Embossed Vehicle Decoration Plate Manufacturing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for producing vehicle decorative panels are inefficient and prone to material waste, contamination, and quality fluctuations due to the need for separate application and processing of surface materials, which can lead to unwanted folds and increased production time.

Innovation Solution

A method involving a three-dimensionally profiled embossing tool that integrates the surface material directly onto a blank during the embossing process, using materials with pore volume that can be compacted to create a clean, chip-free decorative panel with a realistic textile-like surface without additional work steps or drying times.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If surface material is applied separately to the blank before embossing, then the surface material can be securely attached, but additional work steps and drying time are required

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveattachment reliabilityVSAvoidproduction time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines the surface material application step with the embossing step into a single integrated process. The surface material is placed on the blank, and the embossing tool simultaneously applies pressure to both emboss the blank and secure the surface material through the pore volume compaction mechanism, eliminating the need for separate application and drying steps

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The surface material is preliminarily positioned on the blank before the embossing process begins. The embossing tool then performs the dual function of creating the three-dimensional profile and securing the surface material through compaction, leveraging the preliminary positioning to achieve reliable attachment without additional time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If milling processes are used to create the three-dimensional surface, then precise shaping is achieved, but material is removed creating chips and contamination

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface shaping precisionVSAvoidchip contamination
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the fundamental parameter of material removal to material compaction. Instead of removing material through milling, the embossing tool compacts the porous blank material into the desired three-dimensional shape, completely eliminating chip generation while maintaining precise surface shaping

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The invention utilizes the pore volume of the blank material as a key resource. By compacting the porous material during embossing, the process achieves precise shaping without material removal, transforming the pore volume from a structural characteristic into a mechanism for contamination-free forming

Inventive Principle:
Principle #31Porous materials

3Adaptability or versatility

If textile covering with stretchable fibers is used, then adaptation to profiling is improved, but the production process becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurface material adaptationVSAvoidproduction process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The embossing tool and process are designed to automatically adapt the surface material to the three-dimensional profile through the compaction mechanism. The pore volume compaction naturally causes the surface material to conform to the embossed shape without requiring complex additional mechanisms for adaptation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach ensures a high-quality, chip-free production process with reduced time and space requirements, maintaining a consistent optical appearance by embedding the surface material during the embossing process, eliminating the need for separate application and drying, and providing a reliable hold using adhesives or self-adhesive materials.

Implementation Method 1

materials that have a certain pore volume are therefore particularly advantageous so that they can be compacted in areas by means of the embossing tool

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Implementation Method 2

it has proven particularly advantageous to use a hard foam plastic plate as the blank for the decorative plate and to create the three-dimensional profiling on the visible surface by means of a heated embossing tool

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeating: Heating

Implementation Method 3

A reliable hold of the surface material on the blank of the vehicle decorative panel can advantageously be ensured in that the surface material is attached to the visible surface of the blank by means of an adhesive

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAdhesion: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentEP3272532B1Method for manufacturing embossed vehicle decoration plate with separate surface layer
Publication Date: 2020.08.05 SCHMIDT UDO

AI summary

In the case of a vehicle decorative panel for a hearse, comprising a dimensionally stable surface element referred to as a carrier, which has two opposing surfaces and a circumferential edge, wherein one of the two surfaces is referred to as the visible surface and has a three-dimensionally shaped visible surface representing a fold and is provided with a profile adapted to the depicted fold, wherein the visible surface is provided with a surface material, the invention proposes that the vehicle decorative panel is manufactured as follows: a blank of the vehicle decorative panel is embossed by means of a three-dimensionally profiled embossing tool, wherein the visible surface receives the profile of the embossing tool, and wherein, before the vehicle decorative panel comes into contact with the embossing tool, the surface material is arranged as a two-dimensional surface material between the embossing tool and the vehicle decorative panel.and the surface material is applied to the vehicle decorative panel during the embossing process by means of the embossing tool, such that the surface material is firmly bonded to the visible side of the vehicle decorative panel, following the profile of the embossing tool and the visible side. The invention further proposes a method for manufacturing a vehicle decorative panel.