METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING A PANEL ON A VEHICLE
A method of adjusting a panel on a vehicle includes determining positions of mounting sites on a body frame in relation to 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a panel opening in the body frame in relation to the body frame mounting sites. Positions of mounting sites on the panel in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on a fixture the panel is mounted to are also determined and a position of an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the panel mounting sites is calculated. The panel is mounted to the body frame and a calculated position of the outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening is displayed to a fitter in real time who uses the calculated position to adjust the panel.
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The present disclosure relates to assembly of vehicles and particularly to assembly of panels on vehicles.
BACKGROUNDThe statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The manufacture of a vehicle on an assembly line includes mounting various panels onto the body frame. Such panels include rear quarter panels, a trunk lid, rear and/or front doors, front quarter panels, and a hood, among others. Mounting, i.e., positioning and connecting, the panels to the body frame involves alignment of the panels within or in relation to panel openings in the body frame such that an exterior surface of the assembled vehicle meets engineering and design specifications. For some panels, e.g., front and/or rear vehicles doors, a “fitter” on the assembly can make a corrective positioning adjustment such that a final position of the panels meets the engineering and design specifications.
The present disclosure addresses issues related to adjusting panels mounted to a vehicle body frame along with other issues related to the manufacture of vehicles.
SUMMARYIn one form of the present disclosure, a method of adjusting a panel on a vehicle includes determining positions of mounting sites on a body frame in relation to 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a panel opening in the body frame in relation to the body frame mounting sites. Positions of mounting sites on a panel in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on a fixture the panel is mounted to is also determined and a position of an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the panel mounting sites is calculated. The method includes mounting the panel to the body frame and calculating a position of the outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening, displaying the position of the outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening, and adjusting the position of the panel as a function of the displayed position.
In some variations of the present disclosure the panel is mounted to the body frame with mounting devices. In such variations, the mounting sites on the body frame comprise hinge holes in the body frame, the mounting sites on the panel comprise hinge holes in the panel, and the mounting devices comprise hinges.
In at least one variation, calculating the position of the inner perimeter of the panel opening in the body frame in relation to the body frame mounting sites and calculating the outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the panel mounting sites includes using computer aided design (CAD) data of the body frame and the panel. In one variation the panel is a vehicle door and the CAD data of the panel is CAD data of the vehicle door. In one such variation the vehicle door is a rear door, the hinge holes in the body frame are rear door hinge holes in the body frame, the hinge holes in the panel are hinge holes in the rear door, and the hinges are rear door hinges. The method can further include determining positions of front door hinge holes in the body frame in relation to the 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a front door panel opening in relation to the front door hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame. Also, the positions of hinge holes in a front door in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on another fixture the front door is mounted to are determined and a position of an outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the hinge holes in the front door is calculated using CAD data of the front door. In at least one variation, the method includes connecting front door hinges to the front door hinge holes in the body frame and to the hinge holes in the front door such that the front door is mounted to the body frame at the front door opening panel, and calculating positions of the front door hinges and outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening using the CAD data of the body frame and the CAD data for the front door. The position(s) of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening is displayed to a fitter on an assembly line and the position of the front door in relation to the front door panel opening is adjusted as a function of the displayed positions to the fitter.
In at least one variation, the function of the displayed position is a desired distance the mounting devices (e.g., the hinges) should be moved along at least one of a length direction, a height direction and a width direction of the vehicle. In at least one other variation, the function of the displayed position is a difference between the calculated position of the outer perimeter of the panel with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the panel opening and a desired position of the outer perimeter of the panel with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the panel opening.
In some variations the method includes determining the positions of the mounting sites, the 2-way master locator hole and the 4-way master locator hole with at least one optical sensor and/or determining the positions of the mounting sites on the panel with at least one optical sensor.
In another form of the present disclosure, a method of adjusting a panel on a vehicle during manufacture of the vehicle includes assembling a body frame of the vehicle on an assembly line. The method includes determining positions of hinge holes in the body frame in relation to 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a panel opening in relation to the hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame. The method also includes determining positions of hinge holes in the panel in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on a fixture the panel is mounted to and calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the hinge holes in the panel using CAD data of the panel. In some variations hinges are connected to the body frame and the panel via the hinge holes in the body frame and the hinge holes in the panel, respectively. Also, the positions of the hinges and an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening is calculated and the positions of the hinges in relation to the positions of the outer perimeter of the panel and the inner perimeter of the panel opening are displayed to a fitter on the assembly line. In some variations of the present disclosure the fitter adjusts the position of the panel as a function of the displayed positions of the hinges. For example, in one variation the fitter adjusts the position of at least one hinge as a function of the displayed positions of the hinges and thereby adjusts the position of the panel in relation to the panel opening. In such a variation the function of the displayed positions of the hinges can be a desired distance to move the at least one hinge along at least one of a length direction, a height direction and a width direction of the vehicle frame.
In some variations the panel is a rear door and the panel opening is a rear door panel opening. In one such variation, the function of the displayed positions of the hinges is a difference between the calculated position of the outer perimeter of the rear door with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening and a desired position of the outer perimeter of the rear door with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening.
In other variations the method includes determining the locations of at least one of the body frame hinge holes, the 2-way master locator hole, the 4-way master locator hole, the 2-way locator pin, the 4-way locator pin, and the rear door hinge holes using at least one optical sensor.
In at least one variation of the present disclosure, the method further includes determining positions of front door hinge holes in the body frame in relation to the 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a front door panel opening in relation to the front door hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame. In such a variation the method includes determining positions of hinge holes in a front door in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on another fixture the front door is mounted to and calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the front door hinge holes using CAD data of the front door. The front door hinges are connected to the front door hinge holes in the body frame and to the hinge holes in the front door such that the front door is mounted to the body frame at the front door opening panel. The positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening is calculated using the CAD data of the body frame and the CAD data of the front door. Positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening are displayed to a fitter on the assembly line and the fitter adjusts the position of the front door as a function of the displayed positions. In some variations the calculated position of the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening includes the position of the outer perimeter of the rear door in relation to the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening.
In still another form of the present disclosure, a method for mounting and adjusting a door on a vehicle during manufacture of the vehicle on an assembly line includes determining positions of rear door hinge holes in a body frame in relation to a 2-way master locator hole and a 4-way master locator hole using at least one optical sensor and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a rear door panel opening in relation to the rear door hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame. In at least one variation the method includes determining positions of hinge holes in a rear door in relation to a 2-way locator pin and a 4-way locator pin on a fixture the rear door is mounted to using at least one other optical sensor and calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the rear door in relation to the hinge holes in the rear door using CAD data of the rear door. Rear door hinges are connected to the body frame and the rear door via the rear door hinge holes in the body frame and the hinge holes in the rear door, and positions of the rear door hinges and an outer perimeter of the rear door in relation to the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening are calculated using CAD data of the rear door hinges and the CAD data for the body frame and the rear door. The positions of the hinges in relation to the positions of the outer perimeter of the panel and the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening are displayed to a fitter on the assembly and the fitter adjusts the position of at least one of the rear door hinges as a function of the displayed positions of the hinges. In at least one variation the calculated positions of the rear door hinges, the outer perimeter of the rear door and the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening are within manufacturing tolerances of the actual positions of the rear door hinges, the outer perimeter of the rear door and the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening.
In some variations of the present disclosure, the method also includes determining positions of front door hinge holes in the body frame in relation to the 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a front door opening in relation to the front door hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame. Positions of hinge holes in a front door in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on another fixture the front door is mounted to are determined and a position of an outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the hinge holes in the front door is calculated using CAD data of the front door. Front door hinges are connected to the front door hinge holes in the body frame and to the hinge holes in the front door such that the front door is mounted to the body frame at the front door opening panel. In at least one variation the positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening is calculated using the CAD data of the body frame and the CAD data of the front door and the positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening are displayed to a fitter on the assembly line. Also, the fitter adjusts the position of the front door as a function of the displayed positions.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The position or location of the outer perimeter 162 of the rear door 160 relative to the inner perimeter 122 of the rear door panel opening 120 is affected by such factors as the shape of the body frame 100 after it has been assembled (e.g., in a framing station of an assembly line), the shape of the rear door 160 after it has been assembled (e.g., in a door assembly station), and the shape of hinges (not shown) used to mount the rear door 160 to the body frame 100, among others. Also, it should be understood that the body frame 100, the panels 150-180, and other panels and components of the vehicle, are modeled and represented by modeling data such as computer aided design (CAD) modeling data (referred to herein simply as “CAD data”). That is, most if not all components of a vehicle is generally designed and modeled using CAD and representations of the components of the components, e.g., CAD data of the components, is stored in and accessible from electronic memory. For example, CAD data for the shape and dimensions of the body frame 100 including the inner perimeter 122 of the rear door panel opening 120, and CAD data for the shape and dimensions of the rear door 160 including the outer perimeter 162, is stored in and accessible from electronic memory. Also, the actual shape and dimensions of the body frame 100 and the panels 150-180 is the same as its corresponding CAD data within manufacturing tolerances. As used herein, the phrase “manufacturing tolerance” or “manufacturing tolerances” refers to a permissible limit or limits of variation in a physical dimension or measured value of a manufactured object (e.g., a body frame and/or a panel) such that the variation does not significantly affect the functioning of the object.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In some variations of the present disclosure the positions of the hinge holes 124U, 124L, 134U, 134L and the positions of the master locator holes 101, 103 are used to calculate the position of the inner perimeter 122 of the rear door panel opening 120 relative to the hinge holes 124U, 124L, 134U, 134L within manufacturing tolerances. For example, and after determining the location of the 2-way master locator hole 101 and the 4-way master locator hole 103 as shown in
Referring now to
In one non-limiting example, the reference sites on the panel fixture 200 include a 2-way locator pin 201 and a 4-way locator pin 203 and the position of the 2-way locator pin 201 is determined with an optical sensor ‘S10’ and the position of the 4-way locator pin is determined with an optical sensor ‘S11’. However, it should be understood that the positions of the 2-way locator pin 201 and the 4-way locator pin 203 can be determined with one optical sensor or two or more optical sensors.
Referring now to
In some variations of the present disclosure the positions of the hinge holes 168U, 168L and the positions of the locator pins 201, 203 are used to calculate the position or positions of the outer perimeter 162 of the rear door 160 relative to the hinge holes 168U, 168L within manufacturing tolerances. For example, determining the location of the 2-way locator pin 201 and the 4-way locator pin 203 as shown in
Referring now to
Still referring to
In one non-limiting example, a display 40 (
It should be understood that the fitter F is a skilled tradesperson with experience on adjusting the positions of panels in the closure line fitting station 330 on the assembly line. For example, and by viewing the display 40 shown in
Referring now to
The method 40 also includes determining a position of at least one reference site on a panel fixture at step 420 and determining a position of at least one mounting site on the panel after it has been mounted on the fixture at step 422. A position or positions of the at least one mounting site on the panel in relation to the at least one reference site of the panel within manufacturing tolerances is calculated using CAD data of the panel at step 424. And a position or positions of a perimeter of the panel in relation to the mounting sites of the panel within manufacturing tolerances is calculated using the CAD data of the panel at step 426.
The panel is mounted to the body frame via the mounting sites on the panel and the mounting sites on the body frame at step 430 and a position or positions of the perimeter of the panel in relation to the perimeter of the panel opening within manufacturing tolerances is calculated using CAD data at step 432. The calculated position or positions of the perimeter of the panel in relation to the perimeter of the panel opening is displayed to a fitter responsible for adjusting a position of the panel mounted on the body frame at step 434 and the fitter adjusts the position of the panel as function of the displayed calculated position or positions of the perimeter of the panel in relation to the perimeter of the panel opening at step 436.
In some variations of the present disclosure, the method 40 includes adjusting a door on a vehicle. For example, and with reference to
The method 50 also includes determining positions of a 2-way locator pin and a 4-way locator pin on a rear door fixture at step 520 and determining a position or positions of at least one hinge hole in the rear door mounted to the rear door fixture at step 522. In some variations of the present disclosure, a 2-way locator hole and a 4-way locator hole in the rear door are disposed on the 2-way locator pin and the 4-way locator pin, respectively, of the rear door fixture. In such variations, a position or positions of the at least one hinge hole on the rear door in relation to the 2-way locator hole and the 4-way locator hole in the rear door within manufacturing tolerances is calculated using CAD data of the rear door at step 524. And a position or positions of a perimeter of the rear door in relation to the at least one hinge hole of the rear door within manufacturing tolerances is calculated using the CAD data of the rear door at step 526.
In one variation of the present disclosure, the rear door is mounted to the body frame with a hinge via the at least one hinge hole in the rear door and the at least one hinge hole in the body frame at step 530, and a position or positions of the perimeter of the rear door in relation to the perimeter of the rear door panel opening within manufacturing tolerances is calculated at step 532. In another variation, a position or positions of the perimeter of the rear door in relation to the perimeter of the rear door panel opening within manufacturing tolerances is calculated before the rear door is mounted to the body frame with a hinge via the at least one hinge hole in the rear door and the at least one hinge hole in the body frame (i.e., step 532 occurs before step 530). The calculated position or positions of the perimeter of the rear door in relation to the perimeter of the rear door panel opening is displayed to a fitter responsible for adjusting a position of the rear door mounted on the body frame at step 534 and the fitter adjusts the position of the rear door as a function of the displayed calculated position or positions of the perimeter of the rear door in relation to the perimeter of the rear door panel opening at step 536.
In some variations of the present disclosure a panel mounted to a body frame is adjusted in relation to another panel that will be or has been previously mounted to the body frame. For example, and with reference to
Still referring to
It should be understood from the teachings of the present disclosure that a method of adjusting a panel on a vehicle is provided. The method provides real time information to a fitter in a fitting station on an assembly line that enhances the fitters adjustment of the panel. That is, real time delta measurements of the position or location of a panel in relation to a panel opening and/or an adjacent panel, within manufacturing tolerances, is displayed to the fitter, and the real time delta measurements enhance the fitters ability to adjust the panel to meet desired engineering specifications. The method can be used to enhance the adjustment of any panel or component on a vehicle with non-limiting examples including the enhancement of adjusting doors, trunk lids, hoods, sunroofs, rear quarter panels, front quarter panels, trim, and grilles, amount others, mounted on a vehicle. In some variations of the present disclosure, the real time delta measurements include differences between where a panel or a perimeter of panel is calculated to be positioned in relation to a panel opening and a calculated desired position of the panel in relation to the panel opening.
It should be understood that the term “processor” as used herein can include one or more modules and/or controllers. In this application, including the definitions below, the term “module” or the term “controller” may be replaced with the term “circuit”. The term “module” may refer to, be part of, or include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip.
A module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces that are connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple modules that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiple modules may allow load balancing. In a further example, a server (also known as remote, or cloud) module may accomplish some functionality on behalf of a client module.
The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general purpose computer to execute one or more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.
Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical values indicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages, dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” in describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desired for various reasons including industrial practice; material, manufacturing, and assembly tolerances; and testing capability.
As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”
The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. A method of adjusting a panel on a vehicle, the method comprising:
- determining positions of mounting sites on an assembled body frame in relation to 2-way and 4-way master locator holes;
- calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a panel opening in the body frame in relation to the body frame mounting sites;
- determining positions of mounting sites on a panel in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on a fixture the vehicle panel is mounted to;
- calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the panel mounting sites;
- mounting the panel to the body frame and calculating a position of the outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening;
- displaying the position of the outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening; and
- adjusting the position of the panel as a function of the displayed position.
2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising mounting devices for mounting the panel to the body frame, wherein the mounting sites on the body frame comprise hinge holes in the body frame, the mounting sites on the vehicle panel comprise hinge holes in the vehicle panel, and the mounting devices comprise hinges.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating the position of the inner perimeter of the panel opening in the body frame in relation to the body frame mounting sites and the calculating the perimeter of the panel in relation to the panel mounting sites comprises using computer aided design data of the body frame and the panel.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the panel is a vehicle door.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle door is a rear vehicle door, the hinge holes in the body frame are rear door hinge holes in the body frame, the hinge holes in the vehicle panel are rear door hinge holes, and the hinges are rear door hinges.
6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising:
- determining positions of front door hinge holes in the body frame in relation to the 2-way and 4-way master locator holes;
- calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a front door panel opening in relation to the body frame front door hinge holes using computer aided design (CAD) data of the body frame;
- determining positions of hinge holes in a front door in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on another fixture the front door is mounted to;
- calculating a panel perimeter of the front door in relation to the front door hinge holes using CAD data of the front door;
- connecting front door hinges to the front door hinge holes in the body frame and to the hinge holes in the front door such that the front door is mounted to the body frame at the front door opening panel;
- calculating positions of the front door hinges and the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening using the CAD data of the body frame and the CAD data for the front door;
- displaying the positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening to a fitter on an assembly; and
- adjusting the position of the front door in relation to the front door perimeter as a function of the displayed positions to the fitter.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the function of the displayed position is a distance the mounting devices should be moved along at least one of a length direction, a height direction and a width direction of the vehicle.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the function of the displayed position is a difference between the calculated position of the outer perimeter of the panel with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the panel opening and a desired position of the outer perimeter of the panel with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the panel opening.
9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising determining the positions of the mounting sites, the 2-way master locator hole and the 4-way master locator hole with at least one optical sensor.
10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising determining the positions of the mounting sites on the panel with at least one optical sensor.
11. A method of adjusting a panel on a vehicle during manufacture of the vehicle, the method comprising:
- assembling a body frame of the vehicle on an assembly line, wherein the body frame comprises a panel opening for the panel to be mounted to the vehicle;
- determining positions of hinge holes in the body frame in relation to 2-way and 4-way master locator holes and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of the panel opening in relation to the hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame;
- determining positions of hinge holes in the panel in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on a fixture the panel is mounted to and calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the hinge holes in the panel using CAD data of the panel;
- connecting hinges to the body frame and the panel via the hinge holes in the body frame and the hinge holes in the panel;
- calculating positions of the hinges and an outer perimeter of the panel in relation to the inner perimeter of the panel opening;
- displaying the positions of the hinges in relation to the positions of the outer perimeter of the panel and the inner perimeter of the panel opening; and
- adjusting the positions of the hinges as a function of the displayed positions of the hinges.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the function of the displayed positions of the hinges is a distance the hinges should be moved along at least one of a length direction, a height direction and a width direction of the vehicle frame.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the panel is a rear door and the panel opening is a rear door panel opening.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the function of the displayed positions of the hinges is a difference between the calculated position of the outer perimeter of the rear door with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening and a desired position of the outer perimeter of the rear door with respect to the calculated inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening.
15. The method according to claim 14 further comprising determining the locations of at least one of the body frame hinge holes, the 2-way master locator hole, the 4-way master locator hole, the 2-way locator pin, the 4-way locator pin, and the rear door hinge holes using at least one optical sensor.
16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising:
- determining positions of front door hinge holes in the body frame in relation to the 2-way and 4-way master locator holes;
- calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a front door panel opening in relation to the body frame front door hinge holes using CAD data of the body frame;
- determining positions of hinge holes in a front door in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on another fixture the front door is mounted to;
- calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the front door hinge holes using CAD data of the front door;
- connecting front door hinges to the front door hinge holes in the body frame and to the hinge holes in the front door such that the front door is mounted to the body frame at the front door opening panel;
- calculating positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening using the CAD data of the body frame and the CAD data of the front door;
- displaying positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening to a fitter on the assembly line; and
- adjusting the position of the front door as a function of the displayed positions.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the calculated position of the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening includes the position of the outer perimeter of the rear door in relation to the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening.
18. A method for mounting and adjusting a door on a vehicle during manufacture of the vehicle, the method comprising:
- determining positions of rear door hinge holes in a body frame on an assembly line in relation to a 2-way master locator hole and a 4-way master locator hole using at least one optical sensor and calculating a position of an inner perimeter of rear door panel opening in relation to the rear door hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame;
- determining positions of hinge holes in a rear door in relation to a 2-way locator pin and a 4-way locator pin on a fixture the rear door is mounted to using at least one other optical sensor and calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the rear door in relation to the hinge holes in the rear door using CAD data of the rear door;
- connecting rear door hinges to the body frame and the rear door via the rear door hinge holes in the body frame and the hinge holes in the rear door;
- calculating positions of the rear door hinges and an outer perimeter of the rear door in relation to the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening using CAD data of the rear door hinges and the CAD data for the body frame and the rear door;
- displaying positions of the hinges in relation to the positions of the outer perimeter of the rear door and the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening to a fitter on the assembly, wherein the fitter adjusts the position of at least one of the rear door hinges as a function of the displayed positions of the hinges.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the calculated positions of the rear door hinges, the outer perimeter of the rear door and the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening are within manufacturing tolerances of the actual positions of the rear door hinges, the outer perimeter of the rear door and the inner perimeter of the rear door panel opening.
20. The method according to claim 19 further comprising:
- determining positions of front door hinge holes in the body frame in relation to the 2-way and 4-way master locator holes;
- calculating a position of an inner perimeter of a front door panel opening in relation to the front door hinge holes in the body frame using CAD data of the body frame;
- determining positions of hinge holes in a front door in relation to 2-way and 4-way locator pins on another fixture the front door is mounted to;
- calculating a position of an outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the front door hinge holes using CAD data of the front door;
- connecting front door hinges to the body frame front door hinge holes and to the front door hinge holes such that the front door is mounted to the body frame at the front door opening panel;
- calculating positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening using the CAD data of the body frame and the CAD data of the front door;
- displaying positions of the outer perimeter of the front door in relation to the inner perimeter of the front door panel opening to a fitter on the assembly line; and
- adjusting the position of the front door as a function of the displayed positions.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 27, 2019
Publication Date: Apr 1, 2021
Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Dearborn, MI)
Inventors: Hossein Jacob Sadri (Novi, MI), Steve Juszczyk (Walled Lake, MI), John Emmott Olson (Dexter, MI), Lance David Marsac (South Lyon, MI), Andrew Louis Pawlak (Toledo, OH)
Application Number: 16/585,470