Patent ID: 8262962

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a die-cut having a desired design corresponding to a contact geometry between two parts that are to be assembled or sealed together or to a geometry on a single part that is to be masked or shielded, which comprises: a) breaking down the design into a number of discrete, individual die-cut components that each correspond to only a portion of the complete design such that a plurality of individual die-cut components are assembled together to form the complete design; b) providing supplies of the various die-cut components needed to assemble the design; c) providing a flexible target liner on which the various die-cut components needed to assemble the design will be assembled such that the die-cut collectively formed by the various die-cut components will be supported by and carried on the target liner prior to an end use of the die-cut to assemble or seal the two parts together or to mask or shield the single part, the die-cut collectively formed by the various die-cut components being subsequently strippable from the target liner when the design of the die-cut is thereafter employed in the end use comprising the assembly or sealing together of the two parts or in the masking or shielding of the single part; d) using automated and powered equipment to remove the die-cut components from the supplies thereof and to assemble the die-cut components on the target liner to form the complete design of the die-cut; and e) repeating step d to assemble a plurality of die-cuts on the target liner.