INTRODUCTION

The steel wheel is a mechanical device, which produce rotary motion by means of a disk or
circular frame revolving an axis. The steel wheel can be used for heavy loads and traction
services, such as truck and train. The size and contour of a specific wheel design is based on the
load it must carry and the space limitation of the equipment on which it is used. The contour of
the wheel composed of five parts; the hub, plate, rim, trade and flange. Classifications are based
on service to which the wheels are applied are defined as:

1. Industrial car wheels for use on various cars such as those used in mining, railroads and
transfer cars.
2. Crane truck wheels, for use in travelling, gantry, bridge cranes and floor-type changing
and drawing machines.
3. Railroad freight car wheels, used according to their capacity and applications.
4. Heavy duty wheels, for used under railroad and electric railways car, rapid transit
passenger cars and locomotives.

Most wheels for railways and industrial services are manufactured either by forming a solid
block of metal by a sequence of hot forging and rolling operations or by casting them directly
from liquid into its final shape metal. Mechanically speaking, steel castings are considered
inferior to hot forging and rolling products. The casting of steel is, however, the most direct
method of producing a desired shape.

Today, the steel wheel has been partially replaced by the aluminium alloy wheel on vehicles,
especially light vehicles such as compact cars, Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) and others, and
this trend is expected to continue and become more popular in the near future. The changeover
has already been introduced in General Motors and Ford in the USA, where new vehicles are
introduced with the aluminum wheels is now rolling off the production lines. There are at least
four main reasons why wheel industries are now prefer to use aluminum alloy to replace wrought
steel:
 1. Aluminum alloy wheels are more loads worthy. As 1 kg of unsparing weight is generally
equivalent to 10-15 kg of spring weight, and each 14’ of aluminum alloy wheel is less
than 2.5 kg, the four wheels under a typical car can handle loads of about 100-150 kg of
extra weight. (Unsprang weight means the weight put on the tire wheel, suspension or
wheel area).
2. Excellent brake system. Aluminium thermal conductivity is about three times higher than
that of steel. This physical property gives the wheel better brake reliability and longer life
than the steel wheel.
3. It is fuel-efficient. Basically, a 1kg loads decrease on a car will raise mileage 5-8 meters
for every litre of gas used. In other words, fuel-efficiency is raised about 8.5% for every
10% reduction in car weight. The one-third to one-fifth work saved will surely prolong
the service life of the car engine.
4. Suspension improvements. The suspension system of aluminium alloy wheels is capable
of responding much more quickly to changing surfaces and road conditions. This
increased traction can improve vehicle acceleration, manoeuvrability and brake
performance. It is particularly noticeable while driving at high speeds or on rough roads.

However, in production of train wheel, most of the production lines still used steel instead of
aluminum because train is considered as heavy weight vehicles. Besides that, to run on the steel
and strong rail road, the train needs the wheels made of the very strength steel in order it can run
well and there is no obstacle. Absolutely, the steel which is used to make the wheel must be
made of strong steel too, otherwise it will cause the damages of the wheel, and it cannot stay
longer to run on the railroad Therefore, both metal working processes, train wheel and
automobile wheel rim will be explained briefly in the next chapter as the process may be differs
in some part as it used different material.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
The automobile wheel rims are made of aluminum. According to the history, the first light-alloy
sheet wheels were used in Daimler-Benz and Auto-Union racing cars in the 1930s. In the 1960s,
Porsche began the batch production of sheet wheels, which consisted of a wheel rim and nave.
The first high-volume production of sheet wheels in Europe started in 1979 for Daimler-Benz
cars destined for the USA.

Through further development of the production process for wheel rims and naves, the
manufacturing costs were reduced markedly so that an aluminum sheet wheel has been produced
in large numbers for the BMW 5 Series since 1995.

Figure 1: Flow Chart of the Processes

Casting Process

The aluminum ingot is melted in the proper uniform temperature arc-type electric holding
furnace. After the molten aluminum ingot has attained the desired chemical composition, it is
tapped (procured) from the furnace into the top of an open bottom mold in continuous casting
machine in which the casting mold has been preheated in the hydraulic die casting machine and
the temperature is high enough for casting. The size and design of the casting mold should have
accurate dimensions to meet the requirements of casting equipment and techniques. After the
aluminum liquid solidifies, it is continuously withdrawn from the mold to produce the semi-
finished, rough wheel shape.

Figure 2: Hot Chamber Die Casting Process

Drilling Process

The rough aluminum alloy wheel is then transferred to the drilling machine where the punching
of the hole in the center is carried out on the press and the burr around the edge of the wheel is
also trimmed out.

Heat Treatment Process

After the die casting, hub punching, burr trimming, which complete the hot forming operation,
the aluminum alloy wheels are conveyed directly into a tunnel type continuous solution furnace
where they are heat treated to a uniform temperature. The wheels emerge from this furnace are
conveyed to the quenching unit where they are quenched to harden and thereby increase
resistance to wear. The time of quenching varies depending on the thickness and diameter of the
wheels. The time of quenching varies depending on the thickness and diameter of the wheels.
After quenching, the wheels are conveyed through the age furnace where they are reheated and
maintained at the proper tempering temperature so as to strengthen the duration of the material
reaching to 220MPA, elongation to 70% and hardness between HV80100.

Finishing Process

After the above treatment, the rough aluminum alloy wheels can enter the machining steps to
obtain the final dimensions that meet specified requirements. Those steps include refinishing the
center hole, polishing the front side of it, then vent hole drilling, treading, flanging, bore
machining, rim profiling, inner side rear copy machining, leak testing, defeating, spray painting,
baking, finish copy machining and bush inserting.
DISCUSSION

To improve the quality of wheel there are other process that can be used that is forging process.
Forged is definitely the king of manufacturing when it comes to wheels. Top-notch quality. The
forging process uses immense amounts of compressive force to shape the metal.

Let me give you an example to make this easy to understand. Have you ever wrinkled aluminum
foil and then tightened it as much as possible by hitting it with a spoon to shape a ball? If you
have, this is essentially what forging is. Once that little ball is as small as possible it is extremely
hard. This is virtually what happens during forging, to an infinite power. The piece is pressed
between a Ram and an Anvil. (See diagram)

Forging can produce a wheel that is stronger than an equivalent cast or machined part. During
the process the internal grain is deformed and rearranged to the shape of the part. This
deformation due to compressive force improves the strength uniformly throughout the entire
structure of the wheel. As a result you have a stronger, lighter wheel.

Figure 3 Forging Process

LIST OF COMPANY

1. BORBET
2. ENKEI
3. Ronal Wheel
4. CM Wheel
5. ALCOA Wheel
6. CITIC Dicastal
7. Maxion Wheels
8. UNIWHEELS Group
9. Foshan Nanhai Zhongnan Aluminum Wheel Co., Ltd.
10. Superior Industries

CONCLUSION
In conclusion the manufacturing process of wheel can use either die casting process or forging
process. By using forging process the company can improve the quality of the wheel but the
process may take a bit longer if compared to die casting process because it may require a lot of
finishing before the product to be completed. In other hand by using die casting process the
molten alunium is injected to the mold which already contain the shape of the wheel. Therefore it
will reduce the time of making the wheel.
REFERENCES

1. http://www.emt-
india.net/eca2004/award2004/Foundries/Rail%20Wheel%20Factory%20Indian%20Railways%20
Yalahanka.pdf
2. http://sofyanfahminellyfurtado.blogspot.com/2010/02/analysis-for-manufacturing-process-
of.html
3. http://turnkey.taiwantrade.com.tw/en/Content.aspx?ID=64
4. http://www.mechanicaldesignforum.com/content.php?86-Car-wheels
5. http://www.ehow.com/facts_7728321_car-wheel-rim-technology.html
6. http://ip.com/patfam/en/34957498
7. http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread/t-329599.html