Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Showa Aluminum Corporation

Yasushi Nakazawa

Yasunori Oku

Kaoru Kusaka

Masatoshi Enomoto

Yasushi Tashiro

Tadashi Yasuoka

Katsuhiro Kitamura

Kiyotaka Touma

Masayoshi Ohashi

Hitoshi Kazama

Akio Sugiura

Sliced workpieces severed from a metal extrusion transversely of it and into a desired thickness, or bent ones made from the extruded metal pipes, are restrained at their regulated correct positions each in its entirety or in part. Subsequently, the workpieces are compressed in a direction to the thickness or in the direction perpendicular to the primary bending direction. Plastic deformation of or exceeding 0.5%, or more preferably 2-5%, will be produced in each workpiece. Alternatively, those sliced or bent workpieces may be pressed in a direction to that of thickness or in the direction perpendicular to a previous bending, after each workpiece is restrained in its entirety or in part at the regulated correct dimension.

Method of correcting the dimension of workpieces

In a method of producing twisted aluminum products, an elongate heat-treatable aluminum article is twisted at first to have a value 'tan .phi.' of 0.5 or more, with the term .phi. denoting a helical angle of the thus twisted article. The twisted aluminum article is then subjected to a solid solution treatment and the step of aging, in this order.

Method of producing twisted aluminum articles

An end holder (5) has a main recess (8) and cavities (8a) to fit on an end of an extruded aluminum profile material (1) having a semi-hollow portions (1a). Each of chucks (6) can protrude into the semi-hollow portion placed in the cavity (8a) so as to chuck the inner surface of said portion (1a), so that the end of material (1) can be firmly held in place while it is being severed from a body of the material to thereby produce high quality slices of an improved precision in dimension and shape.

Tool holding an elongate profile material to be sliced

A laser-emitting head (12) is placed in a cavity (6) of an aluminum hollow and profile material (3), the material being of a desired shape in cross section and having an inner peripheral wall. A laser beam of an energy level capable of cutting the material is irradiated from the cavity onto the inner peripheral wall while the head is being rotated along the wall in a circular direction. The hollow and profile material (3) can be sliced in this manner to produce knuckles (1) as one of automobile parts, even if it is of a comparatively large size adapted for production of larger knuckles.

Method of cutting a hollow metallic material

A process for producing a suspension member for a vehicle, which member comprises a first mounting portion relatively swingably connected to either one of a vehicle body and an axle, through a connecting member, an a second mounting portion integrally connected to the first mounting portion and connected to the other of the vehicle body and the axle. The first mounting portion is provided at an outer surface thereof with a pair of parallel cam guides of readjusting the relative mounting position between the first mounting portion and a connection member by cooperation with eccentric cams connected to the connecting member. The process comprises steps of forming a base material for the suspension member by an extrusion, and cutting the base material along planes spaced at an equal distance form onto another in an extruding direction to provide a plurality of the suspension members. The extruding direction is set along the cam guides such that the cam guides of each of the suspension members are formed by the extrusion. Thus, the cam guides for adjusting the alignment can be easily formed at given locations on the suspension member with good accuracy.

Process for producing suspension member for vehicle

An upper arm 1 of a front suspention made of light alloy is provided with a lateral rubber bush mounting bore 2 connected to a vehicle body, and a vertical joint mounting bore 6 connected to a wheel support member. When forming the arm 1, a shape of the arm 1 is first determined such that the mounting bores 2 and 6 are directed in the same direction. Then, the arm 1 is extuded in an axial direction of the bores, and after cutting off the extruded material at a predetermined length, a portion of the mounting bore 2 is twisted by 90.degree.. Therefore, the extrusion can be employed for producing the suspention arm made of light alloy without increasing a thickness thereof.

Process for producing suspension component of light alloy

A suspension arm is formed of at least two arm bodies formed by an extrusion. The arm bodies are coupled such that their extruding directions intersect each other. The coupled assembly is integrally provided at one end thereof with a mounting portion for mounting to a wheel and at the other end of the coupled assembly with a mounting portion for mounting to the vehicle body. Thus, a required rigidity and strength can be efficiently provided to portions of the suspension arm to oppose various external forces applied to such portions, while enabling a reduction in weight of the suspension arm.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiyashi, Japan

Yasushi Nakazawa