Greaseless Mold Carrier and Alignment System

Since the introduction of stack molds, many advances and improvements have been made. Advances from insulated runners to hot tips and then heated manifolds are some of the improvements made over the years. These improvements have lead to more interest in stack molds for more applications such as clean rooms.

One function that has had the least advancement is the support system that supports the center section of stack molds. Commonly used systems slide back and forth on the molding machine tie rods or the molding machine base as the molds open and close. These systems require constant lubrication, may damage the molding machine tie rods, and may need to be adjusted during set-up or when wear occurs. In addition, centering mechanisms are used in conjunction with center section supports to transverse the center section and to maintain equal distances between the center section of the stack mold and the front and back sections. Furthermore, when adjustment screws or other methods are used to align the center section, mis-adjustments will occur because of the difficulty of measuring and making precise adjustments after the mold is set. Mis-adjustments cause cocking of the center section. This cocking causes more force on the centering mechanism, taper locks, and other mold alignment components, resulting in pre-mature mold wear. This additional force causes the centering mechanism to wear uneven on one side or the other, resulting in more rapid wear and major repairs.

The United States and Canadian patented Greaseless Mold Carrier and Alignment System cures inherent problems with existing sliding systems due to its unique rolling feature. The rolling feature is superior to sliding systems because the mold is supported on rollers that requires little force to move during traversing of the center section each cycle. The rollers move on a flat surface, are self aligning, and require no adjustments or lubrication. The system also serves as an accurate platform for measuring and addressing processing issues such as flash, drag marks, sticking in cavities, and core to cavity alignment. Reliable information can be collected and used for ongoing and future reference for design improvements or problem solving. Furthermore, in addition to rollers supporting the center section, rollers are also added to opposing sides to prevent any lateral mis-alignment. This function assures accurate mold alignment even though wear may exist in the molding machine moving platen.

The Greaseless Mold Carrier and Alignment System starts with accurate alignment of the three mold sections during set-up and maintains accurate alignment during each molding cycle. Aligning the three sections during set-up eliminates built-in stress when clamping the front and back sections to the molding machine platens. The alignment system is designed to guide the front section, center section, and back section to precise alignment during set-up. Because the mold is supported on the alignment system, the crane or other lifting equipment is removed before the front and back sections are bolted to the front and rear molding machine platens, thus eliminating misalignment stress. This procedure is repeated during each mold change without adjustments.

The Greaseless Mold Carrier and Alignment System can be retrofitted to existing molds or designed for use with new molds without molding machine modifications. The system is also applicable to single face molds that tilt on the moving platen because of the mold weight or molds that require precise alignment during set-up and production runs. The system can be mounted on the top tie rods for rapid mold changes.