Manufacturing apparatus for flexible plastic tubes

A process for manufacturing flexible tubes having a skirt and a head provided with a neck and a shoulder linking said neck to said skirt, said process including the following stages:

• a first stage in which skirts are driven by a continuous movement using a first transfer means;
• a second stage in which said skirts are loaded using loading means onto punches associated with a third transfer means driven by a continuous movement synchronized with the first transfer means, one of the ends of the skirts extending slightly beyond the punches;
• a third stage in which the flexible tubes are made by molding the head with autogenous welding onto one end of the skirt, the head being obtained by compression molding a preform, by moving relatively closer the punch fitted with the skirt and a die, said punch and said die defining when they are placed side by side a molding cavity in which the end of the skirt is trapped, said punch and said die being driven by a continuous overall movement corresponding to the movement of the third transfer means, said preform being deposited before compression in the gap between the punch and the die using a fourth transfer means driven by a continuous movement synchronized with the third transfer means;
• a fourth stage in which said tubes are unloaded using unloading means onto a second transfer means driven by a continuous movement synchronized with the third transfer means.

A process for manufacturing assemblies of components made of plastic materials, said process including the following stages:

• a first stage in which at least one of the components of the assembly, already made, is put into continuous motion using a first transfer means;
• a second stage in which said component is loaded using loading means onto one of the molding tooling parts, some parts of said component extending beyond the tooling in such a way that, when the molding tooling parts are placed side by side, they define a molding cavity in which these parts are trapped, said molding tooling being associated with a third transfer means driven by a continuous movement synchronized with the first transfer means;
• a third stage in which the assemblies are made by molding an intermediate component in which the extending part of said component is welded autogenously or trapped by the plastic material of the intermediate component, said intermediate component being obtained by compression molding a preform, by moving said molding tooling parts relatively closer, said molding tooling parts being driven by a continuous overall movement corresponding to the movement of the third transfer means, said preform being deposited before compression in the gap between the molding tooling parts using a fourth transfer means driven by a continuous movement synchronized with the third transfer means;
• a fourth stage in which said assemblies are unloaded using unloading means onto a second transfer means driven by a continuous movement synchronized with the third transfer means.