US 5,209,889 AGranted

Method for operation of shuttle assembly for use in an injection molding machine

AssigneeGenCorp Inc.

InventorsRobert L. Brown, Edward F. Huff

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Abstract

A shuttle assembly for an injection molding machine includes a shuttle-support unit adapted to be attached to the machine frame and a shuttle-mold interfacing unit, slidably coupled to the support unit. Mold-coupling members removably coupling a first movable mold platen unit and a second mold platen unit to the shuttle-mold interfacing unit. During operation of the shuttle assembly, a shuttle-drive unit selectively reciprocally indexes the shuttle-mold interfacing unit in a preferably horizontal shuttle-travel path between (i) a first shuttle position whereat the first movable mold platen unit, when coupled thereto, is situated at a first unloading/loading position, and the second movable platen unit, when coupled thereto, is situated at a clamping position; and (ii) a second shuttle position where the first movable mold platen unit, when coupled thereto, is situated at a clamping position, and the second movable platen unit, when coupled thereto, is situated at a second unloading position. In the preferred embodiment, the first unloading position and the second unloading position are located on opposite sides of the clamping position.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A method of injection molding comprising the steps of:

securing a stationary mold platen unit in a field position;
situating a first movable mold platen unit in a clamping position aligned with the stationary mold platen unit at a shuttling level;
situating a second movable mold platen unit in a second unloading position in the same plane as said shuttling level but offset from the stationary mold platen unit;
moving the first movable mold platen unit from the plane of the shuttling level to an injection level where said movable mold platen unit is joined together with the stationary mold platen unit to form a first mold cavity while the second movable mold platen unit remains in the plane of the shuttling level,
injecting an injection material into the first mold cavity;
curing the injection material injected into the mold cavity to form a first molded product;
moving the first movable mold platen unit from the plane of the injection level to the plane of the shuttling level;
shuttling the first movable mold platen unit from the clamping position to a first unloading position in the same plane as said second unloading position and shuttling level;
and
shuttling the second movable mold platen unit from the second unloading position to the clamping position.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.