Apparatus and method for molding onto a stretched blank

A mold apparatus for molding a component onto a stretched blank comprising:

• a first mold part;
• a second mold part;
• a stretching assembly disposed between said first mold part and said second mold part, said stretching assembly including a plurality of clamp assemblies operable to grip the periphery of the blank and hold the blank, said stretching assembly further including a plurality of slide assemblies for selectively moving said clamp assemblies to apply a stretch to the blank, said clamp assemblies and said slide assemblies positioned about the periphery of the blank to enable stretching the blank to a stretched condition in which the blank is stretched in both a first direction and in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction;
• and
• an apparatus for closing said first mold part and said second mold part on the blank while the blank is held in a stretched condition by said stretching assembly, wherein said stretching assembly includes a plate defining a central opening permitting said first mold part and said second mold part to close on the stretched fabric, said slide assemblies being movably mounted to said plate and said clamp assemblies operatively mounted to said slide assemblies, wherein said plate is movably mounted to said first mold part and is movable along a path between a stretch position and a mold position, wherein the direction of said path is generally perpendicular to said first direction and said second direction of said stretching of said blank, the apparatus further including biasing means for biasing said plate in said stretch position, wherein said biasing means is further defined as a plurality of springs disposed between said plate and said first mold part, wherein at least one of said slide assemblies includes a slide movably mounted to said plate and a stretch cylinder interconnected between said slide and said plate, whereby extension and retraction of said stretch cylinder results in movement of said slide with respect to said plate, wherein at least one of said clamp assemblies includes a clamp head pivotally mounted to one of said slides and a clamp cylinder interconnected between said clamp head and said slide, wherein extension and retraction of said clamp cylinder results in pivotal movement of said clamp head with respect to said slide, wherein said stretching assembly includes a plurality of fabric pins;
• and
• further including a robot for transferring the blank from a loading station to the stretching assembly, said robot including a placing tool including a plurality of shot pins arranged to align with said fabric pins when said placing tool is positioned adjacent to said stretching assembly.