Apparatus for injection-molding plastic material articles consisting of a plurality of components

An apparatus for injection-molding plastic material articles having at least first and second components, the apparatus having open and closed configurations and the apparatus comprising:

• a center platen having a first and an opposite second side;
• a first mold portion cooperating with the first side of the center platen thereby defining a first separation plane;
• a second mold portion cooperating with the second side of the center platen thereby defining a second separation plane wherein the open configuration is defined by the center platen and the first and second mold portions being distanced from each other along a separation axis thereby defining gaps therebetween and wherein the closed configuration is defined by the center platen and the first and second mold portions being positioned adjacent each other;
• a plurality of first, cavities positioned adjacent the first separation plane;
• a plurality of second, larger cavities positioned adjacent the second separation plane;
• a first temperature control element positioned adjacent the first separation plane and regulating at a first temperature;
• a second temperature control element positioned adjacent the second separation plane and regulating at a second temperature;
• a first injector assembly providing plastic material to the first cavities so as to form the first components;
• a second injector assembly providing plastic material to the second cavities so as to form the second components on the first components thereby forming the plastic material articles;
• and
• a handling system, the handling system removing the first components from the first cavities, transferring the first components to the second separation plane, placing the first components in the second cavities, and unmolding the plastic material articles from the second cavities.