Moulding of mouldable materials

A method of manufacturing moulded articles, the method comprising the steps of:

• continuously running a compounder comprising a compounding barrel which has therein compounding screw means for continuously plasticizing a mouldable material supplied to the compounder in a single plasticizing procedure;
• incorporating reinforcing fibres in the mouldable material as the single plasticizing procedure proceeds and provide a continuous supply of mouldable material with the fibres dispersed in it;
• directing the mouldable material and dispersed fibres emerging from the compounder into a feed path leading from the compounder to at least one barrel;
• urging mouldable material and dispersed fibres out of the barrel and into a moulding cavity by advancing a piston along the barrel in a forward stroke from a retracted position to a forward position, the face of the piston which is leading during the forward stroke becoming part of the bounding wall of the moulding cavity upon the piston reaching the limit of its forward stroke.

A method of manufacturing moulded articles, the method comprising the steps of:

• continuously running screw means in a screw-means barrel with mouldable material;
• then supplying fibres to the mouldable material in the screw-means barrel with the running screw means for providing mouldable material with said fibres dispersed therein;
• directing the mouldable material with said fibers alternately into first and second barrels;
• urging the mouldable material with said fibres out of the first barrel and into a first moulding cavity by advancing a first piston along the first barrel in a forward stroke from a retracted position to a forward position, a face of the first piston leading during the forward stroke becoming part of a bounding wall of the first moulding cavity when the first piston reaches the forward position thereof;
• and
• then urging the mouldable material with said fibres out of the second barrel and into a second moulding cavity by advancing a second piston in a forward stroke along the second barrel from a retracted position to a forward position, a face of the second piston leading during the forward stroke becoming part of a bounding wall of the second moulding cavity when the first piston reaches the forward position thereof.

An installation for moulding moulded articles, the installation comprising;

• means for supplying mouldable material to a barrel with has therein screw means for continuously plasticising the mouldable material in a single plasticising process and
• means for incorporating reinforcing fibres in the mouldable material as the single plasticising process proceeds, for providing a continuous supply of mouldable material with said fibres dispersed therein;
• means defining a flow path leading from the barrel;
• first and second barrels, said flow path leading from the barrel to the first and second barrels;
• means for feeding the mouldable material with said fibres dispersed therein along the flow path sequentially to the first and second barrels;
• first and second moulding cavities;
• first and second pistons each in a respective one of the first and second barrels and each having a retracted position and a forward position in the respective barrel;
• and
• means for displacing the pistons sequentially in forward strokes from the retracted positions to the forward positions for displacing mouldable material with said fibres dispersed therein out of the barrels and into the moulding cavities, those faces of the first and second pistons which lead during the forward strokes becoming part of the bounding walls of the associated first and second moulding cavities respectively when the pistons reach the forward ends of their strokes.

An installation for moulding moulded articles, the installation comprising;

• a compounder comprising a compounding barrel which has therein compounding screw means for providing a continuous supply of mouldable material with fibres dispersed therein by plasticizing the mouldable material in a single plasticising procedure and incorporating the fibres in the mouldable material as the plasticizing procedure proceeds;
• means for supplying the mouldable material to the compounder;
• means for supplying the fibres to the compounder;
• means defining a flow path leading from the compounder;
• at least one barrel, said flow path leading from the compounder to the barrel;
• means for feeding mouldable material with fibres dispersed therein to the barrel;
• at least one moulding cavity;
• a piston in the barrel, said piston having a retracted position and a forward position in the barrel;
• and
• means for displacing the pistons in a forward stroke from the retracted positions to the forward positions for displacing mouldable material with fibres dispersed therein out of the barrel and into the moulding cavity, the face of the piston which leads during the forward stroke becoming part of the bounding wall of the moulding cavity when the piston reaches the forward end of its stroke.