Patent ID: 6378208
Filing Date: 2002-04-30
Classification: B29C,B60R,Y10T

Abstract:
A process for producing a motor vehicle body part, the motor vehicle part being built in a sandwich construction having layers including an outside shell having a foam layer with an outside skin, and an inside shell formed as a prefabricated component having a substantially soft foam base layer and a decorative outer layer, the process comprising the steps of:providing a mold tool having a first mold half and a second mold half; inserting a core material into said first mold half; inserting a predetermined size of flat material into said second mold half; closing said mold tool with a maximum closing stroke of said first mold half and said second mold half, wherein said maximum closing stroke causes said flat material to be molded into said outside skin; removing said core material from said mold while leaving said outside skin in said second mold half; inserting said inside shell into said first mold half; inserting a foam material into said second mold half such that said foam material is applied to a surface of said outside skin; closing said mold tool with a shorter closing stroke than said maximum closing stroke while leaving a cavity between said foam material and said inside shell to allow expansion of said foam material; and applying heat to said mold tool to expand and join said foam material to said inside shell.