The present disclosure relates to sheet metal components and particularly to reinforcement of sheet metal components.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Sheet metal components with a range of shapes, structural features and/or one or more visually aesthetic surfaces are used in the assembly of vehicles. And such sheet metal components can include reinforcements to provide enhanced structural rigidity and strength. However, designing and including reinforcements for sheet metal components can be cost and time prohibitive depending on the material and expected loading scenario of the sheet metal component.
The present disclosure addresses the issues of forming sheet metal components with reinforcements, among other issues related to forming sheet metal components.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In one form of the present disclosure a part includes a sheet metal component formed into a predefined shape and at least one additively manufactured reinforcement deposited on, metallurgically bonded to, and extending along a surface of the sheet metal component.
In some variations, the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is formed by directed energy deposition (DED).
In at least one variation, the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited on a piece of sheet metal before the piece of sheet metal is formed into the predefined shape. In another variation, the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited on the piece of sheet metal after the piece of sheet metal is formed into the predefined shape.
In some variations, the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited on an oil canning surface of the predefined shape.
In at least one variation, the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited proximal to an opening in the predefined shape.
In some variations, the piece of sheet metal and the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement are formed from a first material. In other variations, the piece of sheet metal is formed from a first material and the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is formed from a second material different than the first material. For example, in one variation the piece of sheet metal and the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement are formed from a steel alloy, while in another variation, the piece of sheet metal is formed from a first steel alloy and the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is formed from a second steel alloy different from the first steel alloy. Also, in some variations the piece of sheet metal is formed from a first aluminum alloy and the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is formed from a second aluminum alloy different from the first aluminum alloy.
In at least one variation, the piece of sheet metal has a visible sheet metal surface and an interior surface, and the additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited on the interior surface.
In some variations, the at least one additively manufactured reinforcement is a plurality of additively manufactured reinforcement ribs. And in such variations, the plurality of additively manufactured reinforcement ribs can be at least one of a plurality of additively manufactured reinforcement ribs extending parallel to each other and a plurality of additively manufactured reinforcement ribs forming a cross-hatch pattern.
In some variations a motor vehicle includes the part with the least one additively manufactured reinforcement.
In another form of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing a part includes forming a piece of sheet metal into a predefined shape, and additively manufacturing and metallurgically bonding at least one reinforcement onto the piece of sheet metal such that deformation of the predefined shape is inhibited.
In some variations, the at least one reinforcement is additively manufactured onto the piece of sheet metal after the piece of sheet metal is formed into the predefined shape, while in other variations the at least one reinforcement is additively manufactured onto the piece of sheet metal before the piece of sheet metal is formed into the predefined shape.
In still another form of the present disclosure, a part is formed by a method that includes forming a piece of sheet metal into a predefined shape, and additively manufacturing and metallurgically bonding at least one reinforcement onto the piece of sheet metal such that deformation of the predefined shape is inhibited.
In some variations, additively manufacturing the at least one reinforcement onto the piece of sheet metal includes at least one of additively manufacturing a reinforcement onto the piece of sheet metal before forming the piece of sheet metal into the predefined shape and additively manufacturing a reinforcement onto the piece of sheet metal after forming the piece of sheet metal into the predefined shape.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
The present disclosure provides sheet metal components with reinforcements and methods of forming sheet metal components with reinforcements that provide enhanced structural rigidity and strength. As used herein, the terms “reinforcement” or “reinforcements” refers to a member or members that provide structural rigidity and/or structural strength to the piece of sheet metal before and/or after it is formed into a sheet metal component with a predefined shape. The sheet metal components include a piece of sheet metal formed into a predefined shape and an additively manufactured reinforcement deposited on and metallurgically bonded to a surface of the sheet metal component. As used herein, the phrase “metallurgically bonded” refers to chemical bonding between a surface of the sheet metal component and an additively manufactured reinforcement deposited on the surface.
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In some variations, the sheet metal component 102 includes one or more stiffeners 116 to provide structural rigidity and/or strength to the sheet metal component 102. For example, stiffeners 116 can include ridges or corners formed in the sheet metal component 102 during stamping, rolling, bending, and/or drawing of the piece of sheet metal 100, and/or a bracket or stiffening member attached to the sheet metal component 102 by welding, riveting and/or use of an adhesive, among others. However, the use of and/or the quantity of stiffeners 116 may limited due to weight and aesthetic design parameters and the unreinforced area 112 can be susceptible to deformation, buckling or waviness (also known as “oil canning”) and the unreinforced area 112 is often referred as an “oil canning surface 112”). Accordingly, and as shown in
In some variations, the reinforcement 122 is in the form of a plurality of additively manufactured reinforcement ribs 123 (also referred to herein simply as “reinforcement ribs 123”) deposited on, metallurgically bonded to and extending along the interior surface 120 after the sheet metal component 100 is formed. That is, the reinforcement 122 is deposited onto and metallurgically bonded to the interior surface 120 after forming of the sheet metal component 100, e.g., via stamping, drawing, rolling, and/or bending of the piece of sheet metal 100. And while the reinforcement 122 shown in
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In some variations, the reinforcement 222 is in the form of a plurality of additively manufactured reinforcement ribs 223 (also referred to herein simply as “reinforcement ribs 223”) deposited on, metallurgically bonded to and extending along the interior surface 220 after the sheet metal component 202 is formed. That is, the reinforcement 222 is deposited onto and metallurgically bonded to the interior surface 220 after forming of the sheet metal component 202, e.g., via stamping, drawing, rolling, and/or bending of the piece of sheet metal 200. And while the reinforcement 222 shown in
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In some variations, the sheet metal panels and additively manufactured reinforcements disclosed herein are formed from metallic materials such as steels, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, among others. Non-limiting examples of steels used for forming the sheet metal component 100 include hot or cold rolled low carbon steels, High Strength Low Allow (HSLA) steels, Born steels, dual phase steels, Gen 3 steels, among others, and non-limiting examples of aluminum alloys used for forming the sheet metal component 100 include 5000, 6000, and 7000 series aluminum alloys such as 5052 and 6061 aluminum alloys, among others. Also, in some variations, the sheet metal panel is formed from a first material and the reinforcement is formed from the same first material. In other variations, the sheet metal panel is formed from a first material and the reinforcement is formed from a second material that is different from the first material.
It should be understood from the teachings of the present disclosure that enhanced flexibility in the design and manufacture of sheet metal components is provided. For example, in one form of the present disclosure, the sheet metal component has a visible surface, an interior surface, and the additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited on and metallurgically bonded to the interior surface after the piece of sheet metal is formed into a predefined shape. Accordingly, sheet metal components already designed and/or manufactured can have their structural rigidity and strength enhanced with “add-on” reinforcements. And such reinforcements inhibit deformation of areas or sections of the sheet metal components subject to oil canning and/or provide enhanced support for areas or sections of the sheet metal components where additional components such as speakers are to be secured. In another form of the present disclosure, the additively manufactured reinforcement is deposited on and metallurgically bonded to a surface of the piece of sheet metal before the piece of sheet metal is formed into a predefined shape. Accordingly, the additively manufactured reinforcements disclosed herein can be included in the design and manufacture of sheet metal components such that sheet metal panels include or have the additively manufactured reinforcements before being formed into a final shape.
Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical values indicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages, dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” in describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desired for various reasons including industrial practice, material, manufacturing, and assembly tolerances, and testing capability.
As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”
The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to execute one or more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.
The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.