A New Concept for Lighter Steel Wheels

Usually, wheels dimension are based on fatigue or impact loading and thus lead to one steel grade and one thickness. The use of tailored Laser blanks permits wheel weight to be reduced considerably. Rims can be divided into different areas subject to different in-service stresses. The new rim blank is composed of two or more strips of different steels and thickness', welded together and formed conventionally. Discs can be divided into concentric laser welded elements which correspond to the iso-risk fatigue zones. Prototypes have been tested successfully. Weight savings of up to 40 % have been achieved.