A guidance system for a slide assembly for a mold for a plastic and/or silicone processing machine is presented. The processing machine comprises at least two mold halves with at least one slide assembly mounted to at least one mold half. The slide assembly is movable parallel to the plane of the parting line of the two mold halves and generally perpendicular to the direction of the plane of separation of the two mold halves after a part has been formed. The slide assembly comprises a carrier for holding cavity forming parts, gibs that secure the carrier to the mold half, and a series of rollers arranged to engage with the carrier such that the rollers roll with the movement of the carrier parallel to the parting line of the two mold halves. The rollers do not bear any of the compression force used to press the two mold halves together.

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.

A device for limiting or keeping constant a quantity of fluid flowing therethrough, includes: a housing with a front chamber and a rear chamber; a partition arranged in the housing with two or more openings; and a flow limiting element arranged in one or both openings. The flow limiting element includes a housing provided with an inlet, an outlet and a throughflow opening; and a resilient plate-like valve element mounted in the housing, substantially able to close the throughflow opening by resilient movement in the direction of a valve seat arranged in the housing adjacently of the throughflow opening. The valve element is fixed on one side and can move resiliently on the opposite side in the direction of the valve seat. A mould produces one or more injection-moulded products. The injection-moulded product is a flow limiter for limiting the force of the flow of a fluid flowing therethrough.

A method of injection molding uses different mold inserts, such as lead frames, to selectively control material flow in order to produce different parts in a common mold. One mold insert can have a different geometry than another mold insert so that molten material is either blocked or allowed to flow through corresponding portions of the mold inserts. By changing out the insert used for injection molding, insert-molded plastic parts produced in the mold can differ by at least one part feature.

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.

A housing having a rotary axis and configured to support at least one radially projecting cutting component that effects cutting as the housing is turned around the rotary axis. The housing has a first housing part with a first wall and a plurality of discrete circumferentially spaced cavities in the first wall and each having a volume. The volumes of at least a first and second of the cavities respectively at first and second locations are different and strategically selected to cause a mass distribution on the housing that contributes to improved dynamic balancing of the housing as the housing is turned around the rotary axis.

An injection molding device for fabricating a part, the device including an injection mold, the mold being formed of a support and a countermold that are distinct and that define between them a mold cavity presenting a first shape; and at least one injection device for injecting a fluid material into the mold cavity; the device including deformation elements configured to modify the shape of the mold cavity into a second shape distinct from the first shape.

A method and device for injection moulding micro-components, including an injection moulding machine having a mould carrier, which supports a removable mould in which at least one mould cavity is provided; and a counter mould, which is arranged so as to be closed against the mould in such a way as to apply a centering force as well as moulding pressure to the mould when the counter mould is closed against the mould.

A first aspect of the invention relates to the manufacture of disparate workpieces by the process of injection molding using a single base tool. The tool is made up of cavity and core halves, and each half is made up of separate, removable/interchangeable, inserts which, when combined in a particular order, form the workpiece-forming surface. All or any number of the inserts may be replaced with other inserts to alter the workpiece-forming surface and allow a large number of differently shaped workpieces (i.e. having different surface features and shapes) to be formed from a single base tool. In another aspect of the invention, the inserts are connected to respective thermally conductive cavity and core mounting plates, which are in turn connected to respective cavity and core heating/cooling plates so that insert-mounting holes need not be made in the heating/cooling plates.

A method for making a spectacle lens includes joining a mold and a sealing ring. The mold has an integrated block piece and a mold shell made by primary shaping and the sealing ring has a first end face, a second end face, a peripheral seal, an opening disposed on the first end face configured to receive a mold, and a flexible membrane on the second end face. A polymerizable material is introduced into the mold cavity with the aid of a pump action of the flexible membrane of the sealing ring. The flexible membrane of the sealing ring is fixed in a desired surface shape and the polymerization is carried out. The mold is removed with a cast-on spectacle lens blank.