Mold device for a rotational molding device

Abstract

A mold device configured for use in a rotational molding device configured to perform a rotational molding process by rotating the mold device by means of a robot arm is provided. The mold device generally includes a connector part for connecting to the robot arm, first and second mold parts configured to assemble to each other for enclosing a mold cavity in an assembled state. The mold device includes a magnet gripper for releasably attaching the mold parts and heating and cooling elements integrated in at least one of the mold parts for respectively heating and cooling the mold part. The heating elements may be arranged in first grooves positioned in an exterior face of the respective mold part. The cooling elements may be arranged in second grooves positioned in the exterior face of the respective mold part in between the first grooves.

Claims

1. A mold device configured for use in a rotational molding device configured to perform a rotational molding process by rotating the mold device with a robot arm, the mold device comprising: a connector part for connecting the mold device to the robot arm of the rotational molding device; at least a first mold part and a second mold part comprising thermally conductive material and configured to assemble to each other and enclose a mold cavity in an assembled state, each of the first and second mold parts comprising an interior face facing towards the mold cavity and an exterior face facing away from the mold cavity; attachment means for releasably attaching the first and second mold parts to each other; heating elements arranged in first grooves positioned in the exterior face of at least one of the first and second mold parts, the heating elements configured to heat the respective mold part; and cooling elements arranged in second grooves positioned in the exterior face of the at least one of the first and second mold parts in between the first grooves, the cooling elements configured to cool the respective mold part.

2. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the heating elements comprise at least one heating resistance wire.

3. The mold device of claim 2, wherein the heating elements further comprise an outer sheath of a woven thermally conductive material surrounding the at least one heating resistance wire.

4. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the cooling elements comprise a tube for circulating a cooling fluid.

5. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the first grooves have a U-shape in cross section and the heating elements arranged therein have a D-shape in cross section, or wherein the second grooves have a U-shape in cross section and the cooling elements arranged therein have a D-shape in cross section.

6. The mold device of claim 5, wherein the first grooves have a U-shape in cross section and the heating elements arranged therein have a D-shape in cross section, and wherein the second grooves have a U-shape in cross section and the cooling elements arranged therein have a D-shape in cross section.

7. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the first grooves and the second grooves have substantially the same cross section.

8. The mold device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the heating elements and the cooling elements are arranged at a predetermined depth within the first and second grooves, respectively.

9. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the mold device further comprises at least one covering element for closing off at least one of the first grooves and the second grooves.

10. The mold device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the first grooves and the second grooves are formed by recesses in the exterior face of the respective mold part.

11. The mold device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the first grooves and the second grooves are provided in protrusions on the exterior face of the respective mold part.

12. The mold device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first grooves is located near the thickest part of the respective mold part.

13. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the first grooves and the second grooves are arranged alternatingly on the exterior face of the respective mold part.

14. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the first grooves and the second grooves are arranged equidistantly on the exterior face of the respective mold part.

15. The mold device of claim 1, wherein all of the heating elements are connected to a single first connection interface configured to releasably connect to a supply means of a resource required in the process of heating the respective mold part.

16. The mold device of claim 15, wherein the first connection interface is integrated in the connector part for connecting the mold device to the robot arm of the rotational molding device.

17. The mold device of claim 1, wherein all of the cooling elements are connected to a single second connection interface configured to releasably connect to a supply means of a resource required in the process of cooling the respective mold part.

18. The mold device of claim 15, wherein all of the cooling elements are connected to a single second connection interface configured to releasably connect to a supply means of a resource required in the process of cooling the respective mold part, and wherein the second connection interface is arranged opposite of the first connection interface.

19. The mold device of claim 1, wherein the attachment means comprise at least one magnet gripper arranged on one of the mold parts, the at least one magnet gripper comprising a permanent magnet which is moveably arranged in a cavity of the at least one magnet gripper, wherein the permanent magnet is moveable in the cavity of the at least one magnet gripper by means of compressed air between a first position for attaching to the other of the mold parts contacting the at least one magnet gripper, and a second position for releasing the other of the mold parts contacting the at least one magnet gripper.

20. A rotational molding device comprising: a mold device according to claim 1; and a robot arm configured to rotate the mold device during a rotational molding process.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be further elucidated by means of the following description and the appended figures.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view on a mould device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a more detailed perspective view on the mould device of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view on the mould device of FIG. 1 from an opposite side.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view on another side of the mould device of FIG. 1.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of the magnet gripper of the mould device of FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a cross section through a part of the mould parts of the mould device of FIG. 1.

(8) FIG. 7A shows a cross section through a first groove of the mould device of FIG. 6 with a heating element arranged therein, but may also represent a cross section through a second groove of the mould device of FIG. 6 with a cooling element arranged therein.

(9) FIG. 7B shows a cross section through a first groove of the mould device of FIG. 6 with a heating element and a covering element arranged therein, but may also represent a cross section through a second groove of the mould device of FIG. 6 with a cooling element and a covering element arranged therein.

(10) FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of a heating resistance wire of the mould device of FIG. 1.

(11) FIG. 9A shows a schematic representation of the magnet gripper of the mould device of FIG. 1 in a first position for attaching to a mould part near the magnet gripper.

(12) FIG. 9B shows a schematic representation of the magnet gripper of the mould device of FIG. 1 in a second position for releasing a mould part from the magnet gripper.

(13) FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the mould device according to an embodiment of the present invention provided with a feeding container.

(14) FIG. 11 shows a rotational moulding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(15) The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

(16) Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

(17) Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

(18) The term comprising, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It needs to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression a device comprising means A and B should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.

(19) FIGS. 1-7 show different views on a mould device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mould device 1 is intended for use in a rotational moulding device 33, such as shown in FIG. 11, wherein the rotational moulding process is performed by rotating the mould device 1 by means of a robot arm 34.

(20) In this embodiment, the mould device 1 comprises a mould having a cylindrical shape. The mould is composed of a first mould part 2, a second mould part 3 and a third mould part 4, wherein the second mould part 3 forms the mantle of the cylinder, and wherein the first mould part 2 and the third mould part 4 each form one of the side faces of the cylinder. The mould parts 2, 3, 4 of the mould device 1 are provided for being assembled to each other. In the assembled state, the mould parts 2, 3, 4 enclose a mould cavity 5. The side 6 of the mould part 2, 3, 4 which faces the mould cavity 5 in the assembled state of the mould parts 2, 3, 4 is referred to as the interior face 6, and the side 7 of the mould part 2, 3, 4 which faces away from the mould cavity 5, and thus towards the exterior of the mould device 1, is referred to as the exterior face 7.

(21) The mould cavity 5, which is enclosed by the mould parts 2, 3, 4 in their assembled state, is used during the process of rotational moulding, for introducing therein a curable raw material 35 for forming an object. After the curable raw material 35 has been introduced into the mould cavity 5, the mould parts 2, 3, 4 are heated directly by means of heating means which are integrated on the mould parts 2, 3, 4. To enable the transfer of the heat of the heating means towards the mould cavity 5, the mould parts 2, 3, 4 are manufactured from a thermally conductive material. The heating of the mould parts 2, 3, 4 causes the curable raw material 35 to melt, after which the mould device 1 is rotated around to disperse the molten curable raw material throughout the mould cavity 5. Thereafter, the mould device 1 is cooled down directly by means of cooling means which are integrated on the mould parts 2, 3, 4. The cooling of the mould device 1 causes the molten curable raw material to cure, thereby forming the object.

(22) The heating means of the mould device comprise a plurality of heating elements 12. The heating elements 12 are arranged in a plurality of first grooves 8 which are provided in or on the exterior face 7 of the mould parts 2, 3, 4. The cooling means of the mould device 1 comprise a plurality of cooling elements 14. The cooling elements 14 are arranged in a plurality of second grooves 9 which are provided in or on the exterior face 7 of the mould parts 2, 3, 4 in between the first grooves 8.

(23) The first grooves 8 and the second grooves 9 of the first mould part 2 and the third mould part 4 are provided in the exterior face 7 of the respective mould part 2, 3, 4, as can be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6. The first grooves 8 and the second grooves 9 of the second mould part 3 are provided in protrusions 10 on the exterior face 7 of the second mould part 3, such as can be seen in FIGS. 1-3 and 6.

(24) The first grooves 8 and the second grooves 9, and thereby also the heating elements 12 and the cooling elements 14 arranged therein, are arranged alternatingly and at equal distances from each other over the entire exterior face 7 of the mould parts 2, 3, 4, such that a uniform heating and cooling of the mould parts 2, 3, 4 and the mould cavity 5 enclosed by the mould parts 2, 3, 4 in their assembled state may be obtained. Thereby, at least one of the first grooves 8 is located closest to one of the flanges 11 of the mould parts 2, 3, 4 where the mould parts 2, 3, 4 are attached to each other in the assembled state. In this embodiment these flanges 11 form the thickest parts of the mould parts 2, 3, 4, and by locating at least one of the first grooves 8, and thus the heating elements 12 arranged therein, closest to them, an efficient heating of the parts of the mould parts 2, 3, 4 having the largest mass may be obtained.

(25) In this embodiment, the heating elements 12 comprise one or more heating resistance wires 12 which are surrounded by an outer sheath 13 of a woven thermally conductive material, such as shown in FIG. 8. The outer sheath 13 being woven allows the heating element 12 to adapt to the shape of the respective groove 8, 9 in which it is arranged, such that the outer sheath 13 presses itself evenly against the side walls of the respective groove 8, 9. In this way an optimal heat transfer between the heating element 12 and the mould part 2, 3, 4 may be obtained. The thermally conductive material of the outer sheath 13 is preferably a metal, and more preferably nickel. The heating element 12 may, for example, be a GC-Flex flexible tubular heater of GC Heat.

(26) In this embodiment, the cooling elements 14 comprise copper tubes 14 for circulating a cooling fluid, such as water or oil.

(27) The first grooves 8 and the second grooves 9 preferably have a U-shape in cross section, and the heating elements 12 and the cooling elements 14 arranged respectively in the first grooves 8 and the second grooves 9 preferably have a D-shape in cross-section, such as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. With such shapes, the heating elements 12 and the cooling elements 14 may be arranged respectively in the first grooves 8 and the second grooves 9 with the curved part of the D-shape of the heating element 12 or the cooling element 14 facing the curved part of the U-shape of the respective groove 8, 9 and with the straight part of the D-shape facing towards the opening of the U-shape of the respective groove 8, 9. This enlarges the contact surface between the heating element 12 or the cooling element 14 on the one hand and the mould part 2, 3, 4 on the other hand, for example in comparison with a heating element 12 or a cooling element 14 having a circular cross section, such as shown in FIG. 6, and thus increases the efficiency of the heat transfer between the heating element 12 or the cooling element 14 on the one hand and the mould part 2, 3, 4 on the other hand.

(28) To further increase the efficiency of the heat transfer between the heating elements 12 and the cooling elements 14 on the one hand and the mounting parts 2, 3, 4 on the other hand, the respective grooves 8, 9 in which they are arranged may be closed off by means of covering elements 16, which can be seen in FIGS. 1-3. Such as shown in FIG. 7B, the use of the covering element 16 fully encloses the heating element 12 or the cooling element 14 arranged in the respective groove 8, 9. In case of heating, this may, for example, reduce heat loss through the opening of the first groove 8. In case of cooling, this may, for example, direct the heat of the mould part 2, 3, 4 to the cooling element 14 for a more efficient cooling. Preferably, the covering elements 16 are manufactured from a thermally conductive material, and more preferably from the same thermally conductive material as the mould part 2, 3, 4.

(29) The ends of the heating resistance wires 12 forming the heating elements 12 are arranged as much as possible on one side of the mould device 1, as can be seen in FIG. 3. From there the heating resistance wires 12 are further connected to a single first connection interface (not shown), which is integrated with a connector part 27 of the mould device 1 for connecting the mould device 1 to the robot arm 34 of a rotational moulding device 33, which connector part 27 is for example shown in FIG. 11. This enables a quick and easy connection of the heating resistance wires 12 of the heating means to an electrical power supply via the robot arm 34.

(30) The inlets and the outlets of the copper tubes 14 forming the cooling elements 14 are arranged as much as possible on another side of the mould device 1, opposite of the side of the mould device 1 where the ends of the heating resistance wires 12 are located, as can be seen in FIG. 1. From there the copper tubes 14 are further connected to a single second connection interface (not shown) by means of flexible tubing 15. This enables a quick and easy connection of the cooling means to a source and drain of the cooling fluid.

(31) The mould device 1 also comprises attachment means (17, 26) for attaching the mould parts 2, 3, 4 in a releasable manner to each other. In this embodiment magnet grippers 17 are used for attaching the first mould part 2 and the second mould part 3 to each other, such as shown in FIG. 5 and schematically in FIGS. 9A and 9B. For attaching the second mould part 3 and the third mould part 4 to each other, there is made use of bolts 26, such as can be seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

(32) The magnet grippers 17 are composed of a body 19 which encloses a cavity 22 in which a permanent magnet 18 is arranged. The permanent magnet 18 is moveable in the cavity 22 between a first position wherein it is located at a first side 20 of the body 19 and a second position wherein it is located at a second side 21 of the body 19.

(33) If the permanent magnet 18 is located in the first position, such as shown in FIG. 9A, then the permanent magnet 18 strongly attracts a mould part 2, 3, 4 which is contacting, or at least located nearby, the magnet gripper 17 at the first side 20 of the body 19, such that magnet gripper 17 attaches to the mould part 2, 3, 4.

(34) If the permanent magnet 18 is located in the second position, such as shown in FIG. 9B, then the magnetic attraction between the permanent magnet 18 and a mould part 2, 3, 4 which is contacting, or at least located nearby, the magnet gripper 17 at the first side 20 of the body 19, is no longer sufficient to attach the magnet gripper 17 to the mould part 2, 3, 4, such that the mould part 2, 3, 4 is released from the magnet gripper 17.

(35) The permanent magnet 18 is moveable in the cavity 22 by means of compressed air which is introduced in the cavity 22 via a first inlet 23 through the body 19 near the first side 20 of the body 19 or via a second inlet 24 through the body 19 near the second side 21 of the body 19. When the permanent magnet 18 is located in the first position, then the injection of compressed air through the first inlet 23, moves the permanent magnet 18 to the second position. When the permanent magnet 18 is in the second position, then the injection of compressed air through the second inlet 24 moves the permanent magnet 18 to the first position.

(36) When the permanent magnet 18 is in the first position and the magnet gripper 17 is contacting a mould part 2, 3, 4, then the permanent magnet 18 remains in the first position because of the magnetic attraction between the permanent magnet 18 and the mould part 2, 3, 4.

(37) When the permanent magnet 18 is in the second position, then the permanent magnet 18 is held in the second position by means of the magnetic attraction between the permanent magnet 18 and a magnetically attractive material 25 arranged in the body 19 of the magnet gripper 17 at the second side 21 of the body 19.

(38) In a third aspect of the present invention, which may be combined with the first aspect and/or the second aspect described herein, though not necessarily, the mould device 1 may be provided with a feeding system for introducing a curable raw material 35 into the mould cavity 5, such as shown in FIG. 10. The feeding system comprises a feeding container 28, which is provided for being connected to the mould formed by the mould parts 2, 3, 4 during the process of rotational moulding. The feeding container 28 has an open connection opening 29 towards the mould cavity 5. In this configuration, a curable raw material 35 present in the feeding container 28 is then introduced into the mould cavity 5 by means of gravity when the mould device 1 is being oriented by means of the robot arm 34 in such a way that the feeding container 28 is located above the mould cavity 5.

(39) The feeding container 28 itself may be provided with a curable raw material 35 via a feeding tube 32 which is arranged through an inlet opening 30 of the feeding container 28. The inlet opening 30 is provided with a flexible membrane 31 which allows for an easy insertion of the feeding tube 32 through the inlet opening 30, but prevents the curable raw material 35 inside the feeding container 28 from exiting the feeding container 28 through the inlet opening 30.

(40) The rotational moulding device 33 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided in such a way that the mould device 1 is moveable by the robot arm 34 between two or more of the following positions: a position for filling the mould cavity 5 or a feeding container 28 provided on the mould device 1, a position for heating the mould device 1, a position for forming the object wherein the mould device 1 rotates around one or more axes and/or is tilted, a position for cooling the mould device 1, a position for demoulding the object. Two or more of the previously mentioned positions may coincide. For example, the heating position and the position for forming the object may coincide. In the position for cooling, the mould device 1 may be tilted by means of the robot arm 34.

(41) Further possible embodiments of the rotational moulding device 33 according to the present invention are described in WO2013164765A2, which is incorporated herein as a whole by reference.

(42) TABLE-US-00001 References 1 mould device 2 first mould part 3 second mould part 4 third mould part 5 mould cavity 6 interior face 7 exterior face 8 first groove 9 second groove 10 protrusion 11 flange 12 heating resistance wire 13 outer sheath 14 copper tube 15 flexible tubing 16 covering element 17 magnet gripper 18 permanent magnet 19 body 20 first side 21 second side 22 cavity 23 first inlet 24 second inlet 25 magnetically attractive material 26 bolt 27 connector part 28 feeding container 29 connection opening 30 inlet opening 31 flexible membrane 32 feeding tube 33 rotational moulding device 34 robot arm 35 curable raw material