A Study on the Manufacture of Lower Control Arm by Casting/Forging Process

주조/단조 기술을 이용한 알루미늄 Lower Control Arm 제조에 관한 연구

In this study, casting/forging process was used to produce an aluminum lower control arm for automobiles. Firstly, casting experiments were carried out to get an enhanced preform for forging the lower control arm. In the casting experiment, the effect of an additive, Sr, on the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and elongation and the microstructure of a cast preform were investigated. And a finite element analysis was peformed to determine an optimal configuration of the cast preform. Lastly, a forging experiment was carried out to make the final product of aluminum lower control arm by using the above cast preform. In the casting experiments, when 0.025% Sr was added into molten A356, the maximum values of tensile strength and elongation of the cast preform were obtained. In the forging experiment, It was confirmed that the optimal configuration of a cast preform predicted by FE analysis was very useful. The cast/forged product using designed preform was made without any defects.