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US 2019/0314882 A1Published application
System and methods to radially orient extruded tubing for vehicle body component
AssigneeFord Motor Company
InventorsFrank J. BISHOP, Stephen KERNOSKY, James ENGLE
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of orienting a weld seam in an aluminum vehicle body tube is provided. The method may include measuring a periphery of a first end of the tube to locate a position of a pip disposed on a wall of the first end of the tube and rotating the tube so that the weld seam is positioned in a predetermined location suitable for tube forming.
Claims20
A method of orienting a weld seam in an aluminum vehicle body tube, comprising:
- measuring a profile of an inner periphery at a first end of the tube to locate a first position of a pip disposed on a wall of the tube;
- and
- rotating the tube so that the weld seam is positioned in a predetermined location suitable for tube forming.
A method of hydroforming an extruded circular tube comprising:
- measuring an inner periphery of first and second ends of the tube to identify first and second circumferential positions of a pip disposed on a wall at each end of the tube;
- and
- comparing a positional difference between the first and second circumferential positions against a predetermined threshold.
A method of forming a circular tube comprising:
- measuring, by a laser displacement sensor, profiles of peripheral surfaces at each end of the tube to identify first and second circumferential positions of a pip at each end of the tube;
- and
- rotating the tube so that a weld seam, positioned relative to the first and second circumferential positions, is positioned in a predetermined location suitable for tube forming.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.