Molding device and molding method

Abstract

A molding device includes: a lower mold that supports a workpiece containing a thermoplastic resin and that is heated to a first predetermined temperature; an upper mold that is opposed to the lower mold, that presses the workpiece, and that is heated to a second predetermined temperature; a transferer that moves the lower mold and the upper mold relative to each other in a transfer direction of the workpiece; and control circuitry. The lower mold includes temperature-controlled regions adjacent to one another in the transfer direction, the temperature-controlled regions including a first lower mold temperature-controlled region and a second lower mold temperature-controlled region having a temperature lower than a temperature of the first lower mold temperature-controlled region. The control circuitry changes proportions of the first and second lower mold temperature-controlled regions in the lower mold as a function of a relative position between the upper and lower molds.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.