US 12,528,235 B2Granted

Rotational molding apparatus and method for operating a rotational molding apparatus

AssigneeRoto Evolution GmbH

InventorFrank Naumann

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Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a rotational molding apparatus that comprises a rotatably mounted rotational-molding mold holder having a rotational-molding mold. The method is characterised in that a trajectory of a reference point of a component for a rotation process, in particular a component of the rotational-molding mold holder or the rotational-molding mold, which component rotates during a rotation process, is selected from one of a plurality of possible trajectories that can be achieved by the rotational molding apparatus, and in that a rotation process is subsequently performed in which rotational-molding material introduced into the rotational-molding mold accumulates on the inner face of the rotational-molding mold and in which the reference point moves along the determined trajectory.

Claims46

Dependent claims

A method for operating a rotational-molding device, the rotational-molding device comprising a rotatably mounted rotational-mold holder with a rotational mold, wherein the rotational-mold holder or the rotational mold includes a reference point thereon, the method comprising the steps of:

providing, by a control device, a set of multiple possible predefined trajectories of the reference point that the reference point can follow in a rotation operation, wherein each trajectory of the set of multiple possible predefined trajectories has a trajectory-specific starting point of the reference point;
receiving, by the control device, a selected trajectory chosen by a user from the set of multiple possible predefined trajectories for the rotation operation;
rotating the rotational mold holder or rotational mold under control of the control device to an initial rotational orientation prior to commencing the rotation operation such that the reference point assumes the trajectory-specific starting point associated with the selected trajectory;
and
subsequently performing the rotation operation under control of the control device, wherein during the rotation operation the rotational mold holder or rotational mold is rotated such that the reference point moves along the selected trajectory starting from the trajectory-specific starting point associated with the selected trajectory and rotational-molding material in the rotational mold accumulates on an inner side of the rotational mold.

2 more elements

A rotational-molding device comprising:

a rotatably mounted rotational-mold holder with a rotational mold, wherein the rotational-mold holder or the rotational mold includes a reference point thereon;
and
a control device operable to control rotation of the rotational-mold holder and the rotational mold in a rotation operation during which rotational-molding material introduced into the rotational mold accumulates on an inner side of the rotational mold;
wherein the control device provides a set of multiple possible predefined trajectories of the reference point that the reference point can follow in the rotation operation, wherein each trajectory of the set of multiple possible predefined trajectories has a trajectory-specific starting point of the reference point, wherein a user can choose a selected trajectory for the rotation operation from the set of multiple possible predefined trajectories;
wherein the control device rotates the rotational mold holder or rotational mold to an initial rotational orientation prior to commencing the rotation operation such that the reference point assumes the trajectory-specific starting point associated with the selected trajectory;
and
wherein the control device subsequently controls the rotation operation such that the reference point moves along the selected trajectory starting from the trajectory-specific starting point associated with the selected trajectory.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.