Compound tooling system for molding applications
OwnerJoseph O'Donoghueinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compound mold or tooling system is designed to provide an alternative to conventional, expensive, metal molds for various plastics molding applications. The compound mold comprises a replaceable thin-walled liner, or skin-mold, defining the mold surface, temporarily bonded by vacuum means or mechanical means to a conforming backing-mold mold body supported by a rigid backing-plate. Both skin- and backing-molds are composed of suitable polymers with or without additives, fillers, reinforcements or other inclusions depending on mold requirements. The backing-plate contains standard features and fixtures common to all molds used in the particular process or of a particular geometry.
Claims35
A mold unit that comprises:
- (a) a pre-fabricated, re-usable and impermeable skin-mold having a rear surface and having a structurally contoured front surface that comprises at least a portion of the interior surface of a fillable mold and precisely defines detailed structures of said interior surface, such as cavities, runners, and/or mold alignment guides;
- (b) a backing-mold having a rear surface and having a front surface shaped to mate with the rear surface of said skin-mold;
- (c) vacuum means for bonding the rear surface of said skin-mold to the front surface of said backing-mold;
- and
- (d) a rigid backing-plate having a front surface shaped to mate with the rear surface of the backing-mold.
A compound mold comprising two complementary and opposing mold halves sealable at a parting line, each of which mold halves comprises:
- (a) a pre-fabricated, re-usable and impermeable skin-mold having a rear surface and having a structurally contoured front surface that comprises at least a portion of the interior surface of a fillable mold and precisely defines detailed structures of said interior surface, such as cavities, runners, and/or mold alignment guides;
- (b) a backing-mold having a rear surface and having a front surface shaped to mate with the rear surface of said skin-mold;
- (c) vacuum means for bonding the rear surface of said skin-mold to the front surface of said backing-mold;
- and
- (d) a rigid backing-plate having a front surface shaped to mate with the rear surface of the backing-mold.
A mold unit that comprises:
- (a) a pre-fabricated, re-usable and impermeable skin-mold having a rear surface and having a structurally contoured front surface that comprises at least a portion of the interior surface of a fillable mold and precisely defines detailed structures of said interior surface, such as cavities, runners, and/or mold alignment guides;
- (b) a backing-mold having a front surface shaped to mate with the rear surface of said skin-mold;
- and
- (c) vacuum means for bonding the rear surface of said skin-mold to the front surface of said backing-mold.
A compound mold comprising two complementary and opposing mold halves sealable at a parting line, each of which mold halves comprises:
- (a) a pre-fabricated, re-usable and impermeable skin-mold having a rear surface and having a structurally contoured front surface that comprises at least a portion of the interior surface of a fillable mold and precisely defines detailed structures of said interior surface, such as cavities, runners, and/or mold alignment guides;
- (b) a backing-mold having a front surface shaped to mate with the rear surface of said skin-mold;
- and
- (c) vacuum means for bonding the rear surface of said skin-mold to the front surface of said backing-mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.