Method of machining an opening in a plurality of blanks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10315243-B2
Application number	US-201615219787-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2016
Priority date	Jul 26, 2016
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

A method and a system are disclosed for making an article of manufacture from a blank defining an internal opening. A stack of blanks are aligned and the internal openings of the blanks in the stack of blanks are machined by a rotary cutting tool to a finished dimension. The blanks are clamped together before machining in a numerically controlled machine tool. The blanks are subsequently formed individually in a sheet metal forming operation in which the inner perimeter of the internal openings is expanded as the blank is formed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a sheet metal part comprising:
cutting a plurality of blanks with each blank defining internal openings from a plurality of sheet metal segments;
stacking the plurality of blanks with the internal openings aligned;
machining inner perimeters of the internal openings with a rotary cutting tool to a finish dimension; and
forming the plurality of blanks individually in a sheet metal forming operation after machining the internal openings with the rotary cutting tool, wherein the inner perimeter of the internal openings in each individual blank are expanded as the individual blank is formed.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
clamping the plurality of blanks together before machining.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of clamping the plurality of blanks together is performed in a numerically controlled machine tool.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotary cutting tool is a milling tool.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the sheet metal part is a body side panel for a vehicle.

Assignees

• Ford Motor Co

Inventors

• Chappuis Laurent Bernard
• Luckey Jr S George
• Ilinich Andrey M
• Zobay Keith

Classifications

• B21D53/88 Primary

  other parts for vehicles, e.g. cowlings, mudguards · CPC title

• B62D25/02

  Side panels {(B62D33/046 takes precedence; sideboards for open load compartments B62D33/023)} · CPC title

• B62D65/02

  Joining sub-units or components to, or positioning sub-units or components with respect to, body shell or other sub-units or components · CPC title

• B23C2220/28

  Finishing · CPC title

• B21D35/007

  Layered blanks (B21D22/203 takes precedence; joining superposed plates B21D39/031, B21D39/034, B21D39/035) · CPC title