Talk:Steel wheel

Potential source material?
This material is public domain. Source The United States International Trade Commission defined steel wheels in 1988 for their purposes as follows: The steel wheels and parts thereof subject to these investigations are w Wheels made of steel in wheel diameter sizes ranging between 13 inches and 16.5 inches, inclusive. These wheels consist of a steel center (also referred to as a "disc" or "spider") and a steel rim that are welded or riveted together to form a single unit. The steel disc component centers the rim about the axle. Once assembled into a wheel, the steel center and rim are inseparable.

The subject products are for use with both tube-type and tubeless-type tires, and are used on passenger automobiles, light-to-heavy duty pickup trucks, vans, step vans, and similar vehicles collectively referred to in the industry as "light trucks" ( up to 14,000 pounds) (GVW classification Nos. 1, 2, and 3) 1/ and are capable of use on other vehicles such as mobile homes, trailers, and farm equipment.

Steel wheel production occurs in three stages: (1) center or disc production; (2) rim production; and (3) assembly and finishing.
 * Manufacturing process

is produced from a hot-rolled steel sheet or strip, usually grade SAE 1010 to 1015 low-carbon, high-strength low alloy, or a similar grade. Centers are stamped, which involves the cold forming of a round or nearly round blank to shape the basic contour of the wheel center. The centers then undergo stamping processes that produce the final configuration and are punched to form the vent, stud, and center holes. The discs are stamped with the manufacturer's identification code, part identification number, and date of manufacture. The centers are then washed, inspected, and stored.
 * The center or disc

begins on a separate production line with coiled low carbon, hot-rolled steel in the form of either in-house slit-to-width coils or master coils that have been slit to width and recoiled prior to delivery. The coil is processed through a series of rollers where it is flattened and cut to length, and the edges are conditioned. The strip is then stamped for identification, rollformed to rim shape, and welded into a hoop. The hoop is subjected to a series of intermediate steps: weld trim, edge trim, and planishing (smoothing). The rim is then finished by passing it through a series of press-and-roll formers, which flare and contour the rim and impart final configuration. The rims are washed before final assembly.
 * Rim production

are performed on a third separate line. The center and wheel are pressure fitted together, the valve-stem hole is punched, and the two pieces are permanently joined to form a wheel either by welding or riveting. Welding is the predominant method of joining the wheel. The wheels are then inspected and washed. Finally, the wheel is dipped into an electrolytically charged paint, spray painted on the front face if requested by the customer, and cured. If intended for the original-equipment customer, the wheels are packed on returnable metal racks for shipment. If shipped to distributors, the wheels are stacked horizontally and spun-wrapped on wooden pallets.
 * Assembly and finishing

The Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association of the United States, Inc., classifies trucks by gross vehicle weight as follows: Eddaido (talk) 09:11, 5 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Class 1 — 6,000 pounds and less,
 * Class 2 — 6,001 to 10,000 pounds,
 * Class 3 — 10,001 to 14,000 pounds.

Some more sources

 * Automotive Steel Wheels at www.autosteel.org
 * This brief item by a group of steel suppliers divides wheels by the material they are made of:
 * Wood
 * Steel (casting, sheet, wire)
 * Aluminium (casting, forging or sheet)
 * Magnesium
 * Composites (FRP)
 * Combinations of the above
 * It describes 1935—1980s as the age of the steel wheel
 * It provides a graph showing how in the period 1980 to 2003 aluminum wheels took the major share of the (US?) market but did not extinguish steel wheels


 * Association of European Wheel Manufacturers site
 * This item divides wheels into Car steel wheels and Car alloy wheels. It describes production methods in detail and divides car light alloy wheels into the following methods of manufacture:
 * Forging
 * High pressure die casting
 * Low pressure die casting
 * Gravity casting (for magnesium wheels in use since the early 1920s) cheap tooling allows low production runs


 * Pressed Steel Wheels for Pleasure Cars SAE 1915
 * This item from 105 years ago describes 3 types of pressed steel wheel then being made in England
 * the complete wheel is formed in halves and the two halves welded together
 * the felloe and spokes are formed in halves and the rim secured separately
 * (as with the early American wheel) each steel spoke is formed in halves and welded together, the spokes are then welded to the rim, two pressed steels side plates are applied to form a web between the spokes at the hub
 * it is noted the best known German wheel is made in halves and welded at the centre line, a socket is welded to the end of each spoke and then a rim pressed on then welded or riveted.
 * Twelve pages follow, of detailed descriptions of manufacture and testing of American wheels.
 * Cheers, Eddaido (talk) 12:33, 7 July 2020 (UTC)


 * Global Automotive Wheel Industry at Globe Newswire
 * Global and China Automotive Wheel Market 2018-2023 from PR Newswire
 * Hot Rod article about building steel wheels (background)
 * Tyre Size Calculator (background articles under "Wheels" tab) it speaks of petrolheads
 * Other wheel articles
 * Wheel is all about Etruscan chariots and spokes and pre-Columbian toys and aircraft undercarriages and "the wheel's importance to technology in general" but it does try to provide a portal to the subject
 * Alloy wheel is about wheels made of alloys of aluminum or magnesium
 * Composite wheel should we have an article? ***
 * Steel wheel should we have an article? ***
 * Wire wheel (obs.?)
 * Tire
 * Rim (wheel) says its about the outer edge of a wheel holding a tire
 * Wheelbuilding It says its about assembling wire (generally bicycle) wheels (see Wheel construction)
 * Bicycle wheel says its about wheels for bicycles most commonly wire wheels
 * Motorcycle wheel says they are made to cope with radial and axial forces
 * Artillery wheel (obs.) is unable to define a mid 20th century wheel of its particular kind
 * Wheel construction It says its about the construction of non-wire wheels (and adds) of cars and heavier vehicles (see Wheelbuilding)
 * Old stuff
 * Wheelwright is about "wheelwrighting today" and has a link to Wheelbuilding
 * Wagon wheel is redirected to Wagons ! *** should we have an article? ***
 * Carriage wheel should we have an article? ***
 * Wooden wheel should we have an article? ***
 * Artillery wheel
 * Rail
 * Railway tire says its about steel wheels for steam locomotives and other old rolling stock
 * Wheelset (rail transport) talks about train wheels at some length
 * Train wheel says its about a wheel for use on railway tracks
 * Navigating
 * Steering wheel
 * Ship's wheel or helm
 * Mare's nest maybe snares and delusions? I digress . ..
 * Cheers, Eddaido (talk) 13:22, 8 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Links
 * Steel - Rolling (metalworking) - Stamping (metalworking) - Deutsches Institut für Normung - SAE International

Timeline (?)

 * 40,000 BCE Neanderthal rolls down mountain, gets idea for wheel, rolls off cliff and the idea goes with him.
 * 1908? Sankey
 * 1924 Chevrolet automobiles ?
 * 1925 Chevrolet automobiles !
 * 1926-1927 Ford T steel spokes (only?)
 * 1934 Kelsey-Hays drop center
 * 1934 Dodge automobiles
 * 1935 Ford automobiles
 * 1936 Chevrolet automobiles "Artillery wheels"
 * 1960s Safety bead becomes widespread.
 * 1960s? Hubcaps evolve into wheel covers?
 * 1999 Alloy outsells steel (not clear if US or world) Sammy D III (talk) 20:18, 7 July 2020 (UTC)