Method of manufacturing a blended material including aluminum alloys for structural high pressure vacuum die casting applications

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a vehicle part formed at least in part of a blended material is provided. The blended material is formed by mixing an improved aluminum alloy and a recycled aluminum alloy. The recycled aluminum alloy can be obtained from road wheels. The blended alloy preferable meets the Aural series alloy specifications. The blended material can be cast under high pressure and a vacuum to form a part designed for use in a chassis or structural body of a vehicle, for example a front subframe, a front shock tower, a rear rail, a front kick-down rail, a front body hinge pillar, a tunnel, a front body hinge pillar, or a rear shock mount.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing a part for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
 mixing a recycled aluminum alloy with an improved aluminum alloy to form a blended material;   the improved aluminum alloy comprising, in weight percent (wt. %) based on the total weight of the improved aluminum alloy, 7.4 wt. % to 7.9 wt. % silicon, up to 0.01 wt. % copper, 0.16 wt. % to 0.2 wt. % iron, up to 0.1 wt. % magnesium, up to 0.03 wt. % zinc, 0.92 wt. % to 1.0 wt. % manganese; nickel, chromium and tin in a total amount up to 0.15 wt. %; other elements each in an amount up to 0.03 wt. %, the other elements in a total amount up to 0.1 wt. %, up to 0.06 wt. % titanium, and 0.03 wt. % to 0.04 wt. % strontium;   the blended material comprising, in weight percent (wt. %) based on the total weight of the blended material, 6.0 to 8.0 wt. % silicon, up to 0.25 wt. % iron, 0.40 to 0.60 wt. % manganese, 0.1 to 0.60 wt. % magnesium, 0.01 to 0.03 wt. % strontium, and up to 0.15 wt. % titanium, and a balance of aluminum; and   casting the blended material to form the part.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the part has an ultimate tensile strength of greater than 180, a yield strength of greater than 120, and an elongation of greater than 5%. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the casting step includes injecting the blended material into a cavity of a die at a velocity ranging from 90 to 200 feet per second and at a pressure of 5 to 15 ksi. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the part is designed for a chassis or structural body of a vehicle. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the part is a front subframe, a front shock tower, a rear rail, a front kick-down rail, a front body hinge pillar, a tunnel, a front body hinge pillar, or a rear shock mount. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the recycled aluminum alloy comprises, in wt. % based on the total weight of the recycled aluminum alloy, 6.5 wt. % to 7.5 wt. % silicon, up to 0.25 wt. % iron, up to 0.2 wt. % copper, up to 0.1 wt. % manganese, 0.25 wt. % to 0.45 wt. % magnesium, up to 0.1 wt. % zinc, up to 0.2 wt. % titanium, other elements in an amount up to 0.15 wt. %, and a balance of aluminum. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  including recycling a first aluminum alloy to obtain the recycled aluminum alloy. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the improved aluminum alloy has a sludge factor of 1.8, and wherein the sludge factor is equal to (1×Fe wt. %)+(2×Mn wt. %)+(3×Cr wt. %). 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the improved aluminum alloy consists of, in weight percent (wt. %) based on the total weight of the improved aluminum alloy, 7.4 wt. % to 7.9 wt. % silicon, up to 0.01 wt. % copper, 0.16 wt. % to 0.2 wt. % iron, up to 0.1 wt. % magnesium, up to 0.03 wt. % zinc, 0.92 wt. % to 1.0 wt. % manganese; nickel, chromium and tin in a total amount up to 0.15 wt. %; other elements each in an amount up to 0.03 wt. %, the other elements in a total amount up to 0.1 wt. %, up to 0.06 wt. % titanium, and 0.03 wt. % to 0.04 wt. % strontium.