Development of Tooling for a Light Weight Steel Kühl Wheel 2001-01-0750

Kühl Wheels utilize a system of offset, sheet steel spokes to form the structure between hub and rim. This allows a wheel with adequate strength to sustain radial, cornering and torque loads while providing weight as well as styling advantages. Initial development of welded prototype wheels is described, including laboratory and field test results. The development of a single piece, steel, stamped wheel center based on the early prototypes is described. Critical aspects of the design are shown and geometric requirements are discussed. Wheel model analyses carried out by finite element methods are presented. Development of tooling and ultimately stamped prototypes is discussed and shown. Finally, test results from wheels assembled from the stamped wheel centers are presented and compared with the analytical predictions.