GB2395160A - A moulding arrangement in association with mixing - Google Patents
A moulding arrangement in association with mixing Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2395160A GB2395160A GB0226303A GB0226303A GB2395160A GB 2395160 A GB2395160 A GB 2395160A GB 0226303 A GB0226303 A GB 0226303A GB 0226303 A GB0226303 A GB 0226303A GB 2395160 A GB2395160 A GB 2395160A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- moulding material
- moulding
- mould
- mixing device
- constituents
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C44/00—Shaping by internal pressure generated in the material, e.g. swelling or foaming ; Producing porous or cellular expanded plastics articles
- B29C44/34—Auxiliary operations
- B29C44/60—Measuring, controlling or regulating
Landscapes
- Processing And Handling Of Plastics And Other Materials For Molding In General (AREA)
- Casting Or Compression Moulding Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
A moulding arrangement 10 includes at least two reservoirs 12, 13, 14 for constituents of a moulding material, a mould 25 for moulding and a mixing device 20, the constituents being mixable by the mixing device 20 to initiate a reaction to produce moulding material, and the arrangement 10 including a mould filling apparatus 23 for feeding the moulding material to the mould 20, the arrangement 10 further including a controller 22, and the mixing device 20 being controllable by the controller 22 as the mould filling apparatus feeds moulding material to the mould 25, to vary the mixture to change a characteristic of the moulding material. The arrangement may produce a floor pan 30 (figure 2) for an earthworking machine or off-highway vehicle. The pan 30 includes a body 31 of fibrous matting 32 surrounded by polyurethane 33. The controller 22 may control heaters 40 which may selectively heat different parts of mould 25.
Description
23951 60
Title: Moulding Apparatus Description of Invention
This invention relates to a moulding apparatus of the kind for moulding an article in a moulding material which is produced by mixing together two or more constituents of the moulding material to initiate a reaction, the moulding material curing to provide the moulded article.
10 It is known to produce moulding material in different physical states. For example polyurethane may be produced either as a foam, or an elastomer or a solid depending upon the nature of a mixture of constituents mixed in a mixing device. Conventionally polyurethane is produced in a desired state by mixing 15 together in the correct proportions for the desired state of material to be produced, three constituents, namely polyol, isocyanate and additives. Two of the constituents, namely polyol and isocyanate are pre-mixed in proportions to produce the desired state of material to be produced, and are supplied as such, and stored in a reservoir. The third constituent is mixed with the pre-mixed 20 other two constituents, plus any additives such as colouring, foaming agent etc., by the mixing device just prior to feeding the moulding material to the mould.
Thus when it has been desired to produce the moulding material for moulding an article in a different state, the mixing device has had to be purged, and at least the reservoir containing pre-mixed constituents changed with a 25 reservoir containing an alternative pre-mixture of two constituents.
Moulding apparatus are also known in which all three polyurethane constituents are contained in their own separate reservoirs and the mixing device is programmable to produce a particular state material by mixing together the three constituents in desired proportions. Thus by reprogramming
the mixing device, a different state polyurethane material may be produced without requiring replacement of any of the reservoirs.
It is also known to mould articles which have material in more than one state. For example a moulded article may have a first region with polyurethane 5 in one state, e.g. solid, and another region of material in another state, e.g. foam. This is achieved by complex transfer moulding and the like which requires that a partially moulded article is transferred from one mould or mould part to another so that moulding material of an alternative state may be introduced to produce another region.
10 According to a first aspect of the invention we provide a moulding system including at least two reservoirs for constituents of a moulding material, a mould for moulding and a mixing device, the constituents of the at least two reservoirs being mixable by the mixing device to initiate a reaction to produce moulding material, and the system including a mould filling apparatus for 15 feeding the moulding material to the mould, the system further including a controller, and the mixing device being controllable by the controller as the mould filling apparatus feeds moulding material to the mould, to vary the mixture to change a characteristic of the moulding material.
Utilising the invention, an article with different regions of alternative 20 characteristic material may be produced without having to transfer a partially moulded article from one mould part to another, because the mixing device is controlled to vary the mixture of constituents whilst the article is being moulded. The invention may be applied to a system in which there are at least 25 three reservoirs, containing moulding material constituents. The moulding material may be producable in at least two alternative material states e.g. foamed or elastomer or solid, depending upon the mixture of at least two of the constituents whereby a mechanical characteristic of the moulding material is different for the different material states. Thus the mixing apparatus may be
controllable during a first period of mould filling to produce moulding material in one state of the moulding material, and during a second period of mould filling to produce moulding material in an alternative state of the moulding material. Thus the constituents which are mixed to produce moulding material 5 for the different regions may be the same or different, but with the constituents mixed in different proportions to produce a moulding material of a desired state. Alternatively or additionally, the invention may be applied to a system in which the moulding material is producable in at least two alternative colours or 10 strengths depending upon the mixture of the constituents whereby a physical characteristic of the moulding material is changed as the mixture is varied.
Again the mixing apparatus may be controllable during a first period of mould filling to produce moulding material with one physical characteristic, and during a second period of mould filling to produce moulding material with an 15 alternative physical characteristic. In this arrangement, the actual constituents which are mixed to produce the moulding material for the different regions of the article may be different.
In each case the mould of the system may include a plurality of inlet ports through which moulding material is feedable into a mould cavity, and the 20 system may include a feed control device operable by the controller during mould filling to feed moulding material first to one inlet port or group of inlet ports, and then to another inlet port or group of inlet ports. For example, each inlet port may have an associated in-gate which in-gates are controllable by the controller. 25 The controller of the system may thus synchronise control of the valve or valves of the mixing device with the feed control device so that during a first period of mould filling, moulding material with one characteristic is introduced into the mould cavity via the one inlet port or group of inlet ports and during a second period of mould filling, moulding material with another characteristic is
introduced into the mould cavity via the another inlet port or group of inlet ports. Not only may the inlet port or ports selected for feeding the moulding material be changed during moulding but the controller may be operable to 5 control other physical parameters of the system, in order to mould the article with regions of moulding material of different states, but other parameters may be controlled such as, for examples only, the pressure of the moulding material introduced into the mould, and/or the temperature of the mixing device and/or the temperature in the mould and thus of the moulding material. This 10 particularly important where the moulding material is a thermosetting plastic.
According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a method of moulding an article in a moulding material utilising a moulding apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention wherein the method includes during a first period of moulding, controlling the mixing device to produce a 15 moulding material with a characteristic, and during a second period of moulding controlling the mixing device to vary the mixture to produce moulding material with an alternative characteristic.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which: 20 FIGURE 1 is a diagram of a moulding system in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 2 is an illustration of an article produced by the system of figure 1.
Referring to figure 1 of the drawing, a moulding system 10 includes a 25 plurality of reservoirs 12, 13, 14, three in this example, for containing constituents which are mixable together to initiate a reaction to produce a plowable moulding material which in this example is polyurethane. Each reservoir may be a hopper as indicated which are suitable where the
constituents are solids, although other kinds of reservoir may be provided, for example a tank where a constituent is in a liquid state.
In this particular example, a first 12 of the reservoirs contains polyol and the second 13 of the reservoirs contains isocyanate and the third reservoir 14 5 contains additives such as cross linkers, glass fibres and accelerators.
The three constituents in the reservoirs 12, 13, 14 may be mixed in different proportions to produce polyurethane moulding material which when cured is either in a foam, or an elastomer or a solid state.
The system 10 further includes a mixing device 20 to which the l O contained constituents may flow, under gravity or otherwise. The mixing device 20 may include a simple on/off or proportional valve for each of the constituents, or a more complex controllable mixing valve, in each case so that the mixing device 20 may mix together the constituents from the reservoirs 12, 13, 14 in predetermined proportions to produce flowable moulding material.
15 The mixing device 20, or rather a mixing valve or valves of the device 20, is/are controlled by a system controller which is indicated at 22.
The mixing device 20 provides flowable moulding material for feeding to a mould cavity of a mould 25 via a plurality of inlet ports 26. A mould filling apparatus 23 for feeding the flowable moulding material may be provided as an 20 integral part of the mixing device 20 or of the mould 25 or separately as indicated, to enable a feed control device which is operated under the control of the system controller 22 as desired. In this example the mould filling apparatus 23 and may direct moulding material to a selected one or group of the inlet ports 26 during moulding as hereafter explained.
25 The system 10 may be used to produce an article such as in this example, a floor pan 30 for an earthworking machine or off-highway vehicle, as indicated in figure 2. The pan 30 includes a body 31 of fibrous matting 32 surrounded by a solid state polyurethane 33 which gives the pan 30 the necessary rigidity and strength. The matting 32 and solid state polyurethane 33
is contained within an elastomer state polyurethane 34, which includes on an upper side 35 thereof, a textured region 37 which in use provides a floor mat on which a machine operator may rest his foot, and on the underside 38, a pair of suspension formations 39, 40 which, in use, rest on structural metal parts of the 5 machine and support the pan 30. The suspension formations 39, 40 being made of elastomer state polyurethane, exhibit some resilience and thus absorb vibrations from the machine which may otherwise be transmitted to the operator, whilst the elastomer state material mat 37 region provides comfort to the operator resting his foot.
10 The pan 30 may be moulded using the moulding system 10 of figure 1 as follows. The fibrous matting 32 is placed in the mould cavity of the mould 25 and then when the mould is closed, the controller 22 controls the mixing device 20 to mix a quantity of the three constituents in the reservoirs 12, 13, 14 to produce 15 a flowable moulding material for moulding the polyurethane in a solid state. To achieve this the controller 22 controls the valve or valves of the mixing device 20 to mix the three constituents in the correct proportions.
Each inlet port 26 has an associated in-gate which is controllable by the controller 22 to open or close. During a first period of moulding, the controller 20 22 controls the fill control device to open one of or a group of the inlet ports 26 so that the flowable moulding material produced by the mixing device 20 is fed to the mould cavity in appropriate positions to begin filling the mould 25 around the fibrous matting 32 which provides a barrier to the moulding material i.e. the moulding material flows mainly around the matting 32 in the mould 25 25 rather than being absorbed by the matting 32.
When sufficient solid moulding material to produce the solid state region 33 of the moulding has been produced by the mixing device 20, while that material continues to be fed to the mould 25 by the mould filling apparatus 23,
the controller 22 controls the mixing device 20 to van the mixture in order to produce moulding material for moulding the polyurethane in an elastomer state.
For example, when producing the moulding material for moulding solid state polyurethane, (rigid PUR) the constituents from the reservoirs 12, 13, 14 5 may be mixed in the proportions polyol 48%, isocyanate 42% and additives 10% (including for example, 9.6% trichlorofluoromethane, 0.02% catalyst C-
16, 0.01% stannous octoate, 0.3% silicone L520); when producing moulding material for moulding elastomer state (flexible PUR) polyurethane, the constituents from the reservoirs 12, 13, 14 may be mixed in the proportions 10 polyol 27%, isocyanate 11% and additives 62% (for example 1.3% water, 4.0% auxiliary blowing agent, 53.5% inorganic filler, 0.1% amine catalyst, 0.4% silicone surfactant, and 2.7% other additives such as recycled mouldings).
To achieve this variation of mixture, the controller 22 may open/close or vary the extent of opening of the valves or the valve of the mixing device 20 in 15 a accordance with a given algorithm.
Meanwhile, as the last of the moulding material for producing solid state polyurethane is fed to the mould 25 via the selected inlet port or ports 26, the controller 22 operates the in-gates of the mould 25, so that moulding material for producing elastomer state polyurethane is fed into the mould cavity via 20 another of the, or an alternative selected group of the, inlet ports 26 of the mould 25 during a second period of moulding.
Thus as necessary, depending upon the nature of the article to be moulded, the flowablility and curing time of the moulding material, the moulding material for the elastomer state region of the article 30 may be fed 25 into the mould 25 so as to contact initially the moulding material of the solid state region 33 of the article 30 which was first introduced into the mould 25, to minimise mixing of the different state regions, i.e. the moulding material for the solid state region of the article 30 which was first introduced into the mould will have cured more than more recently introduced moulding material.
Moreover, to promote or even delay curing, the controller 22 may control heaters 40 which may selectively heat different parts of the mould 25, to ensure for example that the moulding material for any part of the solid state region 33, e.g. furthest from the inlet port or ports 26 in which the material was 5 introduced into the mould 25, will not have cured to an extent that a bond with the subsequently introduced moulding material for the elastomer state region 34 of the article 30 cannot be made.
It will be appreciated that upon mixing the constituents from the reservoirs 12, 13, 14 in the mixing device 20, the mixture will tend to expand 10 and thus the moulding material may develop its own pressure to promote feeding of the moulding material into the mould 25. If necessary however, the mould filling apparatus 23 may include a feeding device such as a high pressure gear pump positively to feed the moulding material into the mould 25.
In each case the floor pan 30 is moulded with alternative regions i.e. the l 5 body 31 and the floor mat 37 and suspension parts 39, 40, made of polyurethane in different physical states, integrally and without any need for transferring part moulded articles from one mould or mould part to another. Rather, the pan 30 or other article is moulded continuously.
It will be appreciated that the moulding of a floor pan 30 as described is 20 only an example of the use of the invention which may be applied to produce a wide range of moulded articles which have different regions made from the same material in different physical states.
Moreover the invention may be applied for making articles with regions with other varying physical characteristics. For example an article may be made 25 with a region in one colour and another region in an alternative colour in the same material, different state material, or even different materials, by suitably programming the controller 22 to control the mixing device 20 to mix appropriate constituents for the regions and to control the mould filling apparatus 23, e.g. the in-gates of a mould 25 appropriately, in synchronism with
the mixing device 20. Of course all constituents required for mixing to produce the various moulding material will need to be available to the mixing device 20 and thus more than three, or in a simple case only two, reservoirs 12, 13, 14 for moulding material constituents will need to be provided.
5 The mixing device 20 may be arranged to mix generally the same moulding material for moulding a first region of the article, as are mixed for moulding a second region of the article, but with alternative additives or slightly different proportions so that the strength or other physical characteristic of the first region of the article is different to the strength or other physical 10 characteristic of a second region of the article.
Further alternately, a first kind of moulding material e.g. polyurethane may be produced during a first period of moulding and a different kind of moulding material may be produced during a second period of moulding, e.g. polyester epoxy, or vinyl ester, so that a materially complex but integral article l S may be produced.
It will be appreciated that utilising the invention, articles with more than two regions of alternative material or alternative state material or other varying physical or other characteristics may be moulded, in simple and more complex configurations than the floor pan 30 which is described in the example.
20 The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following
claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse 25 forms thereof.
Claims (13)
1. A moulding system including at least two reservoirs for constituents of a moulding material, a mould for moulding and a mixing device, the constituents 5 of the at least two reservoirs being mixable by the mixing device to initiate a reaction to produce moulding material, and the system including a mould filling apparatus for feeding the moulding material to the mould, the system further including a controller, and the mixing device being controllable by the controller as the mould filling apparatus feeds moulding material to the mould, 10 to vary the mixture to change a characteristic of the moulding material.
2. A system according to claim 1 wherein there are at least three reservoirs containing moulding material constituents.
15
3. A system according to claim 2 wherein the moulding material is producable in at least two alternative material states depending upon the mixture of at least two of the constituents whereby a mechanical characteristic of the moulding material is different for the different material states, and wherein the mixing apparatus is controllable during a first period of mould 20 filling to produce moulding material in one state of the moulding material, and during a second period of mould filling to produce moulding material in an alternative state of the moulding material.
4. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the moulding material 25 is producable in at least two alternative colours or strengths depending upon the mixture of the at least two constituents whereby a physical characteristic of the moulding material is changed as the mixture is varied, and wherein the mixing apparatus is controllable during a first period of mould filling to produce moulding material with one physical characteristic, and during a
second period of mould filling to produce moulding material with an alternative physical characteristic.
5. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the mould 5 includes a plurality of inlet ports through which moulding material is feedable into a mould cavity, and the system includes a feed control device operable by the controller during mould filling to feed moulding material first to one inlet port or group of inlet ports, and then to another inlet port or group of inlet ports.
10
6. A system according to claim 5 wherein each inlet port has an associated in-gate, which in-gates are controllable by the controller.
7. A system according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the controller synchronises control of the valve of the mixing device with the feed control 15 device so that during a first period of mould filling, moulding material with one characteristic is introduced into the mould cavity via the one inlet port or group of inlet ports and during a second period of mould filling, moulding material with another characteristic is introduced into the mould cavity via the another inlet port or group of inlet ports.
8. A system according to claim 5 or claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the controller is operable to control at least one of the following parameters which is variable during mould filling namely: the pressure of the moulding material introduced into the mould; 25 the temperature of the mixing device; the temperature in the mould;
9. A moulding system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the moulding material is a thermosetting plastic.
10. A moulding system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as shown in the accompanying drawings.
5
11. A method of moulding an article in a moulding material utilising a moulding apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the method includes during a first period of moulding, controlling the mixing device to produce a moulding material with a characteristic, and during a second period of moulding controlling the mixing device to vary the mixture to 10 produce moulding material with an alternative characteristic.
12. A method of moulding substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15
13. Any novel feature or novel combination of features shown herein and/or as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0226303A GB2395160A (en) | 2002-11-12 | 2002-11-12 | A moulding arrangement in association with mixing |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0226303A GB2395160A (en) | 2002-11-12 | 2002-11-12 | A moulding arrangement in association with mixing |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB0226303D0 GB0226303D0 (en) | 2002-12-18 |
| GB2395160A true GB2395160A (en) | 2004-05-19 |
Family
ID=9947626
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB0226303A Withdrawn GB2395160A (en) | 2002-11-12 | 2002-11-12 | A moulding arrangement in association with mixing |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2395160A (en) |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3588953A (en) * | 1967-03-08 | 1971-06-29 | Elastomer Ag | Apparatus for making plastic foams |
| US4399105A (en) * | 1981-03-30 | 1983-08-16 | The Upjohn Company | Programmable computer controlled reaction injection mixing head system |
| US4571319A (en) * | 1984-04-05 | 1986-02-18 | General Motors Corporation | Method and apparatus for producing polymer articles having different properties in different regions of the articles |
| JPH04163013A (en) * | 1990-10-24 | 1992-06-08 | Matsushita Electric Works Ltd | Material feeding device of injection molding machine and controlling method of metering time |
| WO2002004191A1 (en) * | 2000-07-11 | 2002-01-17 | Greiner Perfoam Gmbh | Method for producing foam products |
-
2002
- 2002-11-12 GB GB0226303A patent/GB2395160A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3588953A (en) * | 1967-03-08 | 1971-06-29 | Elastomer Ag | Apparatus for making plastic foams |
| US4399105A (en) * | 1981-03-30 | 1983-08-16 | The Upjohn Company | Programmable computer controlled reaction injection mixing head system |
| US4571319A (en) * | 1984-04-05 | 1986-02-18 | General Motors Corporation | Method and apparatus for producing polymer articles having different properties in different regions of the articles |
| JPH04163013A (en) * | 1990-10-24 | 1992-06-08 | Matsushita Electric Works Ltd | Material feeding device of injection molding machine and controlling method of metering time |
| WO2002004191A1 (en) * | 2000-07-11 | 2002-01-17 | Greiner Perfoam Gmbh | Method for producing foam products |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB0226303D0 (en) | 2002-12-18 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |