Protective film for automotive surfaces

Abstract

A method and system for generating protective surface templates is provided. The method includes receiving dimensions of a first vehicle panel and an adjacent second vehicle panel, identifying a boundary between the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel, determining a transition point between a substantially planar surface and an edge of the first vehicle panel, generating a protective film template for the first panel based on the dimensions of the first vehicle panel and the determined transition point, and transferring the protective film template to a sheet of protective film. The system includes components for implementing the method.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving dimensions of a first vehicle panel and an adjacent second vehicle panel;   identifying a boundary between the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel;   determining a transition point between a substantially planar surface and an edge of the first vehicle panel; and   generating a protective film template for the first panel based on the dimensions of the first vehicle panel and the determined transition point.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising applying the protective film template to a sheet of protective film. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising instructing a die-cut machine to cut the protective film according to the protective film template. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising flattening the protective film template to generate a two-dimensional template. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving the dimensions further comprises three-dimensional laser scanning the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying the boundaries between the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel, and generating a second protective film template for the second vehicle panel. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second vehicle panels are on the interior of the vehicle. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second vehicle panels are on the exterior of the vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adhering the protective film to one of the first panel and the second panel. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating and generating a relief cut. 
     
     
         11 . A system comprising at least one computing device and at least one program module that are together configured for performing actions comprising:
 receiving dimensions of a first vehicle panel and an adjacent second vehicle panel;   identifying a boundary between the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel;   determining a transition point between a substantially planar surface and an edge of the first vehicle panel; and   generating a protective film template for the first panel based on the dimensions of the first vehicle panel and the determined transition point   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising transferring the protective film template to a sheet of protective film. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising instructing a die-cut machine to cut the protective film according to the protective film template. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising flattening the protective film template to generate a two-dimensional template. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the receiving the dimensions further comprises three-dimensional laser scanning the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising generating a second protective film template for the second vehicle panel. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the first and second vehicle panels are on the interior of the vehicle. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the first and second vehicle panels are on the exterior of the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising adhering the protective film to one of the first panel and the second panel. 
     
     
         20 . At least one computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a second device, cause the second device to perform actions for configuring a device, the actions comprising:
 receiving dimensions of a first vehicle panel and an adjacent second vehicle panel;   identifying a boundary between the first vehicle panel and the second vehicle panel;   determining a transition point between a substantially planar surface and an edge of the first vehicle panel; and   generating a protective film template for the first panel based on the dimensions of the first vehicle panel and the determined transition point.