Fabricated vehicle wheel, wheel rim for use in such a vehicle wheel and method for producing same

A method for producing a fabricated wheel rim adapted for use in a fabricated vehicle wheel comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a wheel rim blank formed from a suitable material, the wheel rim blank being in the shape of a generally cylindrical hoop;
• (b) providing a first tooling fixture for subjecting the wheel rim blank to a preforming operation wherein the cylindrical shape is reshaped to include a plurality of differently shaped portions and produce a wheel rim preform;
• (c) providing a second tooling fixture defining a sealed internal chamber and having a split outer tooling member having a predetermined inner surface contour, the sealed internal chamber in fluid communication with a source of high pressure hydraulic fluid;
• (d) positioning the wheel rim preform in the sealed internal chamber of the second tooling fixture with an outer surface of the wheel rim preform adjacent the predetermined inner surface contour of the split outer tooling member;
• (e) supplying the high pressure hydraulic fluid to the sealed internal chamber of the second tooling fixture whereby the high pressure hydraulic fluid acts upon an inner surface of the wheel rim preform such that the wheel rim preform is pressed against the adjacent predetermined inner surface contour of the split outer tooling member so as to produce a finished wheel rim having a contour which matches that of the predetermined inner surface contour of the split outer tooling member;
• and
• (f) removing the finished wheel rim from the second tooling fixture for subsequent securing to a wheel disc to produce the fabricated vehicle wheel.

A method for producing a fabricated vehicle wheel comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a wheel rim blank formed from a suitable material selected from the group consisting of steel, aluminum, magnesium, or titanium, the wheel rim blank being in the shape of a generally cylindrical hoop;
• (b) providing a first tooling fixture for subjecting the wheel rim blank to a preforming operation wherein the cylindrical shape is reshaped to include a plurality of differently shaped portions and produce a wheel rim preform, the wheel rim preform including at least a pair of opposed angled end portions;
• (c) providing a second tooling fixture defining a sealed internal chamber and having a split outer tooling member having a predetermined inner surface contour, the sealed internal chamber in fluid communication with a source of high pressure hydraulic fluid;
• (d) positioning the wheel rim preform in the sealed internal chamber of the second tooling fixture with an outer surface of the wheel rim preform adjacent the predetermined inner surface contour of the split outer tooling member and with the second tooling fixture capturing the opposed angled end portions of the wheel rim preform;
• (e) supplying the high pressure hydraulic fluid to the sealed internal chamber of the second tooling fixture whereby the high pressure hydraulic fluid acts upon an inner surface of the wheel rim preform such that the wheel rim preform is pressed against the adjacent predetermined inner surface contour of the split outer tooling member so as to produce a wheel rim having a contour which matches that of the predetermined inner surface contour of the split outer tooling member;
• (f) removing the wheel rim from the second tooling fixture;
• and
• (g) securing the wheel rim to a wheel disc to produce the fabricated vehicle wheel.