Method and system for forming masks

A mask forming system comprising:

• a forming tool configured to form a masking system used to protect a structure during painting, in which the masking system is formed on a sheet of masking material, wherein the masking system comprises a plurality of masks;
• computer-aided design software configured to retrieve a model of the structure from a database;
• identify a surface of the structure from the model of the structure;
• identify a perimeter of the surface of the structure from the model, in which the perimeter is identified for a surface of the structure to be covered by the masking system during painting of the structure;
• generate a two-dimensional representation of the masking system for the structure based on the perimeter of the surface of the structure;
• reverse the two-dimensional representation;
• generate features for the masking system within the two-dimensional representation;
• assign identifiers to the features in the two-dimensional representation, wherein the identifiers are color coded so that die cuts are coded with a first color, kiss cuts are coded with a second color, and texts are coded with a third color;
• arrange the plurality of masks with respect to one another such that a desired number of masks are formed from the sheet of masking material;
• identify a reference point corresponding to a location on the sheet of masking material;
• and arrange the two-dimensional representation of the masking system with respect to the reference point such that the masking system fits within a boundary for the sheet of masking material;
• and
• a controller configured to generate instructions for the forming tool based on the identifiers.

A method for protecting a structure, the method comprising:

• retrieving a model of the structure from a database;
• identifying a surface of the structure from the model of the structure;
• identifying a perimeter of the surface of the structure from the model, in which the perimeter is identified for the surface of the structure to be covered by a masking system during painting of the structure, and in which the masking system includes a plurality of masks;
• generating a two-dimensional representation of the masking system for the structure based on the perimeter of the surface of the structure;
• identifying a reference point corresponding to a location on a sheet of masking material;
• arranging the two-dimensional representation of the masking system with respect to the reference point such that the masking system fits within a boundary for the sheet of masking material;
• arranging the plurality of masks with respect to one another such that a desired number of masks are formed from the sheet of masking material;
• reversing the two-dimensional representation of the masking system;
• generating features for the masking system within the two-dimensional representation, in which the features include a kiss cut and a die cut;
• assigning identifiers to the features in the two-dimensional representation, in which assigning the identifiers comprises color-coding the features;
• generating instructions for a forming tool based on the identifiers;
• forming the masking system using the forming tool based on the instructions, in which the masking system is formed from the sheet of masking material comprising a first side and a second side, in which a backing material covers the second side, and in which forming the masking system comprises:
• positioning the sheet of masking material on a platform of the forming tool such that the first side of the sheet of masking material faces the platform;
• securing the sheet of masking material to the platform using a vacuum system prior to forming the masking system;
• plotting the features on the sheet of masking material;
• and
• cutting the sheet of masking material to form the masking system, in which cutting the sheet of masking material comprises cutting the sheet of masking material to a first depth corresponding with a first type of feature of the masking system, and cutting the sheet of masking material to a second depth corresponding to the perimeter of the surface of the structure;
• removing the backing material from the second side of the formed masking system to expose an adhesive;
• and
• attaching the masking system to the surface of the structure using the adhesive.

A mask forming system comprising:

• a forming tool configured to form a masking system used to protect a structure during painting, in which the masking system comprises a plurality of masks formed on a sheet of masking material, in which the sheet of masking material comprises a first side, a second side opposite the first side and having an adhesive and a backing material on the second side, in which the backing material is configured to be removed from the second side of the masking system to expose the adhesive such that the masking system can be attached to the structure using the adhesive, and in which the forming tool comprises:
• a platform configured to hold the sheet of masking material such that the first side of the sheet of masking material faces the platform;
• a vacuum system associated with the platform and configured to secure the sheet of masking material to the platform prior to forming the masking system;
• a plotting tool configured to plot features on the sheet of masking material;
• and
• a cutting tool configured to cut the sheet of masking material to form the masking system, in which the cutting tool is configured to cut the sheet of masking material to a first depth corresponding with a first type of feature of the masking system and a second depth corresponding to a perimeter of a surface of the structure;
• computer-aided design software configured to retrieve a model of the structure from a database;
• identify the surface of the structure from the model of the structure;
• identify the perimeter of the surface of the structure from the model, in which the perimeter is identified for the surface of the structure to be covered by a masking system during painting of the structure;
• generate a two-dimensional representation of the masking system based on the perimeter of the surface of the structure;
• reverse the two-dimensional representation;
• generate features for the masking system within the two-dimensional representation, in which the features include a kiss cut and a die cut;
• assign identifiers to the features, wherein the identifiers are color coded so that die cuts are coded with a first color, kiss cuts are coded with a second color, and texts are coded with a third color;
• and arrange the plurality of masks with respect to one another such that a desired number of masks are formed from the sheet of masking material;
• identify a reference point corresponding to a location on the sheet of masking material;
• and arrange the two-dimensional representation of the masking system with respect to the reference point such that the masking system fits within a boundary for the sheet of masking material;
• and
• a controller configured to generate instructions for the forming tool generate instructions for the forming tool based on the identifiers.