| abstract |
A method of making an interior panel of an automotive vehicle door having an exterior surface which is to face toward the interior of the automotive vehicle when installed therein. An apparatus utilized in the method comprises a mold assembly including a first vacuum mold component having a mold surface shaped to form the exterior surface of an upper section of the door panel, a second non-vacuum mold component cooperable in side-by-side relation with the first vacuum mold component having a mold surface shaped to form the exterior surface of a lower section of the door panel and a third non-vacuum mold component cooperable in opposed relation with the first and second mold components having a mold surface shaped to form the entire opposite surface of the door panel. The method comprises the steps of heating a laminated sheet, and vacuum forming the heated sheet in the first vacuum mold component. Next, a seal is formed along a marginal edge of the vinyl sheet with an elongated sealing surface at a side of the first vacuum mold component which cooperates in side-by-side relation with the second non-vacuum mold component. Thereafter, a substrate is molded and bonded with the vacuum formed laminate sheet to form a panel in which the substrate defines (1) an opposite surface of the panel having a shape corresponding to the mold surface of the third mold component and (2) an exterior surface of the panel having a shape corresponding to the mold surface of the second mold component. |