Mold Machine: (Index)	Back(None) Index ... Next(0)

This page provides an overview of the entire mold machine project. Here the reader can see the super structure as well as the systems overview.

Base construction showing pinning of machine support, 'footing' structure. New Swivel wheels have been added.

Fixed mold "B-Plate" mounting plate. Notice the three large center holes through which the ejection system cycles. This part of the design has been changed now, many times.

A quick review of the pneumatic power plant. This equipment cycles the sled which is responsible for opening and closing the mold. It also provides all of the clamping force for the machine.

Section 4 shows a good overview of the ejection system. This rev-1 system will eventually be replaced, but for now it will perform moderatly.

The power plant revisited. Here the reader can learn a bit more about the actuators that provide the power to this beast.

This project also contains upwards of 155 electrical interconnections between units/controllers that are external to the power/control boxes. These are delineated here. Internal board-board connections are not discussed.

Top down views of some of the water system components. Here the welded aluminim tank is depicted along with pumps & flow regulators etc...

There are several hundred feet of air and water transmision lines in this project. There are also many styles of connectors / terminations. This page details some of these to give the reader an idea of the shear magnitude of this portion of the task.

Along with all those transmision lines for both air and water, there has got to be a way to control it. This page shows a bunch of the silenode valves use to cycle / sequence the transmision of this power under processor control.

Mounting and construction of the control box (physical components as opposed to electrical)

The frame construction is detailed in this frame. Check out the adjustable high tension joints...

A quick bit of information on the upper injection head assembly. The photo's on this page depict the slide mechanism and vertical cylinder mounting methodologies. Also visible are the linear encoders and piston tye bars.

One of the electrical control components, this page outlines the DC MOSFET switching boards. This board is used to amplify TTL level signals from the microprocessor board (more later) to the 24VDC signals with several amps of driving capacity required by many of the controlled items such as silenode valves, lights, etc.

A collage of items that don't really fit anywhere else. The material feed swing arm, the material loading cylinder mount, etc...

Section 1 on power supplies, this page shows some of the many power supply components used in this project. These range from off the shelf units, to custom PCB assemblies that stack to the processor boards. This page also outlines the pump hidden in, below the AC section of the machine.

Power supplies round two. Here an overview of the power box with several of the supplies mounted along with the solid state relays for high powered AC switching are visible. Also, some of the AC controlled items such as Heater bands and cartridge heaters are visible.

The board depicted in this frame is the main mold machine interface board. This board provides all of the interfacing between the microprocessor subsystem and all of the controlled items out in the machine. Interfaces to the solid state relays, MOSFET driver boards, switch inputs, atod inputs, etc all pass through this board.

A few words about software. This frame provides an overview of the control software side that runs on this system. At the bottom of this page is a photo gallery that shows many of the implementation screens.

The thermocouple interface boards are reviewed here. These PCB assemblies contain the cold junction compensation electronics and amplification required to drive the signals back to the interface board's AtoD converters.

A construction frame, this page shows many of the steps involved in making the large stainless (321) melting pot.

Here the reader can view the assembled melting pot assembly.

Moving out along the mechanism from the melting pot, the material feed assembly incorporates many components in a complex mechanism.

CAD model prints are viewable here. There are top, side, front, and some specialized close up's available here.

This frame outlines one of the early small hand made molds I used to prototype the original tractor tread designs...

The tread pieces that came from that original mold and some further details on it's implementation.

The second generation tractor tread parts are visible here, along with the new molds used to make them.

The production mold for the final version of the tread. CAD model prints of this mold w/sliders are also shown.

This frame gives an overview photo of the entire machine. From time to time I update this photo as significant accomplishments in construction are made.