Patent Application
20110290602
The field to which the disclosure generally relates includes ways to join components of different materials, and ways to join components that are cast-in-place.
Some components have separate and distinct portions of different materials that are joined together. The separate portions may be joined by a cast-in-place process in which one portion is cast over another portion to form a joint thereat.
One embodiment may include a product which itself may include a first component and a second component. The first component may comprise a first material and may have a flange. The flange may extend away from a body of the first component and may have a groove located in an upper surface, a lower surface, or both the upper and lower surfaces of the flange. The second component may comprise a second material that may be different than the first material. The second component may have a portion located over a part or more of the flange and over the groove in order to form an interconnection between the first and second components.
One embodiment may include a product which itself may include a brake rotor. The brake rotor may include a cheek and a hub. The cheek may comprise a first material and may have a first annular flange. The first annular flange may extend away from a body of the cheek and may extend radially inwardly toward an axis of rotation of the brake rotor. The first annular flange may have a groove located in an upper surface, in a lower surface, or in both the upper and lower surfaces of the first annular flange. The groove may extend around a part or more of a circumference of the first annular flange. The hub may comprise a second material that may be different than the first material. The hub may have a second annular flange that may be cast-in-place over a part or more of the first annular flange and over the groove in order to form an interconnection between the cheek and the hub.
One embodiment may include a method of making a product. The method may include providing a cheek of a brake rotor. The cheek may be comprised of a first material and may have a first annular flange. The first annular flange may extend away from a body of the cheek and may extend radially inwardly toward an axis of rotation of the brake rotor. A first annular flange may have multiple alternating projections and recesses extending circumferentially around the first annular flange. Some or more of the projections may have a groove located in an upper surface, a lower surface, or both the upper and lower surfaces of the projection. The method may also include placing the cheek in a first molding machine half. The method may further include bringing the first molding machine half and a second molding machine half together. The first and second molding machine halves may form a cavity constructed and arranged in the shape of a hub of a brake rotor. And the method may include filling the cavity with a molten second material that may be different than the first material. When solidified, the second material may form the hub of the brake rotor. The hub may have a second annular flange solidified over a part or more of the first annular flange and over the grooves in order to form an interconnection between the cheek and the hub.
Other embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while disclosing illustrative embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the embodiment(s) is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
The figures illustrate a component assembly, such as an automotive component like a brake rotor 10, that may be made in part by a cast-in-place process in which a first component of a first material is cast-over by a second component of a second material. The first and second components are joined at an interconnection that, in one or more embodiments, may be designed and constructed to provide a close fit between the first and second component which may constrain thermal expansion and contraction which can occur during use with fluctuations in temperature, while maintaining an effective mechanical joint at the interconnection. The interconnection described herein may be suitable for use with other automotive components including, but not limited to, a pulley assembly for an automotive accessory drive system, a brake drum, and a transmission gear.
Furthermore, as used herein, the terms axially, radially, and circumferentially refer to directions with respect to the generally circular and cylindrical shape of the brake rotor 10, so that the radial direction extends generally along any one of the imaginary radii of the shape, the axial direction is generally parallel to a center axis of the shape, and the circumferential direction extends generally along any one of the imaginary circumferences of the shape.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the cheek 14 and the hub 16 may be made out of different materials to, among other things, reduce weight in the brake rotor 10. For example, the cheek 14 may be made out of a cast iron such as grey iron or steel, and the hub 16 may be made out of aluminum such as aluminum alloy 356 or magnesium such as a magnesium alloy. The cheek 14 and the hub 16 may be mechanically joined together by an interconnection 26 (best seen in
The first flange 28 may extend from, and may be unitary with, a body 32 of the cheek 14. The first flange 28 may have a generally annular shape and may extend around an inner imaginary circumference of the cheek 14. The first flange 28 may be located at a radially inboard side of the cheek 14, and may protrude radially inwardly toward an axis of rotation R of the brake rotor 10. The first flange 28 may be located axially at the first cheek face 18 as shown, oppositely at the second cheek face 20 (not shown), or axially anywhere therebetween. The first flange 28 has an upper surface 34 which may be in the same plane as the first cheek face 18, and has a lower surface 36 which may be parallel to the upper surface. The first flange 28 may have the same axial thickness at its proximal end as at its distal or free end.
The first flange 28 may have multiple alternating projections 38 and recesses 40 located circumferentially therearound, and formed in part by a sinusoidal edge 42. The projections 38 are spaced apart from one another by the recesses 40, and likewise the recesses are spaced apart from one another by the projections. When viewed via a top view such as that shown in
Referring to
Referring to
One embodiment may include a method of making the brake rotor 10 may include several steps including a so-called cast-in-place process whereby the second flange 30 is cast-around the first flange 28. For example, the cheek 14 may be initially made by a casting process, a machining process, a forging process, a combination thereof, or another suitable metalworking process. The first flange 28, or select portions thereof, may be coated with a ceramic spray or other suitable material and/or process in order to help prevent a metallurgical bonding between the materials of the first flange and those of the second flange 30; this coating may also be used to control the thickness of a gap (subsequently discussed) that may develop at an interface of the first and second flanges. The cheek 14 may then be placed, manually or automatically, in a first cavity of a first molding machine half. The first cavity may resemble the shape of the cheek 14 and may also resemble the shape of a portion or more of the hub 16. In an example where cast iron is used as the material for the cheek 14, the cheek and the first cavity may be maintained at a temperature of about 850° F., or at another suitable temperature. Once placed in the first cavity, the first molding machine half and an opposing second molding machine half may be brought together under pressure and may be sealed to form a second cavity that may resemble the shape of the hub 16. The second cavity may then be filled, such as by an injection process, with a molten material such as a molten aluminum or a molten magnesium alloy. Upon cooling and solidification, the second flange 30 may envelope the first flange 28 and may envelope the first and second grooves 54, 56 in order to form the interconnection 26. The cheek 14 and the hub 16 are then thus mechanically joined so that the components do not substantially move or rotate relative to each other.
Furthermore, upon complete solidification, a first finger 68 extends into and is received in the first groove 54, and a second finger 70 is inserted into and received in the second groove 56. A slight gap 72 may be formed at the interconnection 26 as a result of the different temperatures of the different materials during formation and subsequent cooling. The gap 72 may develop at the interface of the first and second flanges 28, 30, and between the opposing and confronting surfaces of the first and second flanges. The gap 72 may not necessarily be present throughout the entire interface of the first and second flanges 28, 30. Furthermore, upon complete solidification, the material of the second flange 30 may undergo local shrinkage at the interface of the first and second flanges 28, 30. In some cases, this shrinkage could squeeze the first flange 28 and help maintain an effective mechanical joint between the cheek 14 and the hub 16 at the interface. For example, referring to
The particular construction and arrangement of the first and second flanges 28, 30—including the dimensions, locations, shapes, or a combination thereof—may individually or collectively provided a close fit at the interconnection 26 that locks the cheek 14 and the hub 16 together for maintaining an effective mechanical joint at the interconnection. The close fit may be maintained even during thermal expansion, contraction, or both at the interconnection 26. The close fit may facilitate heat transfer between the cheek 14 and the hub 16.
In different embodiments, the brake rotor 10 and the interconnection 26 may have different constructions and arrangements than shown and described. For example, the first flange may not be formed with the projections and recesses; the interconnection could only include the first grooves or could only include the second grooves; the first grooves may not be located on all of the projections, the second grooves may not be located on all of the projections, or a combination thereof; and the first and second grooves need not necessarily be aligned with an imaginary circumference of the brake rotor.
The above description of embodiments of the invention is merely illustrative in nature and, thus, variations thereof are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
