A mould aligner is used to align and lock a first mould and a second mould for moulding shell parts of a wind turbine blade. The mould aligner includes a first alignment segment configured to be attached to a first mould and a second alignment segment configured to be attached to a second mould. The second alignment segment includes a hydraulic cylinder having a barrel and a piston rod. The piston rod is axially displaceable and rotatable with respect to the barrel. The hydraulic cylinder includes a lock part having a first rod part and a locking element being provided on the first rod part. The first rod part is configured for being received in and engaged in the locking cavity of the first alignment segment. The hydraulic cylinder includes a cylinder part comprising the barrel and a second rod part having a piston.

A method for manufacturing a composite part of an aircraft comprising the steps of placing a prepreg preform in a molding die between at least a molding die base part and a molding die upper part, debulking the air trapped in the prepreg, displacing the molding die upper part against the molding die base part in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the prepreg preform such that the molding die upper part presses the laminated perform until it reaches a blocking arrangement defining the position of the upper part relative to the base part for giving the prepreg preform the nominal thickness of the cured part, wherein said displacement is achieved by bolting the different parts of the molding die against each other, providing an elevated temperature to the preform such that it is cured.

A tire vulcanizer including: a base which supports a lower mold; a beam which supports an upper mold; a tie rod which is disposed to be fixed to one of the base and the beam on one end side thereof and has a plurality of engaged portions provided at predetermined intervals in an axis line direction along an up-and-down direction on the other end side; engaging means which is provided at the other of the base and the beam and engaged with the engaged portion of the tie rod to restrict a movement of the tie rod in the axis line direction; and pressurizing means for pressing the lower mold and the upper mold which are in a mold-closed state, so as to perform mold-clamping.

A method of moulding and apparatus therefor, in which a workpiece is preheated and/or post-cooled before and/or after a moulding process, allowing optimal use of the tool for high precision moulding operations.

A tire curing press includes a top structure and a bottom structure. Hollow squeeze cylinders that can be extended and retracted are mounted underside of the bottom structure. Squeeze columns are mounted inside respective hollow pistons that can slide inside respective cylinders. Grooves are formed at intermediate position on the columns to obtain variable heights between the top and bottom structures. Lock assemblies are assembled concentric to each column above the top structure. The lock assemblies have clamping plates capable of being pulled towards each other to engage with the grooves and to lock the top structure with the columns. Distance sensors are provided to determine a distance between the grooves of each column and the clamping plates when the squeeze cylinders are retracted. Control means are configured to independently disengage the clamping plates from the grooves of each column when a predetermined distance is sensed by the distance sensors.

An apparatus for manufacturing composite stringers from a composite laminate comprising a male mold, a main caul plate, two fixed female mold halves, two secondary movable caul plates and a retention device. The main caul plate is located below the male mold, the female mold halves are located at both sides of the main caul plate and the secondary movable caul plates, each of them located respectively over each one of the two female mold halves. The male mold, the main caul plate, the two female mold halves and the two secondary caul plates are non-developable surfaces. The retention device keeps each secondary movable caul plate at a predetermined distance of its respective female mold half.

A pulp molding machine includes a frame, a longitudinal mechanism and a transversal mechanism, a forming and carrying module, and a pair of heat pressing molds. The frame has a longitudinal section and a transversal section where a longitudinal mechanism and a transversal mechanism are disposed correspondingly. The forming and carrying module includes a carrying upper mold and a forming lower mold being capable of lifting in the slurry tank and clamping and delivering with the carrying upper mold. The heat pressing molds includes a heat pressing upper mold and a heat pressing lower mold. The time of the forming lower mold delivers productions to the heat pressing lower molds is close to or the same as the total time of the heat pressing molds finish heat pressing and drying.

An apparatus and method for the automatic manufacturing of wind turbine blades, including an elongate tool support (2) with a main suspension beam (4), a plurality of support frames (8) supporting the main suspension beam (4) above the wind turbine blade mould (1), an elongate guide rail (5) provided on the main suspension beam (4) so as to extend longitudinally along the main suspension beam (4), a slider base (6) slidably mounted on the guide rail (5), a drive mechanism (53) for driving the slider base (6) longitudinally along the guide rail (5) and a tool holder (7) mounted on the slider base (6). The apparatus/method improves the efficiency and accuracy of the blade manufacture, and also reduces the exposure of the human body to harmful substances used in blade manufacture.

Provided are induction heating cells including pressure bladders used for supporting dies and methods of using these induction heating cells. A pressure bladder may be disposed between a die and a bolster of the cell. Even when the bolster is deformed during operation of the cell, the pressure bladder continues to provide uniform support to the die thereby preserving integrity of the die and prevents its cracking or braking. As such, the cell may be operated at a higher processing pressure inside the cavity formed by the die without further strengthening the bolster. The bolster is allowed to deform without compromising the integrity of the die. The deformation of the bolster is compensated by the shape change of the pressure bladder. The number and/or position of the bladders in the cell may depend on the shape of processed parts.

Provided is a structure in which an inserted article is easily inserted and a product is easily released from a die after molding. The structure includes a positioning mechanism which is vertically arranged on one split die, includes a positioning pin having a tapered distal end, and positions the inserted article by engaging the inserted article with the positioning pin, a stop mechanism that has a spring means assembled with the one split die and a stopper portion held by the spring means, and temporarily stops movement of the other split die when the other split die comes into contact with the stopper portion at the time of mold clamping, and a pressing mechanism that has a spring assembled with the other split die, a pusher pin, a spring assembled with the one split die, and a pusher pin, and elastically presses the inserted article by the pusher pin.