In developed markets such as Europe and the United States, the fitting rate of alloy wheels in commercial vehicles has reached more than 70%, while in China, the figure is still less than 1%. In addition to historical, market, industrial, and policy objective factors, a very important reason for this gap is that people still lack a certain understanding of aluminum wheels. Up to now, the debate on the superiority of aluminum wheels and steel wheels is still endless.

From the contents and results of the debate, people can only reach a consensus on the intuitive understanding that aluminum wheels are more beautiful than steel wheels, light in weight, good in heat dissipation, and expensive, but they still lack a certain understanding of the manufacturing process, identification, purchase, and maintenance of aluminum wheels.

The alloy material selected for the aluminum wheel is added with magnesium, manganese, titanium, and other elements based on aluminum, which has the characteristics of light material and high strength. In terms of the manufacturing process, processing technology, and testing process, aluminum wheels are much more complex than steel wheels but are still popular in the market. In general, the performance of aluminum wheels directly depends on the manufacturing process used, and the differences in materials, process flow, and technical level also make the performance of hubs produced by the same process different.

Process determines performance

According to the manufacturing process, the current mainstream aluminum wheels in the market can be divided into forging and casting. According to the subsequent process and operation process, each type is subdivided below.

1. Forging

The manufacturing process that the blank is extruded by a special forging press at a certain temperature is the most advanced technology in aluminum wheel manufacturing. The forged aluminum wheel has a dense and uniform interior, smooth and delicate surface, and the highest strength, which is 3 times that of ordinary aluminum wheels.

Some forged wheels with beautiful shapes and complex structures are often forged many times. For example, rolling forging in forging, the wheel hub blank is forged and formed many times during rotation. The rolling forging wheel hub is the highest technology in the current forging process, which can maintain the high strength of the material and has a lighter weight, which can reach about half of the mass of ordinary aluminum wheels. The price of a roller hub is generally above 8000, which is mainly used for high-end cars and special racing cars.

The forging process requires sophisticated equipment and requires high technology. The yield is less than 70%, which correspondingly increases the production cost. Therefore, the price is the highest in the market at present.

2. Casting

It is a precise manufacturing process to cast materials in a mold in a liquefied state and solidify them. The casting methods include gravity casting, low-pressure casting, counter-pressure casting, and high counter-pressure die casting, among which low-pressure casting is the most common.

Due to different technological processes and technical levels, the quality and performance of aluminum wheels produced by the four casting methods are different. The aluminum wheel produced by low-pressure casting technology is well formed, with clear contour, uniform density, and smooth surface. The material can meet the requirements for high strength and light weight of the aluminum wheel, and the yield is more than 90%. The structural characteristics of aluminum wheels are very suitable for the low-pressure casting process, and this casting process can be highly mechanized, and automated, mass production can be achieved and the cost can be effectively controlled, so it has become the mainstream manufacturing method of aluminum wheels at present.

In addition, the rich and bright appearance of aluminum wheels has attracted many enthusiasts and become popular in the automobile modification market. The treatment process of the wheel hub surface is different. At present, most wheel hubs are treated with baking varnish. The wheel hub treated with baking varnish is rich in color and lasts for a long time. Because of the simple process, the price is relatively cheap.

The surface of the wheel hub treated by electroplating is bright and vivid. The color retention time of the wheel hub treated by electroplating silver and water electroplating is relatively short, while the color of the wheel hub treated by pure electroplating technology can be maintained for a long time, but the price is high, and it is generally used for middle and high-grade vehicles. It is worth mentioning that electroplating treatment needs to consume a lot of water resources, and the water quality of wastewater is complex, which usually contains a lot of heavy metal ions, cyanide, and other highly toxic substances, which are very harmful to the environment.

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