.

Assignees

• Benteler Automobiltechnik Gmbh

Inventors

• Frost Georg
• Grewe Jochem

Classifications

• B21D47/01 Primary

  beams or pillars · CPC title

• B21D35/006

  Blanks having varying thickness, e.g. tailored blanks · CPC title

• B21D53/88

  other parts for vehicles, e.g. cowlings, mudguards · CPC title

• B21D1/02

  by rollers (B21D1/06 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B21C35/023

  Work treatment directly following extrusion, e.g. further deformation or surface treatment  (B21C35/03 takes precedence; gas treatment B21C23/009) · CPC title