Apparatus for releasing a press-formed article from a die set

A die set for forming an article from sheet material, the die set comprising

• male die means,
• female die means,
• press means for providing relative movement between the male and female die means to press sheet material positioned therebetween, thereby forming the article, and
• dislodging means for selectively injecting air between the press-formed sheet material and at least one of the male and female die means during separation of the male and female die means to break any vacuum formed between said press-formed sheet material and said at least one of the male and female die means as the sheet material is pressed, the dislodging means including an air supply means in the female die means for supplying air, the female die means including a female mold element, ejector means for ejecting an article formed in the female mold element, and means for providing relative movement between the ejector means and the female mold element, the female mold element and the ejector means cooperating to define a passageway therebetween interconnecting the air supply means and the press-formed sheet material during separation of the female mold element and the ejector means to be permit air from the air supply means to be injected between the female die means and the press-formed sheet material.

A die set for forming an article from sheet material, the die set comprising

• female die means formed to include an inner wall defining a mold cavity,
• male die means for pressing sheet material into the mold cavity,
• first air supply means in the male die means for selectively injecting air into the mold cavity between the male die means and sheet material pressed by the male die means to break the vacuum formed therebetween as the sheet material is pressed, and
• second air supply means in the female die means for selectively injecting air into the mold cavity between the inner wall and sheet material pressed by the male die means to break any vacuum formed therebetween as the sheet material is pressed.

A die set for forming an article from sheet material, the die set comprising

• a female die assembly including a female mold having an inner wall configured to define a portion of a mold cavity, ejecting means for ejecting an article from the female mold, the ejecting means including an ejector extending into the female mold and piston means for moving the ejector between a retracted position within the female mold and a projected position away from the female mold, the ejector including a forward wall configured to define a remaining portion of the mold cavity when the piston means is in its retracted position, and female air supply means for selectively introducing air between the female mold and the ejector as the ejector moves toward its projected position to aid in breaking a vacuum created in the mold cavity during formation of an article therein,
• a male die assembly including male mold means for pressing sheet material into the mold cavity, the male mold means including a movable first die for forming a portion of the article, a movable second die for forming a remaining portion of the article, the second die extending into the first die, drive means for moving the first and second dies from retracted positions to article-forming positions in the mold cavity, first retraction means for moving the first die relative to the second die away from the mold cavity to its retracted position while the second die remains in its article-forming position, second retraction means for moving the second die relative to the first die away from the mold cavity, and male air supply means for selectively introducing compressed air having a predetermined pressure between first and second dies as the first die moves relative to the second die toward its retracted position to aid in breaking a vacuum created between the first and second dies during formation of an article in the mold cavity, the compressed air introduced by the male air supply means exerting a substantially predetermined force on a portion of the sheet material in the mold cavity, thereby holding the sheet material against the inner wall of the female mold to ease separation of the second die and the sheet material to permit movement of the second die relative to the sheet material during operation of the second retraction means.

A die set for forming an article from sheet material, the die set comprising

• male die means,
• female die means,
• press means for providing relative movement between the male and female die means to press sheet material positioned therebetween, thereby forming the article,
• trim means for separating the press-formed sheet material into the article and excess trim waste, thereby defining a peripheral edge of the article, and
• discharge means for selectively moving the excess trim waste away from the female die means, the female die means being configured to provide a mold cavity and the trim means providing stop means for blocking movement of the article out of the mold cavity during operation of the discharge means.

A die set for forming an aritcle from sheet material, the die set comprising

• male die means,
• female die means,
• press means for providing relative movement between the male and female die means to press sheet material positioned therebetween, thereby forming the article,
• trim means for separating the press-formed sheet material into the article and excess trim waste, thereby defining a peripheral edge of the article, and
• discharge means for selectively moving the excess trim waste away from the female die means, the discharge means including an air nozzle positioned adjacent to an edge of the female die means to direct a current of air toward the excess trim waste, thereby lifting and propelling the excess trim waste away from the female die means.

A die set for forming an article from sheet material, the die set comprising

• male die means,
• female die means,
• press means for providing relative movement between the male and female die means to press sheet material positioned therebetween, thereby forming the article,
• trim means for separating the press-formed sheet material into the article and excess trim waste, thereby defining a peripheral edge of the article,
• discharge means for selectively moving the excess trim waste away from the female die means,
• ejector means for ejecting articles from the female die means, and
• deflector means for routing excess trim waste expelled from the female die means by the discharge means in a first direction toward a scrap collector and articles ejected from the female die means by the ejector means in a second direction toward an article collector and away from the scrap collector.

A die set for forming an article from sheet material, the die set comprising

• male die means,
• female die means,
• press means for providing relative movement between the male and female die means to press sheet material positioned therebetween, thereby forming the article,
• trim means for separating the press-formed sheet material into the article and excess trim waste, thereby defining a peripheral edge of the article,
• discharge means for selectively moving the excess trim waste away from the female die means,
• a deflector,
• means for ejecting articles from the female die means, and
• means for selectively supporting the deflector in one of the first position intecepting the excess trim waste expelled from the female die means by the discharge means toward a scrap collector and a position intercepting articles ejected from the mold cavity by the ejector and subsequently expelled from the female die means by the discharge means toward an article collector.