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Description
The overall objective of the project is to develop a new, effective technology for the forming of magnesium alloy wheels for light vehicles from preforms cast in metal moulds.
The scientific objective of the project is to examine the influence of technological parameters of the process on its course and final quality of the product and to identify phenomena limiting the new process of forming of wheels made of magnesium alloys from preforms cast in metal moulds.
The main utilitarian aim of the project is to create the basis for industrial implementation and development of the technology of production of wheels made of magnesium alloys for light vehicles from preforms cast in metal moulds.
The end result of the project will be a new technology of forming magnesium alloy wheels for light vehicles from preform cast in metal moulds. The innovative technology developed under the project, compared to the methods of producing magnesium wheels currently used on the market, will be characterized by:
- lower material consumption, energy consumption, labour consumption and, consequently, lower production costs,
- greater efficiency resulting from a significant reduction in the number and time of operations needed to produce a ready forgings,
- higher quality of products associated with a more favourable structure (resulting from fragmentation and uniformity of the cast structure) and high smoothness of the surface compared to cast wheels, which will result in better strength and operational properties,
- eco-friendliness, which will result from the limitation of the share of machining, and thus a significant reduction in the amount of chips and coolants used in machining The use of the technology of forging wheels from a cast forging, matched to the shape of the forging, will also significantly reduce the amount of technological waste.
Summary of project results
The justification for undertaking the topic of the project is the global trend of increasing demand for lightweight structures consisting of parts manufactured from magnesium alloys. Magnesium alloys classified as lightweight metals are a group of forward-looking structural materials. Their low density and good mechanical properties have led to a strong industrial interest in manufacturing products from these materials. The continuous reduction of structural weight has been one of the main production priorities in various fields of industry in recent years. Accordingly, magnesium alloy components are increasingly used in mechanical engineering.
The realization of the ForMag project made it possible to develop a new, efficient technology for the plastic forming of magnesium alloy wheels for light vehicles from pre-cast forgings into metal molds. The project included the realization of experimental and theoretical studies of the parameters of the process of forging cast magnesium alloys into metal molds and the preliminary development of a new technology for forming wheel forgings from die-cast precast forgings. Thanks to this, the deformation capacity of the magnesium alloys selected for the study cast into metal molds under varying process parameters and Significant technological parameters of the forging process of magnesium alloys cast into metal molds and limiting phenomena were identified. Subsequently, multi-variant numerical simulations of the new magnesium alloy wheel forming process were manufactured. As a result, a process for casting magnesium alloy wheel preforms in metal molds was developed, and a technology for forging a magnesium alloy wheel forging from preforms cast in a metal mold was developed, and then a guideline for designing the technology and tools for forging a selected vehicle wheel from magnesium alloy preforms was developed. This was followed by experimental testing under laboratory and industrial conditions of the new magnesium wheel forging technology. The final stage of the project''s work was manufactured technical and economic analysis and final technology development. This resulted in the development of final guidelines for the design of magnesium alloy wheel forging technology from cast preforms into metal molds for light vehicles, and the development of a comparison of the developed new magnesium alloy wheel forging technology with previously used methods.
As a result of the realization of the project, new technologies of plastic forming of magnesium alloy wheels for light vehicles from preforms cast into metal molds have been developed, as well as new products in the form of wheels produced by the new technology. The industrial application of Mg alloy wheels produced according to the assumptions of the new technology will enable lower production costs of magnesium alloy wheels, higher efficiency of the technological process, better quality of products, and environmental friendliness. One of the customers for magnesium parts is primarily the automotive industry, where a reduction in the weight of structures can be directly translated into an improvement in the dynamics of means of transportation. Among the applications of magnesium alloys in means of transportation are all kinds of vehicle wheels, including those of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, carts, etc. Therefore, it was concluded that the realization of the project was an important and profitable undertaking from the economic and ecological point of view of the adopted assumptions of the technology and the actual demand of the industry for parts for vehicles made of magnesium-based light alloys produced from forgings, which are currently a product of low profitability with the technology used so far for their production.