Abstract:
A method and apparatus for trimming molded hollow plastic articles having flash and a finish for a closure. Articles are moved in succession through the load, deflashing, facing, inspection, rejection and unload stations of a trimming apparatus by vacuum heads. The articles are picked up by vacuum heads and transferred through the stations by intermittent rotation of a turret carrying the vacuum heads. To ensure proper location, each article is picked up in the load station by a vacuum head and continuously engaged by this vacuum head throughout the deflashing, facing and inspection stations and into the unloading station unless rejected and released in the rejection station.To facilitate loading, unloading and operations in the work stations on the articles, their orientation can be changed from one station to another. To enable variation of the cycle time of the apparatus, the turret and the operating mechanism in the various stations is driven by a common variable speed drive. To enable the apparatus to trim runs of articles of different sizes, the position of the operating mechanism of the various work stations with respect to the vacuum heads for carrying articles can be adjusted.
Abstract:
The top seal parts of bottle-like containers made by blow-molding a flexible synthetic resin are cut off by nonrotatably supporting each container, pressing from one side a cutting edge of a cutter against a specific cutting line on the top part of the container, and rotating the cutter around the top part thereby to cut off the top seal part. This process can be carried out by an apparatus comprising a plurality of combinations of mechanisms, each combination comprising a fixing device for nonrotatably and fixedly supporting a container, a cutting head which can be fitted onto the top seal part of this container and can be driven in ascending, descending, and rotating movement, and cutting head drive.
Abstract:
In apparatus for deflashing thermoplastic articles which includes an edge member for slicing through the flash and guide means for the articles during slicing, there is provided temperature sensing control means upstream of the edge member, a rotating screw and adjacent support bar for delivering the articles to the guide means, a retractable support bar section and reciprocable plunger operable in response to a signal from the temperature sensing control means, and individual deflashed article carrier assemblies linearly moving beneath the edge member. The process involves supplying untrimmed thermoplastic blow molded articles, such as preforms, having in the region of a neck moil and the rest of each preform a cool outer skin at a temperature approaching the surface temperature of the blow mold cavity and an inner wall between the skin temperature and the extrusion temperature, sequentially advancing such untrimmed preforms toward a deflashing station while allowing the thermoplastic in such region to partially equilibrate in temperature through the full wall, sensing the surface temperature in such region upstream of the deflashing station and determining whether it is within a predetermined range with respect to the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic material, ejecting untrimmed preforms whose surface temperature is outside this range, slicing through the thermoplastic in said region of non-ejected preforms in the deflashing station to remove the moils and then catching them in holders as they fall by gravity after removal of the moils.
Abstract:
Apparatus for deflashing hollow bodies of plastic material including a series of gripping elements mounted on a support and moved along a path of transport to grip the necks of a succession of plastic bodies delivered to the apparatus by a conveyor, and to remove the bodies from the conveyor for further movement along the path to a position where the necks of the bodies are engaged by a cutting tool along a portion of the path of transport. Another movable element in the apparatus is positioned to engage the necks of the respective bodies as they approach the cutting tool and to impart a rotational movement to the neck of each body during the time the neck is engaged by the cutting tool.
Abstract:
A blow molding apparatus for forming containers from organic plastic material wherein the container is formed with an expanded radially extending wall at the finish of the container so that the flash and moile material can be removed by a die cut or blanking operation of the apparatus.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for finishing a blow molded plastic article having flash attached to a neck portion thereof which includes gripping and relatively moving the flash and the article away from each other to sever the flash at a portion immediately adjacent the end of the neck which is at an elevated temperature with respect to the neck portion, and thereafter advancing a forming mandrel into the neck to roll an irregular edge left in the area of flash severance forwardly toward the body of the article and outwardly against the wall of the neck to form a smooth finish. The apparatus includes an inwardly directed step in the blow mold at the extremity of the neck defining portion of the mold whereat a thickened and therefore elevated temperature portion of the plastic is formed on expanding the parison, this thickened section being the area where severing occurs during finishing.
Abstract:
This invention relates to a cutting apparatus for removing integral molding flash from a plastic article, such as flash from the neck of a blow molded bottle. Such flash is necessarily formed during the molding operation and projects axially beyond the desired neck opening of a narrow-neck bottle, for example. The specific cutting means includes a plurality of levers medially pivoted on a support element which is advanced to a given distance from the desired line of cut, the support element being rotatable and the levers rotating with the element about an axis aligned with the flash axis. Each such lever carries a cutter at its flash-adjacent end, and cam means contact the remote end of each lever. Upon movement of the cam toward the flash, the levers are pivoted to contact the cutters with the flash, which is thereby severed. The cams continue to retain the cutters in contact with the flash as the support element is withdrawn to remove the severed flash from the severing location.