Flexible Rod Contouring Tool for Auto Body Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern automobile panels with complex contoured bodylines present challenges in accurately repairing damaged areas, as the process requires high skill and precision to match original contours, especially when panels are irregularly shaped and lengthy, making it difficult for non-experts to achieve flawless repairs.
Innovation Solution
A precision device using a flexible rod with a V-shaped groove and adjustable locking support, made of pultruded glass covered in Teflon, allows for the establishment of precise reference lines on vehicle panels, enabling accurate application and shaping of body filler to match original contours, facilitating both repair and customization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If freehand reconstruction of body lines is performed by skilled craftsmen, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but device complexity and skill requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible rod that is bent to match the contour of the undamaged body line, creating a physical copy or template of the reference contour. This bent rod then serves as a guide for applying body filler, allowing less skilled workers to achieve precise results by following the pre-established template rather than relying on freehand skill.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible rod acts as an intermediary between the reference body line and the body filler application. It transfers the contour information from the original body line to the repair area, mediating the replication process and enabling accurate contour transfer without requiring the worker to have expert freehand skills.
2Manufacturing precision
If body filler is applied in excess and then cut away, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but productivity decreases due to laborious iterative process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes a precise reference line using the flexible rod template before applying body filler. This preliminary action creates a guide that directs the filler application, preventing the need for subsequent cutting and removal operations. The reference line is set up in advance to guide the entire filling process, eliminating iterative correction steps.
3Manufacturing precision
If reference lines are established for complex contoured panels, then manufacturing precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible rod that can be bent to conform to complex three-dimensional contours of body panels. This flexibility allows the simple rod structure to adapt to any contour shape without requiring complex rigid fixtures or multiple components, maintaining device simplicity while achieving high precision on complex geometries.
Data Source
AI summary
A precision device for establishing a contour line of body filler on an automobile panel that allows a body repairman to create two (or more) control surfaces in which to work between. The body repairman no longer has to eyeball his/her contour work; for example, by walking to the front of the automobile to see how the contour of the panel being restored “matches” the non-damaged panels when viewed from the front of the automobile. The body repairman can now create a region to work between two body filler lines (a manageable region of repair) established with a flexible rod, a set of pressure adjustable supports and some body filler. Working between these two body filler lines using a flexible contouring tool he may sweep body filler between the upper and lower lines to identically approximate the long sweeping contour lines of the original vehicle.