Flexible cover material application onto front side of a flat internal component for a vehicle involves stretching a material section onto component front, holding with a clamp and turning edges onto rear side

摘要

A cut section (3) of a flexible material is stretched over the front side (14) of the component (2); the section is held on the front side of the component with a clamp (11); projecting edges of the of the material section are turned over onto the back side (15) or sides of the component and fixed to the latter; and the clamp is then loosened. For stretching the material section (3) over the front side (14) of the component the material edges are held by an auxiliary gripper (9) to ensure the flat section is tensioned flat and the gripper lays the section onto the component front side (14). The gripper comprises a frame or strips (7,8) which penetrate the material with needles to hold it. Clamping jaws tension the material. The material section has elastic properties and the auxiliary gripper pretensions the cut section before laying the section onto the front side of the component. A clamping tool (11) holds the section on the front of the component at least around the edges. An Independent claim is also included for the process equipment which includes a component holder(4), an auxiliary gripper for holding a cut material section, a clamping tool for holding the section against the component and a mechanism for turning the material edges onto the sides or rear side of the component.