China occupies a very important position in the world aluminum wheel industry. In terms of technology of passenger car aluminum wheels, domestic brands have been recognized by international high-end passenger car brands.

On November 3, 2014, "China Quality Miles" made an exclusive interview with Wang Xiaodong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Wheel Committee of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Wang Xiaodong said that China occupies a very important position in the world aluminum wheel industry. After more than 20 years of rapid development in the aluminum wheel industry in China, domestic manufacturers led by CITIC Dicastal have ranked first in the world in terms of production scale. In addition, in terms of the technology of passenger car aluminum wheels, domestic brands have been recognized by international high-end passenger car brands, and there are cases of successful matching.

The development status of China's aluminum wheel industry

With the rapid development of my country's automobile market and the continuous introduction of technology, the manufacture and application of aluminum alloy wheels have also developed rapidly. In 1988, my country's first aluminum alloy wheel enterprise, Dicastal Aluminum Wheel Manufacturing Co., Ltd., was established. Since then, aluminum alloy wheels have been rapidly promoted in my country.

Talking about the status quo of the development of China's aluminum wheel industry, Wang Xiaodong summed up a set of numbers "65431" based on the data in 2013: "6" means that China's aluminum wheel production capacity is equivalent to 60% of the world's annual production capacity; "5" means China's aluminum wheel production capacity. More than half of the wheels are exported; "4" means that the annual output of China's top four manufacturers (CITIC Dicastal, Lizhong, Liufeng, Wanfeng Auto) is close to 50% of the total output; "3" means the current aluminum wheels in China The industry has 3 state-level enterprise technology centers, 3 listed companies (Wanfeng Auto, Lizhong, Yueling), and 3 executive director units under the Automobile Industry Association; "1" means that China's aluminum wheels are used in all auto parts. Exit first.

Wang Xiaodong in the office

"At present, China's aluminum wheel industry is ahead of other domestic auto parts. Judging from the data of '65431', it can be concluded that China's aluminum wheel industry has the 'three things', that is, scale, technology, There is a brand. The healthy development of the industry is inseparable from the quality assurance system of the enterprise, which has promoted the progress of the entire industry.” Wang Xiaodong said.

Types of aluminum wheels

According to Wang Xiaodong, there are currently two main types of aluminum alloy wheels: 5° deep groove wheels, which are mainly used for passenger cars; and 15° deep groove wheels, which are mainly used for commercial vehicles.

In recent years, the state has issued guiding or mandatory industrial policies and regulations to promote the adjustment and upgrading of automobiles and related structures. For example, supporting the development of radial tires and restricting the expansion of the production scale of bias tires have created conditions for the promotion of tubeless wheels for commercial vehicles.

However, due to the serious overloading of domestic vehicles, some manufacturers take the method of thickening wheel materials in order to solve the damage caused by overloading of wheels, which is not conducive to the development and application of new materials and new processes in the wheel industry, and affects technological progress.

my country's aluminum wheel manufacturing technology

From the aspect of molding technology, low-pressure casting is the most widely used molding method at present, about 85%, and the equipment automation degree is relatively high, which is more suitable for OEM matching. Gravity casting has also been used to a certain extent, and has shifted from pure manual casting to robotic automatic casting. Casting and spinning process is the direction of development in recent years, and it is an effective means to achieve lightweight. At present, the application of forging and spinning technology is not common in domestic car wheels. It is mainly used in truck aluminum alloy wheels. At present, the domestic target market is not large.

From the perspective of heat treatment technology, the traditional well-type heat treatment furnace is transformed into a continuous roller frame heat treatment furnace. Continuous heat treatment furnaces are also available in frame type, single-layer stepping type, and single-layer continuous type. The advantages of the latter in terms of equipment temperature control, transmission cycle, etc. are very obvious. At the same time, many domestic wheel manufacturers have also begun to do some exploratory research on heat treatment technology, starting from the traditional single-stage T6 aging, and began to compare and analyze T4 heat treatment and T6 double-stage or multi-stage aging treatment, and began to use it within a certain range. .

From the point of view of machining technology, there is no big difference in the processing of aluminum alloy wheels at home and abroad. They are all processed by CNC lathes and machining centers. With the current tightening of domestic labor and rising labor costs, automation of production lines, Robot automatic operation and online detection have become one of the current choices, and a flexible automation line suitable for the characteristics of Chinese enterprises has gradually formed.

From the perspective of surface treatment technology, the surface treatment of domestic aluminum alloy wheels is basically divided into two types: spraying and electroplating. All-painted wheels are the main method. Electroplated wheels were first used in high-end cars in the North American market. Due to the continuous strengthening of environmental protection requirements, the proportion has gradually decreased. Chromium-free passivation and silane treatment are new technologies for energy conservation and environmental protection, and will be the future development direction, but their specific technologies are still plaguing wheel companies and are problems that need to be solved urgently. Other methods (such as surface coating, combination of electroplating and painting, two-color or even multi-color process, nanotechnology, etc.) are also widely used to improve the aesthetics of the wheel.

The development trend of China's aluminum wheel industry

The core of competition in the future wheel industry is lightweight and high-strength products. The development trend of the tire industry is radial, tubeless and flat, so the wheel industry is also required to adapt to the above development trends.

The application of magnesium alloys to cast wheels has been researched by domestic and foreign counterparts, but due to the defects of magnesium alloy wheels in casting and anti-corrosion, the use conditions are strict, and they have not been widely used. Despite this, the application prospects of magnesium alloys are still promising. At present, the amount of die-cast magnesium alloy products is larger than that of deformed products, but the wrought magnesium alloy products produced by forging, extrusion or rolling processes have higher strength and better ductility. , It has excellent properties that cannot be replaced by cast magnesium alloy products. The long-term goal determined by the International Magnesium Association (IMA) is to develop wrought magnesium alloys. Wrought magnesium alloys can be processed by rolling, extrusion, stamping, hot forging and superplastic forming. Therefore, the development of wrought magnesium alloys to produce wheels is one of the future development trends of the wheel industry.

In addition, the wheel manufacturing process is a process that consumes a lot of energy, such as the melting of aluminum alloys, heat treatment, welding of steel plates, and surface coating, which are all energy-intensive processes. The phenomenon of power cuts in many provinces and cities has already explained the problem, which has a great impact on the normal production of wheel products. Therefore, reducing the energy-consuming process and improving the existing process method is the direction of future research.

There are bottlenecks in the promotion of aluminum wheels

It is understood that compared with steel wheels, the advantages of aluminum wheels are very obvious. They have good stability at high speed and are better in terms of acceleration and heat dissipation. In addition, the aluminum wheels are light in weight, and the effect of fuel saving and consumption reduction is obvious. At present, the export ratio of domestic aluminum wheels is very high, and aluminum wheels still have shortcomings in commercial vehicle matching.

Wang Xiaodong said that there are indeed problems in the promotion of aluminum wheels in commercial vehicles. First of all, there is still a gap between the technical aspects of aluminum wheels for Chinese trucks and the international level, especially in terms of service life; secondly, the external conditions for the development of aluminum wheels are restricted. The high price of wheels has restricted its promotion in the domestic market.

When it comes to brand influence, Wang Xiaodong seems a little helpless. He feels that the future development prospects of aluminum wheels are mainly in the aftermarket, that is, the field of modified cars, but the public knows little about wheel brands. "I have been appealing in the industry, hoping that the manufacturer or brand can be marked in the obvious position of the wheel, hoping to help promote the brand."

However, Wang Xiaodong has a clear idea on the promotion of aluminum wheels in commercial vehicles: "Passenger cars can be the priority development area, followed by the front part of the tractor."

CAW certification system promotes the development of aluminum wheel industry

With the explosive growth of automobiles in China, the market for after-sales modification of aluminum wheels is promising.

The development of the aluminum wheel industry mainly depends on the development of the domestic second-hand car and modified car market. At present, from the data point of view, it is just around the corner for the sales of used cars to surpass the sales of new cars, and the development of the modified car market depends on the liberalization of policies and regulations.

Judging from the current market situation, the after-sale refitting market for aluminum wheels will grow by more than 10%, and stabilizing quality and reducing costs will be the keys to the aluminum wheel industry. In this regard, Wang Xiaodong believes that the aluminum wheel industry urgently needs an industry certification system like VIA certification.

However, due to the imperfect system of China's aftermarket modification market, the development of this industry is restricted to a certain extent.

In order to further standardize China's aluminum wheel aftermarket modification market and pave the way for the healthy development of the aluminum wheel industry, on June 28, 2014, the Aluminum Wheel Quality Association ("CAW") was established in Siyang, Jiangsu.

Regarding the original intention of the establishment of "CAW", Wang Xiaodong said: "We hope to replicate the mature foreign practices, regulate China's aluminum wheel after-sales modification market through CAW, and gradually establish and improve the aluminum wheel CAW certification system, thereby promoting the healthy development of the aluminum wheel industry."

Rely on leveraging to promote the sustainable development of the industry

Wang Xiaodong believes that in the face of current development problems and future development trends, China's aluminum wheel industry must rely on "leverage" if it wants to develop sustainably and healthily.

As for how to "leverage", Wang Xiaodong explained: "For example, with the help of CITIC Dicastal, the strength of relevant associations, the strength of suppliers, the strength of exhibition organizers, etc."

In addition, Wang Xiaodong said that in the future development of the industry, industry organizations will encourage enterprises to continue to adhere to the development principle of "stock adjustment" and "incremental adjustment" as a supplement to avoid low-level repetitive construction. Through market regulation, survival of the fittest, support key enterprises to expand their scale through mergers and reorganizations, improve industrial concentration, and avoid repeated investment as much as possible. Encourage the establishment of alliances or cooperative organizations among enterprises to avoid vicious competition. "China Quality Miles" December 2014 issue