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US 5,397,229 AGranted
Electroformed tooling with heat transfer fins and method for making same
AssigneeFET Engineering, Inc.
InventorMinoru Kitano
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeFET Engineering, Inc.
InventorMinoru Kitano
Estimating the term…
A mold assembly for molding thermoplastic material into a solid thin shell includes a metal mold with an outer surface exposed to a heat source and an inner surface on which thermoplastic material is cast and fused to form a thin layer thermoplastic shell. A plurality of elongated generally planar fins are connected to the outer surface at predetermined spaced areas for transferring heat from the heat source to predetermined spaced areas of the inner surface. The fins are metal sheets, preferably copper, each having a discontinuous flange at one end secured to the outer surface at spaced points along the discontinuous flange. The discontinuous flange is formed by slitting or cutting one end to form spaced projections and then bending adjacent projections in opposite directions generally transversely from the elongated metal sheet. The projections arc secured to the outer surface by TIG welding.
In a mold assembly for molding thermoplastic material into a solid thin shell, said assembly having a metal mold with an outer surface adapted to be exposed to a heat source and an inner surface on which thermoplastic material is cast and fused to form a thin layer thermoplastic shell, the improvement comprising a plurality of fins connected to the outer surface of the mold, each fin comprising an elongated metal sheet having a discontinuous flange at one end secured to the outer surface at spaced points along the discontinuous flange, said fins transferring heat from the heat source to predetermined areas of the inner surface.
A method of fabricating a mold assembly for molding thermoplastic material into a solid thin shell, said assembly having a metal mold with an outer surface adapted to be exposed to a heat source and an inner surface on which thermoplastic material is cast and fused to form a thin thermoplastic shell comprising the step of forming a plurality of fins each comprising an elongated metal sheet with a discontinuous flange at one end and connecting the fins to predetermined areas of said outer surface at spaced points along the discontinuous flange for transferring heat from said heat source to predetermined areas of the inner surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.