An apparatus for forming a first component making up at least a part of a housing on a trimmer head and a method of using the apparatus. The housing has a rotary axis and is configured to support at least one radially projecting cutting component. The first component has a central axis. A forming unit defines at least one cavity within which a moldable material is confined to produce at least a part of a wall on the first component that extends around the rotary axis. The forming unit is configured to allow selective controlling of a quantity of a moldable material introduced into a first discrete subvolume at a first location in the one cavity to thereby allow selective controlling of a mass of a portion of the at least part of the wall formed by the moldable material in the one cavity at the first location to facilitate dynamic balancing of the housing, within which the first component is incorporated, with respect to the rotary axis.

A system and manufactures are provided that augment various manufacturing processes by combining skinning techniques, for example from additive manufacturing methods, with modular substructures in order to provide cost and development time saving while not sacrificing end product material characteristics. Modular substructures provide a range of benefits from wide adaptability and reusability, to customized cooling channels within tooling systems. Manufacturing tooling areas afforded improvements span from stamping to injection molding.

A method and apparatus for forming a part having a cavity with a complex contour is presented. The molding apparatus comprises a mold cavity and a molding insert. The mold cavity is formed by a first mold portion and a second mold portion. The molding insert is within the mold cavity, wherein the molding insert has a forming surface, and wherein the molding insert is configured to move in more than one direction relative to the first mold portion

A light-guide optical element (LOE) and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The LOE includes a transparent substrate having a first refractive index, the substrate having a pair of parallel external surfaces along a length thereof, and a plurality of mutually parallel at least partially reflective internal surfaces, the mutually parallel internal surfaces being angled obliquely relative to the pair of external surfaces; and a transparent polymer resin encapsulating at least a part of the substrate to form an encapsulated structure, the polymer resin having a second refractive index that is matched to the first refractive index; wherein the encapsulated structure comprises a pair of parallel external surfaces of optical quality formed from the resin.

Molding assemblies and molding processes are disclosed. The molding assemblies are for producing a product and include a first subassembly and a second subassembly for the producing of the product. The first subassembly includes a cavity insert arrangement corresponding with the design of the product, a movable insert abutting the cavity insert arrangement, and rail members securing the movable insert with interlocking features at a specific location, the specific location being one of multiple movable insert positions. The molding process includes molding a first product with the movable insert and the additional movable insert being positioned at a first movable insert portion, removing the subassembly from the second subassembly, re-positioning the movable insert and the additional movable insert to a second movable insert position, and molding a second product with the movable insert and the additional movable insert being positioned at the second movable insert portion.

A molding subsystem includes a reconfigurable mold and a control subsystem. The reconfigurable mold includes one or more plates, with each plate including: a plurality of pins defining a molding surface of the reconfigurable mold; a frame which defines a plurality of channels for receiving the plurality of pins; and a plurality of actuators for moving the plurality of pins in a first axial direction. The control subsystem includes a controller operably connected to the plurality of actuators of each plate, such that the controller can communicate instructions to and/or obtain readings therefrom. The molding surface of each plate can be manipulated in response to pin movement to facilitate the manufacture of articles of different shape and dimension. Output data corresponding to a digital model of an article placed in the reconfigurable mold can be generated based on readings obtained by the plurality of actuators of each plate.

An injection foam molding machine of the invention includes: a movable mold platen; a fixed mold platen; a mold fastening hydraulic cylinder that is provided at each of four corners of both mold platens; a tie bar that is driven by the hydraulic cylinder to fasten the molds; two sets of mold opening and closing actuators that drive the movable mold platen to move close to or away from the fixed mold platen; two sets of dedicated core back devices; and a control device that controls the two sets of mold opening and closing actuators and the two sets of dedicated core back devices, wherein the control device includes a dedicated core back program that simultaneously controls the two sets of mold opening and closing actuators and the two sets of dedicated core back devices during a foaming core back operation of moving the movable mold platen away from the fixed mold platen.

Systems and methods of providing a tooling system for forming a unitary housing are disclosed herein. One embodiment may utilize a plurality of injection cavity slides. The slides may form the interior cavity of the housing. Utilizing a plurality of injection cavity slides to form a single cavity insert may allow the slides to be remove from an opening in the housing which is smaller than the cavity of the housing. Removing the slides from housing allows for the formation of housing having a unitary structure.

An open-face molding apparatus for use in open-face injection molding operations to more accurately control the thickness of coatings applied to workpiece surfaces of slightly varying contour profiles. A conformable tool face is carried by a rigid tool backing and a perimeter seal releasably seals the conformable tool face around its perimeter to the workpiece surface. The conformable tool face and perimeter seal define a mold cavity together with the workpiece surface. An array of actuators are connected between the rigid tool backing and the conformable tool face to provide a desired tool face contour and desired spacings between the conformable tool face and a workpiece surface by deflecting the conformable tool face relative to the rigid tool backing.

A molding subsystem includes a reconfigurable mold and a control subsystem. The reconfigurable mold includes one or more plates, with each plate including: a plurality of pins defining a molding surface of the reconfigurable mold; a frame which defines a plurality of channels for receiving the plurality of pins; and a plurality of actuators for moving the plurality of pins in a first axial direction. The control subsystem includes a controller operably connected to the plurality of actuators of each plate, such that the controller can communicate instructions to and/or obtain readings therefrom. The molding surface of each plate can be manipulated in response to pin movement to facilitate the manufacture of articles of different shape and dimension. Output data corresponding to a digital model of an article placed in the reconfigurable mold can be generated based on readings obtained by the plurality of actuators of each plate.