Cradle assembly

A method for manufacturing a cradle assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising:

• forming a pair of side frame members, a front cross frame member, and a rear cross frame member, said front cross frame member, said rear cross frame member, and said side frame members being formed from metallic tubular blanks in a hydroforming process in which each blank is formed by
• placing the metallic tubular blank into a cavity of a die mold, said die mold having an interior surface defining a shape of the cavity;
• and
• providing a fluid internally to the metallic tubular blank with sufficient pressure so as to expand the metallic tubular blank outwardly so that an exterior surface thereof is moved into peripheral surface engagement with the interior surface of the die mold to substantially conform the metallic tubular blank to the shape of the cavity, and so that the formed frame member has a peripheral configuration modified with respect to an original peripheral configuration of the associated tubular metal blank,
• said side frame members having an amount of metal per unit length varied during the hydroforming process so that at least one longitudinal portion thereof has i) a transverse cross-section defined by the modified peripheral configuration increased by more than 5% of an original cross-section, ii) a wall thickness of the modified peripheral configuration within .+-.10% of an original wall thickness, and iii) the amount of metal per unit length greater than that of at least some other portions thereof;
• securing a suspension mount to each of the side frame members at said at least one longitudinal portion thereof having the transverse cross-section increased by more than 5% of the original cross-section and said wall thickness within .+-.10% of the original wall thickness;
• and
• connecting the front cross frame member with forward ends of said side frame members, and the rear cross frame member with rearward ends of said side frame members.

A cradle assembly for a motor vehicle comprising:

• a pair of spaced side frame members having front and rear ends;
• a front cross frame member extending between the front ends of said side frame members;
• and
• a rear cross frame member extending between the rear ends of said side frame members;
• said rear cross frame member and said side frame members each having a substantially rectangular transverse cross-section defined by a pair of spaced generally horizontal walls and a pair of spaced generally vertical walls, each of said walls including an interior and exterior surface;
• said rear cross frame member having fastener receiving sleeve members at opposite ends thereof extending through one of said spaced horizontal walls thereof and engaging the interior surface of the other of said spaced horizontal walls thereof, and said side frame members each having fastener receiving sleeve members at said rear ends thereof extending through one of said spaced horizontal walls thereof and engaging the interior surface of the other of said spaced horizontal walls thereof, said fastener receiving sleeve members at said opposite ends of the rear cross frame member being aligned with respective fastener sleeve members at the rear ends of said side frame members;
• fasteners each extending through the respective aligned fastener receiving sleeve members at said opposite ends of said rear cross frame member and said rear ends of the side frame members, said fasteners being constructed and arranged to fasten the opposite ends of said rear cross frame member with the respective rear ends of the side frame members,
• said rear cross frame member having the exterior surface of said other of said horizontal walls thereof disposed in surface-to-surface engagement at said opposite ends thereof with the exterior surface of said other of said horizontal walls of said respective rear ends of said side frame members.