Automatic unit for hot molding and trimming of metal parts

A unit for automatically hot molding and trimming metal parts comprising:

• a molding press having two opposed and relatively movable mold parts, the mold parts defining between them a series of molding stations, each of the stations including a mold cavity portion in one of the mold parts opposite a corresponding mold cavity portion in the other mold part and two notches in each mold part adjacent to, and on opposite sides of, each mold cavity portion,
• a pair of robots located on opposite sides of the molding press, each robot having an arm terminating in a gripping means adapted to grasp the flashing produced on a workpiece being operated upon by the molding press, and each robot having means for moving its arm from one molding station to the next in sequence and in synchronization with movement of the other robot arm,
• the notches being so sized and shaped that at each molding station, the end of each gripping means, carried by each arm, is fully accommodated within the opening defined by two opposed notches in the mold parts when the mold parts are closed, so that the arms need not be moved prior and subsequent to closing of the mold parts when a molding operation is performed on a workpiece, and
• means for trimming the workpiece after it has been operated upon in the last of the series of molding stations.