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US 2004/0170769 A1Published application
Tool and process for chrome plating a vehicle wheel surface
AssigneeHayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
InventorsGeoffrey L. Gatton, Richard T. Guernsey
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cutting tool having a crystalline tip is pressed with a uniform pressure against the outboard surface of a vehicle wheel as the wheel is rotated. The smoothed wheel surface is then chrome plated to provide a cosmetic finish to the wheel face.
Claims41
A process for forming a decorative surface upon an outboard surface of a wheel disc, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a cutting tool for smoothing a wheel surface that includes a rhombic shaped body portion having a mounting aperture formed therethrough and an insert having a cutting tip carried upon one end of the body portion, the insert having arcuate leading and trailing edges, the insert also having a zero degree land formed thereabout whereby the cutting edge of the insert is maintained tangent to the wheel surface.
- (b) mounting a machined vehicle wheel including a wheel rim and having a wheel disc extending radially across the wheel rim in a lathe;
- (c) rotating the wheel;
- (d) urging the cutting tool provided in step (a) with a uniform pressure against an outboard surface of the wheel disc and traversing the cutting tool in a radial direction across the outboard surface of the wheel disc to smooth at least a portion of the outboard wheel disc surface such that the smoothed portion of the wheel disc outboard surface has a polished appearance;
- and
- (e) chrome plating the smoothed portion of the outboard wheel surface.
3 more elements
A process for forming a decorative surface upon an outboard surface of a wheel disc, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a cutting tool for smoothing a wheel surface that includes a rhombic shaped body portion having a mounting aperture formed therethrough and a crystalline insert carried upon one end of the body portion, the insert having arcuate leading and trailing edges, the insert also having a zero degree land formed thereabout whereby the cutting edge of the insert is maintained tangent to the wheel surface.
- (b) applying an electrically non-conductive material to a surface of the wheel.
- (c) mounting a machined vehicle wheel including a wheel rim and having a wheel disc extending radially across the wheel rim in a lathe;
- (d) rotating the wheel;
- (e) urging the cutting tool provided in step (a) with a uniform pressure against an outboard surface of the wheel disc and traversing the cutting tool in a radial direction across the outboard surface of the wheel disc such that a portion of the coating is removed and the portion of the wheel disc outboard surface from which the coating was removed is smoothed and has a polished appearance;
- and
- (e) chrome plating the wheel whereby the remaining coating prevents adhesion of the chrome plating chemicals such that only the portions smoothed in step (e) are chrome plated.
4 more elements
A process for forming a decorative surface upon an outboard surface of a wheel disc, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a cutting tool for smoothing a wheel surface that includes a rhombic shaped body portion having a mounting aperture formed therethrough and a crystalline insert carried upon one end of the body portion, the insert having arcuate leading and trailing edges, the leading edge having a leading edge radius and the trailing edge having a trailing edge radius with the leading edge radius being greater than the trailing edge radius, the insert also having a zero degree land formed thereabout whereby the cutting edge of the insert is maintained tangent to the wheel surface.
- (b) mounting a machined vehicle wheel including a wheel rim and having a wheel disc extending radially across the wheel rim in a lathe;
- (f) rotating the wheel;
- (g) urging the cutting tool provided in step (a) with a uniform pressure against an outboard surface of the wheel disc and traversing the cutting tool in a radial direction across the outboard surface of the wheel disc such that a portion of the coating is removed and the portion of the wheel disc outboard surface from which the coating was removed is smoothed and has a polished appearance;
- (h) removing the wheel from the lathe;
- (i) applying an electrically non-conductive material to the portion of the wheel face surface that was not smoothed in step (g);
- and
- (j) chrome plating the wheel whereby the electrically non-conductive coating prevents adhesion of the chrome plating chemicals such that only the portions machined in step (g) are chrome plated.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.