New cube technology provides assembly processes

Many moldmakers are filling the injection molding machines on the floor of the NPE with molds offering unique technology. If you want to see something novel in cube technology, head over to the KraussMaffei booth #1503 and be amazed by Zahoransky Formenbau GmbH’s new Total Integrated Manufacturing (TIM) Stack Mold. Using a 2x4 stack mold, push-pull plugs are molded on a 200-ton, two-color injection molding machine from KrausMaffei. Three separate parts are assembled inside the mold without prolonging the machine cycle time for the assembly process, with complete plugs produced in every cycle.

This new, patented TIM Stack Mold consists of two mold halves with an axial rotary cube, allowing two different parts to be made on a single mold. The smart feature of this new system is the two assembly platens located outside the mold, a configuration that allows complex assembly processes to be performed externally without increasing the machine cycle time.

The assembly can be performed outside the mold in an optimized position. Regardless of the mold sequence, a wide variety of different assembly steps can be implemented easily and cost-effectively. In addition to assembly, other potential functions could be implemented in the TIM Stack Mold, including screw-connecting parts or leak-testing of assembled subassemblies or modules. This makes the TIM Stack Mold an attractive proposition and differentiates the TIM method from other similar cube concepts, said Zahoransky.

The cube itself rotates in alternating directions – once to the right and once to the left, each by 90° and transfers the molded parts after each injection step to one of the two assembly units, with the parts injected in the second station mechanically interconnected with the parts already transferred to the assembly platen. The assembly platens can be moved in different planes as required. Potential movements can include traversing in X-Y axis; turning by 180°, assembling and ejecting; turning, assembling, testing and ejecting; assembling, fitting with another external part, testing and ejecting.
Because the assembly units are positioned outside the mold, the complexity of the mold itself is greatly reduced, thus reducing cost and allowing for a return on investment in a much shorter time frame.
“Return on investment is a crucial success factor,” said Zahoransky’s Michael Schmidt. “TIM allows the mold structure to be clearly separated from the cavity portion. Regardless of assembly direction or assembly alignment, TIM offers the option of producing different products in one and the same mold, making the investment substantially more cost-effective when changing models or patterns. The actual structure of the mold remains, only the cavity platens are exchanged.”