Method of controlling/regulating an embossing procedure and drive control device for injection molding machines
AssigneeNetstal-Maschinen AG
InventorRobert Weinmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to a novel method for producing precision parts, especially flat optical data carriers. According to the inventive method, the embossing procedure is program-controlled on the basis of the path function of an electromechanical or hydraulic drive of the driven mold half. When a servomotor is used, the internal path signal thereof can be directly used for calculating the path function or for operating the program control. The novel method allows for a complete speed control of the embossing phase. All factors that can be mechanically influenced from the exterior are detected in more detail for the conditions before and during the embossing phase, thereby allowing for an optimum precision and reproducibility.
Claims25
A method of controlling and/or regulating an embossing process for producing a precision part, comprising:
- providing an injection moulding machine having a driven mould half, a counter-mould half, and a column;
- setting the injection moulding machine to a basic setting;
- injecting a mass into an embossing slot during an injection cycle, wherein the embossing slot is defined by the driven mould half and the counter mould half;
- moving the driven mould half via an electro-mechanical or hydraulic embossing drive relative to the counter-mould half;
- controlling and/or regulating the embossing force on the mass by controlling and/or regulating a path of the driven mould half;
- and
- preventing the driven mould half from physically contacting the counter-mould half during the embossing process,
- wherein the column expands as a function of an embossing force applied to the mass in the embossing slot during the embossing process,
- wherein the expansion of the column influences the mass in the embossing slot,
- wherein the controlling and/or regulating includes compensating for changes in the movement of the driven mould half due to the expansion of the column.
An injection moulding machine for implementing an embossing process to produce precision parts, comprising:
- a driven mould half defining a first portion of an embossing slot;
- a counter-mould half defining a second portion of the embossing slot;
- an injector configured to inject a mass into the embossing slot;
- an electro-mechanical or hydraulic embossing drive configured to move the driven mould half relative to the counter mould half so as to generate an embossing force between the driven mould half and the counter-mould half;
- a column configured to expand due to the embossing force;
- and
- a controller configured to control and/or regulate the embossing force on the mass by controlling and/or regulating a path of the driven mould half, the controller taking into account the expansion of the column,
- wherein the expansion of the column influences the mass disposed in the embossing slot,
- wherein the machine is configured to prevent the driven mould half from physically contacting the counter-mould half during the embossing process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.