Joining and forming of tubular members
AssigneeGeneral Motors Corporation
InventorsChih-Chang Chen, Chi-Mou Ni, Peter A. Tropper, Daniel C. Hutchinson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is for a method of lap joining two tubular members and then hydroforming the tubular assembly. An insert end of the first tubular member is inserted into a receiver end of the second tubular member to form a lap joint. A filler metal ring is placed about the outer periphery of the insert end so that it is adjacent the opening of the receiver end of the second tubular member. Heat is applied to braze or solder the lap joint, forming a tubular assembly. The tubular assembly is then hydroformed during which time a supplementary mechanical lock may be formed in the lap joint.
Claims10
A method of forming a lap joint between an insert end of a first sheet metal tubular member and a receiver end of a second sheet metal tubular member, said method comprising:
- inserting the insert end of the first tubular member into an opening in the receiver end of the second tubular member and having an annular gap therebetween;
- positioning a filler metal ring about the outer periphery of the insert end, adjacent the opening of the receiver end of the second tubular member;
- brazing the lap joint to form a tubular assembly;
- hydroforming the tubular assembly after the brazing step wherein the hydroforming step includes:
- forming a supplementary mechanical lock in the lap joint by action of the hydroforming step.
A method of forming a lap joint between an insert end of a first sheet metal tubular member and a receiver end of a second sheet metal tubular member, said method comprising:
- inserting the insert end of the first tubular member into an opening in the receiver end of the second tubular member and having an annular gap therebetween;
- positioning a filler metal ring about the outer periphery of the insert end, adjacent the opening of the receiver end of the second tubular member;
- soldering the lap joint to form a tubular assembly;
- hydroforming the tubular assembly after the soldering step wherein the hydroforming step includes:
- forming a supplementary mechanical lock in the lap joint by action of the hydroforming step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.