Mold shuttle system, apparatus, and method

摘要

A shuttle system for a vertical injection molding machine provides two carrier members slidably mounted to the upper surface of a platform of the vertical injection molding machine. A detent attached to the bottom of each of the carrier members mates with a slot associated with each of the carrier members to restrict the motion of the carrier member and define the travel path of the carrier member. The travel paths lie at an angle to one another and deliver the carrier members between a common aligned position and separate offset positions. The aligned position is the position of the carrier member in which a lower mold half attached to the carrier member is aligned with the upper mold half for completion of the mold and injection. The offset positions are nearer the front side of the vertical injection molding machine than the aligned position so that the carrier members move toward the front side between injection cycles. Each of the carrier members is attached to a separate hydraulic cylinder that independently moves the carrier members between the aligned and offset positions.