Adjustable cam track for an injection molding machine

An adjustable cam track for an injection molding machine, said machine including a base, a first platen fixed to the base and having a mold cavity assembly defining a plurality of mold cavities, a second platen movable with respect to the base and said first platen and having a mold core assembly defining a plurality of mold cores, a stripper platen movably interposed between the first and second platens and having a plurality of pairs of space defining surfaces which together with the mold cavity and mold core assemblies define a plurality of spaces for receiving plastic material injected therein to form a plurality of molded articles, a first motive means for moving the second platen and the stripper platen away from the first platen to remove the molded articles from the mold cavity assembly, and a second motive means for separating the second platen and the stripper platen to remove the molded articles from the mold core assembly, the adjustable cam track comprising:

• a set of guides coupled to the second platen for guiding the movement of the stripper platen with respect to the second platen, a set of cam followers coupled to said pairs of space defining surfaces for causing relative movement of each pair of space defining surfaces to release the molded articles from the molding machine, a set of cam inserts engaging the cam followers, said cam inserts being adjustably positionable with respect to the guides to adjust the point of release of the molded articles, each cam insert including a first toothed rack, and a second toothed rack removably fixed to each guide and engaging the first toothed rack to fix the position of each cam insert relative to each guide only at certain preselected locations to coordinate the operation of all the cam followers thereby avoiding any wear imbalance.

An adjustable cam track for an injection molding machine, said machine including a base, a first platen fixed to the base and having a mold cavity assembly defining a plurality of mold cavities, a second platen movable with respect to the base and said first platen and having a mold core assembly defining a plurality of mold cores, a stripper platen movably interposed between the first and second platens and having a plurality of pairs of space defining surfaces which together with the mold cavity and mold core assemblies define a plurality of spaces for receiving plastic material injected therein to form a plurality of molded articles, a first motive means for moving the second platen and the stripper platen away from the first platen to remove the molded articles from the mold cavity assembly, and a second motive means for separating the second platen and the stripper platen to remove the molded articles from the mold core assembly, the adjustable cam track comprising:

• a set of guides coupled to the second platen for guiding the movement of the stripper platen with respect to the second platen, a set of cam followers coupled to said pairs of space defining surfaces for causing relative movement of each pair of space defining surfaces to release the molded articles from the molding machine, a set of cam inserts engaging the cam followers, said cam inserts being adjustably positionable with respect to the guides to adjust the point of release of the molded articles, each guide including a pair of guide walls forming a channel defining two limits of position of the cam follower engaged therein, each cam insert being received between the pair of guide walls and including a pair of cam insert walls spaced apart by a distance about equal to the size of the cam follower engaged therein, the cam insert walls including at least one inclined portion to define a path of movement for the cam follower between the two limits of position, each cam insert including a first toothed rack, and a second toothed rack removably fixed to each guide and engaging the first toothed rack to fix the position of each cam insert relative to each guide only at certain preselected locations to coordinate the operation of all the cam followers thereby avoiding any wear imbalance.