Patent ID: 7523635

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a vehicle's wheel formed of lightweight metal, comprising; preparing a first forming tool, which has on a pressing face thereof, recesses or holes that are arranged in a rotational symmetry of predetermined angle around a center axis, said first forming tool further including an annular recess; preparing a second forming tool, which has on its pressing face, one or more projections only within a certain angular region about a corresponding center axis; preparing an intermediate product by casting or forging so as to integrally form at least a center part and a discoid part, which respectively correspond to a hub and a disk of the wheel, said casting or forging further forming a cylindrical tube of thick wall which corresponds to a rim of the wheel, said cylindrical tube of thick wall being integrally formed with said center part and said discoid part of the intermediate product; heating the intermediate product to a plasticity temperature; placing the intermediate product so as to be held coaxially on the first forming tool, the cylindrical tube being received in said annular recess of the first forming tool; positioning the second forming tool relative to the first forming tool, so as to be coaxial with the first forming tool and so that each of the projections is positioned to match one of said recesses or holes; pressing a portion of the discoid part by thrusting the second forming tool relative to the first forming tool as to punch out one or more holes on the portion of the discoid part or to forge the portion of the discoid part; retreating the second forming tool relative to the first forming tool, after the pressing; rotating the first forming tool around its center axis by said predetermined angle, relative to the second forming tool, after the retreating; and repeating the pressing, the retreating and the rotating, until said pressing is made for every one of said recesses or holes on the first forming tool.