Compression molding apparatus

A compression molding apparatus comprising a rotatably mounted rotatable supporting member and a plurality of circumferentially spaced molds mounted on the rotatable supporting member, each of said molds being adapted to be conveyed successively through a plastic material feed zone, a compression molding zone and a discharge zone by the rotation of the rotatable supporting member in a rotating direction, and a plastic material feed means for feeding a plastic material in a heat-softened state to each of said molds being disposed in the plastic material feed zone;

• wherein
• each of said molds comprises a first mold portion and a second mold portion adapted to be opened and closed by being moved relative to each other in substantially opposite directions, the first mold portion and the second mold portion in cooperation with each other define a mold cavity, a conduit hole extending from the mold cavity is formed in the second mold portion, each of the molds comprises a compression rod inserted slidably in the conduit hole, and the conduit hole has a plastic receiving portion opened frontwardly in the rotating direction of the rotatable supporting member, and
• the plastic material feed means includes an extruder having an extrusion opening opposite to a passage for conveying the plastic receiving portion of the conduit hole by the rotation of the rotatable supporting member and is constructed such that the heat-softened plastic material extruded from the extrusion opening is received in the plastic receiving portion of the conduit hole conveyed by the rotation of the rotatable supporting member in a conveying direction and cut, and the extrusion opening of the extruder has a portion progressively wider downstream as viewed in the conveying direction.