Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Armando Mateo Joaquin

Matthew John Zaluzec

Oludele Olusegun Popoola

David James Cook

Paul George Sanders

Ari Garo Caliskan

Robert C McCune

David Robert Collins

Kimberly Ann Lazarz

Paul Earl Pergande

Larry Van Reatherford

Jeffrey Alan Kinane

Geoffrey John Cooper

Corey John Jarocki

Tim Van Evans

James R Baughman

Gerry A Grab

Deborah Rose Pank

Eddie Lee Cartwright

Carlos H Perez

Ron Cooper

A hydroforming system includes a dual conical tube formed from a blank. The dual conical tube has a first end, a second end and a central portion positioned between the first and the second ends. The central portion has a smaller cross sectional area than the first and the second ends. A shaping die is adapted to receive the dual conical tube, and the shaping die is subject to pressurize such that the tube substantially approximates the shape of the shaping die.

Component specific tube blanks for hydroforming body structure components

A method of performing manufacturing operations on a workpiece made of a high strength alloy is disclosed in which a local area of a workpiece is heated to micro-structurally soften the local area. The local area of the workpiece becomes softened and more ductile. A manufacturing operation involving deformation of the heat softened area is performed with the metal in the heat softened region being more ductile and having less strength than the surrounding portions thereof. Manufacturing operations may include riveting, clinching, hydro-forming, and magnetic pulse joining.

Method of locally heating a part to reduce strength and increase ductility for subsequent manufacturing operation

A process or method of making a vehicle passenger compartment floor component such as a central tunnel or rocker panel. Base extrusion pieces and upper pieces are secured by a friction stir welding process to each other and to a portion of a passenger compartment floor. Upper pieces may be formed by extrusion or may be formed by a sheet forming process and secured to base extrusion pieces by means of the friction stir welding process.

Vehicle passenger compartment components and manufacturing process for making the same

A crush rail or other structural member of a vehicle is provided with crush triggers. The crush triggers are formed by heating localized areas of the crush rail or other part and allowing them to cool slowly to provide increased ductility and reduced strength in a localized region. The crush rail is designed to collapse in a series of convolutions in a regular and repeated pattern. Crush triggers may be provided on body pillars, steering columns, drive shafts, engine support cradles, and other parts of a vehicle. A plurality of crush triggers may be provided on a single structural member depending upon impact absorption requirements.

Method of improving impact absorbing and deformation control characteristics of vehicle components

A method of bonding a thermally sprayed coating to a non-roughened light metal surface. The method comprises the steps of (a) depositing a coating surface (i.e. a double potassium aluminum fluoride salt) onto such surface which has been cleaned to be substantially free of grease and oils. The aqueous deposition provides a protective coating layer to inhibit oxide growth; and (b) subsequently thermally spraying metallic droplets or particles onto the protective coating surface to form a metallic coating that is metallurgically bonded to the cast surface.

Method of simultaneous cleaning and fluxing of aluminum cylinder block bore surfaces for thermal spray coating adhesion

A method for fluxless brazing of unclad aluminum includes forming first and second components to be joined of unclad aluminum; etching selected surface areas of the components; depositing an elemental metal on the selected surface areas; abutting the first and second components along the etched surfaces forming a junction; applying an aluminum filler about the junction; and heating the components and filler and bonding the components and filler.

Fluxless brazing of unclad aluminum using selective area plating

Method of making seat inserts by thermally spraying bulk material. The method includes the steps of: (i) preparing a mandrel having an outside dimension not greater than the desired inside dimension of the desired insert, the mandrel having a part to provide for separation of the sprayed bulk material from the mandrel, (ii) thermal spraying separate particles of one or more types of steel or nickel alloys in the presence of a controlled oxidizing medium to form a bulk composite material on the mandrel with a density of at least 99% and, (iii) after cooling the bulk material, removing such material from the mandrel and slicing it into discrete seat shapes for implanting into the final product.

Method of making spray-formed inserts

A method of thermally spraying a coating onto the interior of a cylindrical surface which coating is graded between enhanced optimal machinability and enhanced wear resistance. The method comprises the steps of; (a) preparing a cylindrical bore surface of a light metal substrate cleansed of grease and oils and modified to alter any oxide film present thereon; (b) thermally spraying a deposit of metallic droplets or particles onto the prepared bore surface using metal wire or powder feedstocks (low carbon steel or stainless steel) and a primary atomizing gas that projects the droplets or particles as a spray, the droplets or particles having a chemistry capable of metallurgically bonding with the metal of the substrate, the spray being positioned to lay down a generally uniform coating of such droplets or particles; and (c) varying the chemical content of the atomizing gas in two or more stages to proceed from essentially a metal droplet oxide-forming gas (air or oxygen) to essentially an inert or non-oxidizing gas (nitrogen or argon) relative to the droplets or particles.

Method of depositing a thermally sprayed coating that is graded between

A method of depositing a dielectric coating, comprising the steps of forming an unroughened or roughened, as-cast or wrought substrate surface to receive the coatings; and flame spraying a single premixed thermoplastic epoxy/hardener powder onto the surface, the resultant in-flight heated powder being chemically activated to impact the surface and form a chemically adhering coating, the coating being cured in-situ to be dielectric and thermally conductive.

Method of depositing a dielectric onto electrically conductive elements

A method of thermally spraying at least one adherent metallic coating onto an unroughened cleansed aluminum or aluminum alloy substrate to produce a coated substrate, comprising: wire-arc thermally spraying of melted metallic bonding droplets and fluxing particles onto the substrate using air propulsion to concurrently adherently deposit flux particles and bonding droplets, the spraying using air propulsion and a wire feedstock having a core and a sheath, the wire core being constituted of both metal powder readily metallurgically bondable to the substrate and a fluxing powder that readily deoxidizes the substrate, the wire sheath being constituted of pliable metal that is metallurgically compatible with the core metal powder, the fluxing powder having a halide salt chemistry effective to deoxidize the substrate upon contact of the melted fluxing powder therewith, said fluxing powder and bonding metal having a particle size that more uniformly promotes distribution throughout said spray. A flux cored wire for use in thermal spraying of aluminum or aluminum alloy substrates, comprising (a) a powder core mixture consisting of (i) a metal bonding powder effective to metallurgically bond by an exothermic reaction with the substrate when the bonding metal powder is in a melted condition, (ii) a fluxing powder effective to strip aluminum oxides from said substrates when in the melted condition, (b) a pliable metal sheath encapsulating the powder mixture and having a composition that is metallurgically compatible with the bonding metal and also is effective to react with aluminum surfaces to form intermetallics.

Method of thermally spraying metallic coatings using flux cored wire

A method of bonding a thermally sprayed coating to a non-roughened light metal (i.e. cast aluminum-based) surface. The method comprises the steps of (a) depositing a flux material (i.e. potassium aluminum's fluoride containing up to 50 molar % other fluoride salts) onto such cast surface which has been cleansed to be substantially free of grease and oils, such deposition providing a dry flux coated surface, the flux being capable of removing oxide on the cast surface and having a melting temperature below that of the cast surface; (b) thermally activating the flux in the flux coated surface to melt and dissolve any oxide residing on the cast surface; and (c) concurrently therewith or subsequent to step (b) thermally spraying metallic droplets or particles onto the flux coated surface to form a metallic coating that is metallurgically bonded to the cast surface.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester Hills, MI, United States of America

Armando Mateo Joaquin