JP4555658B2 - Link manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing various links used in automobile suspensions and the like.

   A link having an arm portion and a bush mounting bracket that is friction stir welded to an end portion of the arm portion is well known. In addition, a plurality of bush mounting brackets are integrated into a single continuous member, and a plurality of arm portions that have been cut to a predetermined size are fitted into the integrated member in a step shape, and the fitting portion forming the step shape forms a straight line. Are placed side by side so as to be continuous, and friction stir welding is continuously performed on each fitting portion, and then the connection between adjacent brackets for bushing and adjacent arm portions of the integral member is cut. It is known to separate each link (see Patent Document 1).

  Further, it may be required to arrange the bushes supported by the both bracket mounting brackets so that the central axis directions of the bushes are shifted from each other by 90 °. As a manufacturing method in this case, there is also a method in which a light alloy is used to extrude the entire shape at once, and then the axis of both bush mounting brackets is shifted by 90 ° by twisting by 90 ° at the intermediate portion (see Patent Document 2). .

Further, a plurality of temporary assemblies, which are temporarily assembled by fitting the longitudinal ends of the arm portions to the bush mounting brackets, are arranged side by side, and the butted portions formed by fitting the bush mounting brackets to the arm portions are arranged. It is disclosed that the plurality of butted portions are frictionally stirred and joined at a time, and then a joint portion between adjacent butted portions is cut and divided for each link. It is also known that a spacer is interposed between adjacent temporary assemblies and the spacer is cut after bonding (see Patent Documents 3 and 4).
Here, the term “side by side” means that the bracket for mounting the bush and the arm portion are arranged in the direction of the connecting line.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-101285 JP-A-6-255332 JP-A-11-99415 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-101286

  If the bracket for mounting the bush and the arm part are to be joined by friction stir welding, it is practically difficult if the surface on which the rotary tool moves (referred to as the tool moving surface) is stepped. It is practically necessary to be in the same level. It is also possible to extrude the entire shape at one time and then cut it at a predetermined width without dividing the plurality of parts in order to omit the connection. In this case, the extrusion die circumscribes at least the shape to be extruded. Since it must be circular, it is quite large, cumbersome and expensive, and impractical, so a method that can be easily manufactured is desired.

In addition, when the central axes of the bushes provided at both ends of the arm portion are different, if the twist and the axial direction are shifted as in a known example, a heat treatment or the like is required thereafter, which increases costs. Therefore, it is desirable to eliminate such processing if possible. Furthermore, in the method in which the bush mounting bracket and the arm portion are temporarily assembled by fitting and then coupled, the number of steps is increased by the amount corresponding to the temporary assembly process. Therefore, an efficient manufacturing method that can cope with various shapes is desired.
Therefore, the present invention aims to solve these problems.

The invention of claim 1 according to production method of the present link for solving the above-arm unit, a link with a longitudinal both ends bushing mounting bracket coupled to the portion of that to the arm Dividing into multiple parts in the longitudinal direction and making a butted set by abutting between the divided end parts, preparing a plurality of this abutting set, each abutting set on either side of the bush mounting brackets at both ends Placed side by side in the direction of the central axis, and arranged so that the spacer is sandwiched between adjacent butted parts, and continuously joined between the divided parts of each butted set by friction stir welding along the butted parts Then, in the manufacturing method of the link that removes the spacer and separates for each butt set,
In the side-by-side arrangement state of each butt set,
Each of the butt sets is a tool moving surface in which the surface of the butt portion vicinity portion is a flat surface,
The abutting portion facing this tool moving surface is linear,
The butting parts of each butting set are arranged in a straight line,
The spacer is disposed at a position overlapping the extension line of the butted portion,
And the tool movement surface in which the said abutting part in each said abutting set is formed on the spacer between each abutting set by making the surface of the said spacer into the same plane as the tool moving surface of each said abutting set. And the tool movement surface that is flush with
A friction stir welding is performed on the abutting portion by moving a rotary tool for friction stir welding on an extension line of the abutting portion on the tool moving surface of each of the butting sets and spacers .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the spacer is arranged on each outer side on both sides in the side-by-side direction of the plurality of butt sets arranged side by side, and is arranged from a spacer on one end side on the extension line of the butt portion. Friction stir welding is started and terminated with a spacer at the other end .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the divided portion includes a first portion in which one of the bush mounting brackets and a mounting protrusion are integrated, and the other bush mounting bracket and an arm portion. Is divided into two in the longitudinal direction into a second part integrated with each other,
After forming the extruded material by extruding the first and second parts separately to be a plurality of lengths,
Each extruded material is cut in a fixed size in the extrusion direction with a predetermined cut width W1 and W2 that is the width of the first and second parts,
The abutting portion is formed by abutting the connecting end provided on the end of the second portion opposite to the side on which the bush mounting bracket is provided with the mounting projection of the first portion. characterized in that it.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect, a rubber bush is vulcanized and bonded to each of the bush mounting brackets before the first and second portions are joined .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned third or fourth aspect , when the first and second portions are brought into contact with each other, the directions of the central axes 1 and 2 of the bushes supported by the respective brackets for bushing are shifted from each other. In this way, they are matched .

According to a sixth aspect of the invention in any of the above claims 3-5, wherein the arm portion diameter a bush mounting brackets at both ends and different in size, the bracket and the attaching projection bush mounting which forms one of the large-diameter The first part is integrated into the first part, the bracket for mounting the bush having the other small diameter and the arm part are integrated into the second part,
The second portion includes a portion in which the width of the arm portion becomes narrower than the bush mounting bracket on the fixed-size cut surface,
The connection end portion includes a portion that is larger than a width of a narrow portion of the arm portion .

The invention of claim 7 is the above-mentioned claim 6 , wherein the predetermined cut widths W1 and W2 are different from each other, and W1> W2.
Each joint surface of the mounting projection and the connection end is a rectangular flat surface,
The long side has the same shape and the same size with the cut width W1 and the short side the cut width W2.
When the first and second portions are abutted with each other by shifting the central axis of each bush by 90 °, the bushes are abutted and flush with each other .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the end portions of the respective divided portions divided into a plurality of portions in the longitudinal direction are butted so as to form a tool moving surface having a flush surface, and a plurality of sets in the butted state are arranged side by side. And the adjacent butted portions are arranged so as to be in a continuous straight line, and the divided portions are continuously coupled by friction stir welding along the butted portions, and then between the adjacent butted portions. Since the coupling portion is cut and separated for each link, the provisional assembly work by fitting is not required as in the prior art, and a large number can be assembled at a time by just butting, so that the production efficiency is improved.

Further, a plurality of longitudinal members can be integrated side by side at a time. Moreover, since the joining work by friction stir welding can be performed at once, the production efficiency is improved.

In addition, since the spacer is provided at a position that overlaps the extension line of the butted portion of the first part and the second part between the sets, the tool moving surface between the sets is made to be a continuous and flush plane. Enables friction stir welding. The spacer can be easily removed after the friction stir welding, and at this time, the adjacent joints can be separated.

According to the invention of claim 2, since the spacer is also arranged on the outermost side of the entire set arranged side by side, the friction stir welding is started from the spacer at one end on the extension line of the butted portion, and the other side By ending with the spacer at the end and removing the spacer after the friction stir welding, the starting point and end point of the friction stir welding can be removed, and the finished appearance of the product is improved.

According to the invention of claim 3 , the first part in which one of the bush mounting brackets and the arm part are integrated, and the second part in which the other bush mounting bracket and the joint protrusion are integrated. Since extrusion is carried out separately, the extrusion mold can be made small.
Further, since the first portion and the second portion are abutted flush with each other, the surface of the vicinity including the abutting portion can be made a flush tool moving surface, and easily and reliably along the abutting portion. Friction stir welding is possible. Moreover, since only one joint is required, the friction stir welding work is easy.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the rubber bush is vulcanized and bonded to the bushing mounting bracket before joining, a large number of pieces can be taken, and the production efficiency is improved. Moreover, even after the rubber bushing is provided by friction stir welding, the bonding can be performed.

According to the invention of claim 5 , when the first and second portions are butted together, the bushes supported by the bushing mounting brackets are butted so that the central axis directions of the bushes are shifted from each other, thereby A link in which the central axis of the bush supported by the bush mounting bracket is shifted can be easily manufactured. Therefore, the conventional plastic working (bending), heat treatment, etc. after extrusion molding can be made unnecessary.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a suspension link of an automobile obtained by the present invention. The link 1 is divided into a first part 2 and a second part 3 in the longitudinal direction, and the first part 2 and the second part 3 are joined together to be integrated.

  The link 1 is a longitudinal member, and is divided into a first portion 2 and a second portion 3 in the longitudinal direction, and the first portion 2 and the second portion 3 are joined by a butting portion 4. It is an integrated one. The first portion 2 is a bush mounting bracket 5 having a large-diameter cylindrical shape, a mounting protrusion 6 integrally protruding outward from a part of the outer periphery thereof, and a bush mounting hole 5a of the bush mounting bracket 5. The rubber bush 7 is integrated inside.

  The rubber bush 7 includes an inner cylinder 8 and an anti-vibration rubber 9 for integrating the inner cylinder 8 and the bush mounting bracket 5 by vulcanization bonding. The central axis C 1 of the rubber bush 7 coincides with the central axes of the bush mounting bracket 5 and the inner cylinder 8. Reference numeral 10 denotes a hollow hole provided in the mounting projection 6 and is formed to penetrate in the same direction as the central axis C1.

  The second portion 3 includes a bush mounting bracket 11 having a small diameter cylindrical shape, an arm portion 12 extending radially outward from an outer peripheral portion thereof, and a rubber bush 13 integrated with the bush mounting bracket 11. Is provided. The rubber bush 13 includes an inner cylinder 14 and an anti-vibration rubber 15 that integrates the inner cylinder 14 and the bush mounting bracket 11 by vulcanization bonding.

  The rubber bush 13 is formed in the bush mounting hole 11a of the bush mounting bracket 11, and its central axis C2 coincides with the central axes of the bush mounting bracket 11 and the inner cylinder 14. The central axis C2 is shifted from the central axis C1 by 90 °.

  Reference numerals 16 and 17 are hollow holes that penetrate the arm portion 12 in the direction of the central axis C2. Reference numeral 18 denotes a joining end, which has a substantially rectangular and flat joining surface, is formed integrally with the end of the arm 12, has the same shape and dimensions as the end of the mounting projection 6, and is flush with the end. It can be matched.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of the link 1, and the bush mounting bracket 5 and the inner cylinder 8 are substantially concentric. However, it is arbitrary that the inner cylinder 8 is in an eccentric position with respect to the bush mounting bracket 5. The cut width W2 (described later) of the second portion 3 and the arm portion 12 is the same, both ends of the inner cylinder 14 are slightly longer than the cut width W2, and protrude to both axial sides of the bush mounting bracket 11. Yes. Let this protrusion amount be t2.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the link 1 with the first portion 2 cut away. The bush mounting bracket 5 and the mounting projection 6 are the same as the cut width W1 of the first portion 2, and the mounting projection 6 And the joining end 18 are flush with each other. The inner cylinder 8 is longer than the cut width W1 and protrudes from the bush mounting bracket 5 to both sides in the axial direction. Let this protrusion amount be t1. Reference numeral 19 denotes a spacer, which is provided at the time of joining described later. Its thickness t3 is approximately t1 × 2.

  Next, a method for forming the link 1 will be described. First, the first part 2 and the second part 3 are formed by extrusion molding. FIG. 4 illustrates this process. First, (A) extrusion-molds the first extruded material 20 for the first portion 2. This extruded cross section is the same as the axial end face shape of the first portion 2.

  The first extruded material 20 is extruded into a long length by using a light metal such as an aluminum alloy or an appropriate resin material so as to have a length corresponding to a plurality of the first portions 2, and then cut to a fixed size with a cut width W1. As a result, the first portion 2 is obtained. At this time, the cylindrical hole 25a and the square hole 26a corresponding to the bush mounting hole 5a and the lightening hole 10 are also integrally formed continuously.

  The same applies to the second extruded material 30 for the second portion 3 as shown in FIG. Using the same material as the first extruded material 20, the material is extruded in a long shape so as to have a length corresponding to a plurality of second portions 3 in the direction of the central axis C <b> 2, and then cut to a fixed width with a cut width W <b> 2. A second part 3 is obtained.

  The second extruded material 30 corresponds to the bushing mounting bracket 11, the bushing mounting hole 11 a, the arm portion 12, the lightening hole 16, the lightening hole 17, and the joining end 18 of the second portion 3. The bracket 31, the cylindrical hole 31 a, the arm part 32, the lightening holes 36 and 37, and the joining end part 38 are formed in a continuous and long shape.

  FIG. 5 shows a process of joining the first part 2 and the second part 3. First, as shown in A, the anti-vibration rubber 9 and the anti-vibration rubber are provided inside the bush mounting bracket 5 and the bush mounting bracket 11. A first portion 2 and a second portion 3 in which the rubber bush 7 and the rubber bush 13 are integrated by vulcanizing and bonding the rubber 15 are provided, and the center axis C1 and the center axis C2 are shifted by 90 °, and the mounting protrusions. The end face of 6 and the end face of the joining end 18 are abutted. This combination is referred to as a matching set 40.

  Next, as shown in B, a plurality of butt sets 40 formed in A are arranged side by side in the direction of the first portion 2 center axis C1. At this time, the spacer 19 is disposed on the abutting portion 4 of the adjacent butting set 40.

  Since the thickness t3 of the spacer 19 is about twice the protruding amount t1 of the inner cylinder 8 (see FIG. 3), the adjacent first portions 2 are arranged closely and the abutting portions 4 between the adjacent abutting sets 40 are arranged. Connect continuously and flush.

  In this state, when the friction stir welding is performed at once along the extension of the abutting portion 4 from the spacer 19 at the one end to the spacer 19 at the other end, the entire butting set 40 including the spacer 19 is integrated. Combined with Therefore, as shown in C, when the spacer 19 is cut and removed, the link 19 is divided for each link 1, and the central axis C1 and the central axis C2 are formed orthogonally. When the abutting portion 4 which is the back side in the illustrated state is subjected to friction stir welding, the friction stir welding can be performed in one continuous process as in the case of the front side by reversing the whole and joining.

  At this time, if the friction stir welding is provided with a starting point on the spacer 19 at the one end on the extension of the abutting portion 4 that continuously forms a straight line, and an end point on the spacer 19 at the other end, By cutting and removing the spacer 19, the start point and end point of the friction stir welding are also removed.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view in the friction stir welding process, and the butt portion 4 is continued by the spacer 19. The spacer 19 is also set so that the adjacent second portions 3 do not interfere with each other.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the friction stir welding process, and the tool moving surfaces 41 and 42 that are the surfaces sandwiching the abutting portion 4 of the attachment projection 6 and the joining end 18 are flush with each other. Therefore, friction stir welding is performed from above the tool moving surfaces 41 and 42 onto the butt 4.

  The friction stir welding is performed by a known method by pushing the probe 51 of the rotary tool 50 into the material of the mounting projection 6 and the joining end 18 on both sides of the abutting portion 4 while being melted. For this reason, the two members to be joined can be sufficiently frictionally stirred to obtain a strong bond.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. By dividing the link 1 into the first portion 2 and the second portion 3 in the longitudinal direction, the first extruded material 20 and the second extruded material 30 corresponding to these are extruded, so the extrusion mold is downsized. it can. Therefore, it becomes advantageous in manufacture.

  In addition, since the large-diameter bush mounting bracket 5 is the first portion 2 and the small-diameter bush mounting bracket 11 is the second portion 3 integrated with the arm portion 12, the first portion 2 and the second portion The extrusion type of the portion 3 can be leveled to an approximate size.

  Further, when the first portion 2 and the second portion 3 are brought into contact with each other so that the central axis C1 and the central axis C2 are shifted from each other by 90 °, they can be integrated by friction stir welding. As described above, the subsequent heat treatment becomes unnecessary, and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, since it couple | bonds by friction stir welding, even if it integrates the rubber bushes 7 and 13 in the 1st part 2 and the 2nd part 3, the thermal influence at the time of a coupling | bonding can be given to the anti-vibration rubbers 9 and 15. Absent. Therefore, when the rubber bushes 7 and 13 are formed, a large number of pieces can be formed at the same time, so that the manufacturing efficiency is improved.

  Furthermore, by arranging a plurality of the butting sets 40 side by side so that the butting portions 4 are continuous, it is possible to combine them simultaneously by one continuous friction stir welding, so that the friction stir welding can be made more efficient.

  Moreover, by interposing the spacer 19, even when the abutting portion 4 between the adjacent abutting sets 40 is intermittent, it can be continued by the spacer 19, and can be continuously joined by one friction stir welding.

  In addition, at the time of friction stir welding, the spacer 19 at the one end on the extension of the straight butting portion 4 is set as the starting point, the spacer 19 at the other end is set as the end point, and then the spacer 19 is cut. If it is removed, the start and end points of the friction stir welding can be removed, and the finished appearance of the product is improved.

  Further, the separation after the friction stir welding is performed by cutting only the extension of the butt portion 4 for each adjacent butt set 40, and the cut length can be shortened as much as possible. When the spacer 19 is used, the spacer 19 can be cut. Moreover, if the width of the cutting tool is set to the thickness t3 of the spacer 19, the spacer 19 can be removed and the link 1 can be separated by a single cut.

  Further, since the lightening holes 10 and 17 are located across the butting portion 4, the stress relaxation portions are formed on both sides of the butting portion 4 in the longitudinal axis direction of the arm portion 12 by these hollowing holes 10 and 17. . For this reason, when a load is input in the longitudinal axis direction of the arm portion 12, the weak body portions are deformed, and the stress is relaxed so that the stress is not concentrated on the abutting portion 4. For this reason, the bonding strength at the butting portion 4 is stabilized.

  The stress relieving part may be a thin part instead of a through hole. Further, not one side of the butting portion 4 may be provided. However, if the stress relaxation part is formed by using the hollow holes 10 and 17, the weight can be reduced at the same time, and it can be formed at the same time as the extrusion.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A deformation | transformation and application are possible variously, for example, the bracket 5 or 11 for bush attachment does not necessarily need to be cylindrical. At least one of them may be a U-shaped yoke. Further, the deviation of the central axis is not necessarily 90 ° but can be an arbitrary angle.
Further, a plurality of sets may be combined side by side without being combined and integrated at a time. In this way, the separation step by cutting after the coupling becomes unnecessary.

Furthermore, instead of the two divisions composed of the first and second portions, the division may be made into three or more in the longitudinal direction. In this case, for example, a three-part configuration consisting of bush mounting brackets and arms at both ends in the longitudinal direction, each end is abutted flush with each other to form a tool moving surface, and by friction stir welding from above, It can be efficiently manufactured without requiring a temporary assembly by fitting as in the prior art. In addition, when a plurality of sets are arranged side by side and friction stir welding is performed at the same time or the use of a spacer is made in the same manner, the manufacturing method is excellent in mass productivity.

Link perspective view Top view of the link Link front view Diagram showing extrusion Diagram showing the joining process Same as above Diagram showing friction stir welding

Explanation of symbols

1: Link, 2: First part, 3: Second part, 4: Joining part, 5: Bracket for mounting bushing, 6: Mounting projection, 7: Rubber bushing, 8: Inner tube, 9: Anti-vibration Rubber: 10: Vent hole, 11: Bushing bracket, 12: Arm part, 13: Rubber bush, 14: Inner tube, 15: Anti-vibration rubber, 16: Vent hole, 17: Vent hole, 18: End for joining, 19: spacer, 20: first extruded material, 30: second extruded material, 40: butt set

Claims (7)

And the arm portion, a link with a longitudinal both ends bushing mounting bracket coupled to the portion of that is divided into a plurality in the longitudinal direction of the arm portion, and a butt portion by abutting between the divided ends A butt set is prepared, and a plurality of the butt sets are prepared. Each butt set is arranged side by side in the direction of the central axis on either side of the bush mounting brackets at both ends, and the spacer is disposed between each butt portion. A method for producing a link that is arranged so as to be sandwiched, and is continuously joined between the divided portions of each butt set by friction stir welding along the butt portion, and then the spacer is removed and separated for each butt set In
In the side-by-side arrangement state of each butt set,
Each of the butt sets is a tool moving surface in which the surface of the butt portion vicinity portion is a flat surface,
The abutting portion facing this tool moving surface is linear,
The butting parts of each butting set are arranged in a straight line,
The spacer is disposed at a position overlapping the extension line of the butted portion,
And the tool movement surface in which the said abutting part in each said abutting set is formed on the spacer between each abutting set by making the surface of the said spacer into the same plane as the tool moving surface of each said abutting set. And the tool movement surface that is flush with
At the tool movement plane of the respective butt set and spacers, by moving the rotary tool of a friction stir welding as an extension of the butt portion, characterized by friction stir welding on the butt portion link The manufacturing method. The spacers are also arranged on the outer sides of both sides of the plurality of butted sets side by side, and friction stir welding is started from the spacer on one end on the extension line of the butted portion, The method for producing a link according to claim 1, wherein the link is terminated with a spacer . The divided portion is divided into a first portion in which one of the bush mounting brackets and the mounting protrusion are integrated, and a second portion in which the other bush mounting bracket and the arm portion are integrated in the longitudinal direction. Divided,
After forming the extruded material by extruding the first and second parts separately to be a plurality of lengths,
Each extruded material is cut in a fixed size in the extrusion direction with a predetermined cut width W1 and W2 that is the width of the first and second parts,
The abutting portion is formed by abutting the connecting end provided on the end of the second portion opposite to the side on which the bush mounting bracket is provided with the mounting projection of the first portion. The link manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein: The link manufacturing method according to claim 3 , wherein a rubber bush is vulcanized and bonded to each of the bush mounting brackets before the coupling of the first and second portions . When matching the first and second portions, claim 3 or the direction of the center axis 1 and 2 of the bushing is supported on the bushing mounting bracket, characterized in that the matching as shifted from each other 4. The method for producing the link described in 4. The bush mounting brackets at both ends of the arm part have different diameters, and one of the large diameter bush mounting bracket and the mounting protrusion are integrated into the first part, and the other small diameter bush mounting. While integrating the bracket and arm part into the second part,
The second portion includes a portion in which the width of the arm portion becomes narrower than the bush mounting bracket on the fixed-size cut surface,
The link manufacturing method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the connection end portion includes a portion that is wider than a width of a narrow portion of the arm portion . The predetermined cut widths W1 and W2 are different from each other, and W1> W2.
Each joint surface of the mounting projection and the connection end is a rectangular flat surface,
The long side has the same shape and the same size with the cut width W1 and the short side the cut width W2.
The link manufacturing method according to claim 6 , wherein when the first and second portions are abutted with each other by shifting the central axis of each bush by 90 °, the bushes are abutted and flush with each other .

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