Patent ID: 6519852
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: B21C,B21D,B21K,Y10T

Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a wheel rim for a motor vehicle comprising the steps of:a) extrusion molding an aluminum alloy into a strip having a predetermined cross-section suitable for forming into a wheel rim; b) placing a portion of said strip between an upper mold and a lower mold, said upper and lower mold having a cross-sectional configuration which conforms with said predetermined cross-section of said strip, said upper and lower molds being configured to curve said portion of said strip when said portion of said strip is pressed between said upper and lower molds; c) pressing said portion of said strip between said upper and lower molds whereby said upper and lower molds engage said strip to produce a portion of said strip having a curve due to the configuration of said upper and lower molds; d) repeating steps b) and c) a plurality of times on uncurved portions of said strip until the entire strip is curved into a hoop with a gap between one end of said strip and another end of said strip, with the proviso that said strip has a length L and that said length L and said curve are selected to produce said gap upon completion of steps a) through d); and then e) welding said gap to produce said wheel rim.