Pilot Industries, Inc.

Clark D Mahan

Bruce Killingbeck

Ralph E Westerburg

Alan W Bass

A system is provided for unloading finished parts from and also loading new raw material into a compression mold having two halves in which the mold halves are in a spaced apart position. The system includes an elongated endless conveyor which extends laterally away from the mold halves. An unloader platform is secured to and spaced upwardly from the conveyor so that an opening is formed between the platform and the conveyor. Raw material is positioned on the conveyor such that, upon actuation of the conveyor, the raw material passes under the platform. The conveyor is mounted on rails while an actuator moves the conveyor between an extended position, in which the platform is positioned in between the mold halves, and a retracted position, in which the conveyor as well as the platform is spaced laterally from the mold halves. The conveyor is actuated in synchronism with the actuator so that the conveyor moves the raw material under the platform and into the mold halves while, simultaneously, a completed part is ejected onto and supported by the platform.

System for loading raw material and unloading finished parts from a compression mold

Both a method and apparatus are disclosed for forming a bend in an elongated member, such as a tube, at a predetermined target angle. The elongated member is first bent to an angle equal to the target angle plus a predetermined increment. The elongated member is then returned to the target angle and a value representative of the force necessary to maintain the elongated member at the target angle is inputted into a central processor. This inputted value is then compared with a threshold value and, in the event that the inputted value exceeds the threshold value, the predetermined increment is incremented and the above steps are repeated until the inputted value is less than the threshold value. An apparatus for performing the method of the present invention is also disclosed.

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Cadillac, MI, United States of America

Clark D Mahan