1. A method for the production of a dashboard support for a motor vehicle, comprising:
cutting a blank from an extruded profile part;
trimming and shaping the blank to form a mount; and
connecting the mount to an end of a crossbeam for allowing the crossbeam to be coupled via the mount to an A-pillar of the motor vehicle.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the extruded profile part is made of light metal, and the crossbeam is made of light metal or steel.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mount and the crossbeam are connected by a formfit or by a material joint.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mount and the crossbeam are connected by a thermal joint.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the extruded profile part is a hollow section having two chambers disposed in spaced-apart relationship and connected with one another by a bridge to form a single-piece structure.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising cutting the extruded profile part to a length substantially commensurate with a length of the mount.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the cutting step includes cutting two blanks from the extruded profile part that has been cut to length.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the two blanks are cut as mirror images of one another.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the blank is made of one piece having a mounting chamber and an installation plate which projects out from a side of the mounting chamber.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the blank is cut from the extruded profile part through laser cutting or water jet cutting or by a punching process.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the blank with at least one member selected from the group consisting of mounting holes, installation hole, or handling hole.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising collaring the member at least in one area thereof.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming an installation hole to each of front and rear walls of the mount, and inserting a screw fastener through the installation hole to threadably engage the crossbeam to the A-pillar.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the screw fastener is oriented in X-direction of the motor vehicle.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising incising at least one of an outer wall and an inner wall of the mount to form at least one flange, and bending the flange inwardly into an interior space of a mounting chamber of the mount.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the flange constitutes a spacer to maintain a distance between front and rear walls of the mount.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising bending at a receiving end of the mount a part of at least one member selected from the group consisting of outer wall, inner wall, front wall, and rear wall of the mount to form an attachment flange for an instrument panel.
18. A dashboard support for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a crossbeam; and
a mount connected on one end of the crossbeam and made in one piece, wherein the dashboard support is made by a method as set forth in claim 1.
19. The dashboard support of claim 18, wherein the mount is made of light metal, and the crossbeam is made of light metal or steel.
20. The dashboard support of claim 18, wherein the mount and the crossbeam are connected by a formfit or by a material joint.
21. The dashboard support of claim 18, wherein the mount has a mounting chamber and a installation plate which projects from a side of the mounting chamber.
22. The dashboard support of claim 18, wherein the mount has an outer wall and an inner wall, at least one of the outer and inner walls having at least one flange extending into an interior space of the mounting chamber of the mount.
23. The dashboard support of claim 22, wherein the flange maintain a distance between front and rear walls of the mount.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What we claim is:
1. An improved brake lathe station for refinishing disk brakes while they remain affixed to hubs of a vehicle, each hub and associated disk having a common axis of rotation, the brake lathe station having,
a lift having at least one support post,
a vehicle undercarriage support associated with each at least one support post and pivotally connected thereto and raisable thereon to raise the vehicle,
an on-vehicle brake lathe attachable to one of the hubs of the vehicle for machining the brake disk associated therewith, and
means for preventing rotation of the on-vehicle brake lathe relative to the axis of rotation of the hub and the disk brake,
the improvement comprising:
horizontal positioning means for positioning the on-vehicle brake lathe with respect to a horizontal reference plane so as to bring the on-vehicle brake lathe in close proximity with one of the hubs to allow attachment thereto, said horizontal positioning means being mounted such that at least one point of said horizontal positioning means is fixed with respect to the at least one support post; and
a coupling for attachment of the on-vehicle brake lathe with respect to said horizontal positioning means.
2. The improved brake lathe station of claim 1 wherein said coupling is lockably adjustable so as to allow tilting the lathe to tilt a lathe rotation axis of the lathe with respect to the vehicle and to allow adjusting orientation of the lathe about its lathe rotation axis.
3. The improved brake lathe station of claim 2 further comprising:
vertical positioning means for positioning the on-vehicle brake lathe with respect to a vertical reference plane.
4. The improved brake lathe station of claim 3 further comprising:
means for floating the on-vehicle brake lathe with respect to said horizontal positioning means when the lathe is mounted to the hub, thereby damping vibrations from the environment.
5. The improved brake lathe station of claim 3 wherein the lift has a first support post and a second support post, and further wherein said horizontal positioning means further comprises:
a track fixed with respect to the first support post and the second support post, said track at least partially circumscribing the same;
a lathe brace slidably connected with respect to said track; and
means for moving the lathe substantially normal to said track.
6. The improved brake lathe station of claim 5 wherein said horizontal positioning means further comprises:
a lathe carriage which slidably engages said track; and
a transverse path on said lathe carriage along which said lathe brace moves, said transverse path being substantially normal to said track, thereby allowing said lathe brace to move substantially normal to said track.
7. The improved brake lathe station of claim 3 wherein said horizontal positioning means further comprises:
a first lathe supporting arm having a first arm base end and a first arm free end, said first arm base end serving as a pivot point having a pivot axis which is fixed with respect to each of the at least one support posts, thereby providing pivoting motion in a horizontal plane;
a second lathe supporting arm having a second arm base end and a second arm free end, said second arm base end being pivotally connected with respect to said first arm free end of said first lathe supporting arm so as to provide pivotal motion in the horizontal plane;
a lathe brace connected to said second arm free end of said second lathe supporting arm and attaching to the lathe via said coupling; and
means for rotating the lathe with respect to said second lathe supporting arm.
8. The improved brake lathe station of claim 7 wherein said first arm base end is pivotally attached to one of the at least one support posts.
9. The improved brake lathe station of claim 3 wherein the lift has a first support post and a second support post and further wherein said horizontal positioning means further comprises:
a stabilizing bar attached to the first support post and the second support post;
an arm carriage slidably engaging said stabilizing bar;
a lathe supporting arm pivotally engaged with said arm carriage; and
a lathe brace pivotably engaging said lathe supporting arm and attaching to the on-vehicle brake lathe via said coupling.
10. The improved brake lathe station of claim 3 wherein said coupling is detachable to allow removing the on-vehicle brake lathe from connection with said horizontal positioning means, said coupling further comprising:
means for connecting the on-vehicle lathe to a dolly for transporting the on-vehicle lathe to and from the brake lathe station, said means for connecting being configured to allow connecting the on-vehicle brake lathe to the dolly while the on-vehicle brake lathe is still connected to said horizontal positioning means.