A study of the manufacturing of tie-rod ends with casting/forging process

摘要

Aluminium casting/forging is used to produce aluminium tie-rod ends for the steering systems of automobiles. First, casting experiments were carried out to attain a satisfactory preform for forging of tie-rod ends. In the casting experiment, the effects of additives, Ti + B, Zr, Sr, and Mg, on the mechanical properties and the microstructure of a preform cast were investigated. A finite element analysis was performed to determine an optimal configuration of the cast preform. Lastly, a forging experiment was carried out to make the final product of an aluminium tie-rod end by using the cast preform. In the casting experiments, when 0.2% Ti + B and 0.25% Zr were simultaneously added into a molten Al-Si alloy, the highest values of tensile strength and elongation of the cast perform were obtained. When 0.04% Sr was added into the molten aluminium ally, the finest silicon structure was observed in the cast perform. The highest hardness was obtained when 0.2% Mg was added. In the forging experiment, it was confirmed that the optimal configuration of the perform cast could be predicted by FE analysis. The hardness of a cast/forged product using the designed perform was superior to that of required specifications.