Wheel Hub

The development of wheel hub

The largest number of wheel hub bearings for cars used in the past was the use of single row tapered roller or ball bearings in pairs. With the development of technology, car wheel hub units have been widely used in cars. The range of use and usage of wheel hub bearing units has grown to the third generation: the first generation consisted of double row angular contact bearings, the second generation has a flange for fixing the bearing on the outer raceway, which can be simply fixed to the axle by a nut, making the maintenance of the car easier, and the third-generation wheel hub bearing unit is matched with a bearing unit and an anti-brake brake system, which the hub unit is designed with an inner flange and an outer flange. The inner flange is bolted to the drive shaft, and the outer flange mounts the entire bearing together.

The type of wheel hub

The hub is also called a rim. According to the characteristics and requirements of different models, the surface treatment process of the wheel hub will also adopt different methods, which can be roughly divided into baking varnish and electroplating. The wheel hub of the ordinary model is considered less in appearance, and the heat dissipation is a basic requirement. The process is basically painted with baking paint, that is, first sprayed and then baked, which making the cost relatively economical and the color is beautiful and the time is long. Even if the vehicle is scrapped, the color of the hub remains the same. Many Volkswagen models have a surface finish that is painted while some fashion-forward, sporty color wheels use paint technology. These wheels are affordable and come complete. Electroplated wheels are also divided into electroplated silver, water plating and pure plating. Although the electroplated silver and water electroplating wheels are bright and vivid, they are kept for a short time, so the price is relatively cheap, which is favored by many young people who are pursuing freshness. The market price is between RMB300 and RMB500. Purely plated wheels, color retention time is long, which can be said to be high quality and high price. Most high-end cars use purely plated wheels, and the price is about RMB800-900.

The manufacturing method of wheel hub

There are three manufacturing methods for aluminum alloy wheel hubs: gravity casting, forging, and low-pressure precision casting.
1. Gravity Casting Method: The aluminum alloy solution is poured into the mold by gravity, and after forming, it is processed by grinding on a la
the to complete the production. The manufacturing process which is relatively simple, does not require a precise casting process, having low cost and high production efficiency, but it is easy to generate bubbles (sand eyes), uneven density, and insufficient surface smoothness. Geely has a considerable number of models used in this way to produce the wheels, mainly in the early production models while the new models have been replaced with new wheel hubs.

2. Forging method: The whole piece of aluminum ingot is directly extruded on the mold by a thousand tons of press. The advantage is uniform density, smooth and fine surface, thin and light body of the hub, and the highest material strength, which is more than 30% higher than the casting method, but due to the need for better production equipment, and the yield is only fifty to sixty percent, the manufacturing cost is high.

3. Low-pressure precision casting method: Precision casting at a low pressure of 0.1Mpa, which has good formability, clear contour, uniform density and smooth surface. It can achieve high strength, light weight and cost control, and the yield is over 90%, which is the mainstream manufacturing method for high quality aluminum alloy wheel hubs.