Brown Machine, LLC

Danly Iem, LLC

Other

Kvaerner U.S. Inc.

Danly Iem, a Division of Connell Limited Partnership

Danly Iem, Division of Connell Limited Partnership

Victor L Chun

Frank Madej

Albert W Arends

Brian Lee Taylor

Alexander B Leibman

Michael Hajjar

James Kundinger

Roland Karklin

Roderick P Schulte

James H Martin

Andrew P Richard

Keith Redburn

James H Kundinger

Stephen E Keeley

Fredrick A Nehring

Joseph Mouzaya

Brian Russell

Fredrick A Nebring

Jordan Owens

Brian Russel

Phil Eichbauer

Steve Keeley

A thermoformer apparatus has sheet supporting rails which are divided into sections hinged together to facilitate widening of the spacing between the rails with adjuster drive mechanism as the sheet moves through an oven to eliminate sagging of the sheet as it becomes heated. Thermoformer chains are driven by a pair of independently operable servo motors each associated with a respective thermoformer chain.

Rail system for thermoformer with dual motor chain drive

A long travel, varying spring rate combination spring includes two differing rate springs connected end-to-end in such a way that the lower rate spring is compressed until positive engagement of a plunger with an intermediate flange member occurs with the higher rate spring thereafter compressed. Each spring may be assembled separately and connected together with a coupling to create a combination spring, allowing various springs to be combined to meet the requirements of a particular application.

Long travel, high force combination spring

A servo motor in die tapping unit provides built in shock protection for the motor by fixing a shock plate to the servo motor and floatingly mounting the shock plate to a base structure attachable to a stripper plate in a press. Sets of opposing springs allow movement of the shock plate relative the base plate to relieve shock loads when the press is operated, the shock plate guided on dowel pins fixed to the base structure. The shock plate, and tapping unit and base structure form a self contained assembly for mounting together in the press.

Servo tapping unit with built in shock protection

A press mounted cam has a slide guided on an adapter by structural features including as one or more T blocks fixed to the slide and received in a respective channel formed in the adapter. In an aerial cam embodiment, a vertical clearance space is provided between the T block and adapter channel such that positive driving engagement between cam surfaces on the slide and the adapter is momentarily delayed after the initial engagement of the slide and driver surfaces to let the momentum of the slide be absorbed prior to the beginning of positive driving by the press motion, reducing shock and noise. The slide is laterally located with respect to the driver by an upwardly projecting locator-guide key on the driver received in a central channel in the slide. A positive return is provided by engagement of a driver key having T features received in a T-shaped slide channel and captured therein when the slide is driven laterally. This engagement creates a positive return of the slide when the press upper platen is raised.

Press mounted cam

A servo motor driven tapping unit for in die installation has a tap holder pitch adapter assembly mounted for removal while the unit is in the die to facilitate tap and pitch adapter replacement. In one embodiment, the tap holder pitch adapter assembly extends transversely to the servo motor axis, and is offset in another embodiment.

Servo motor die tapping unit

A tool mounting and method for adjustably mounting a tool holder on a cam slide of a press mounted cam also including an adapter body and driver. The tool mounting includes a tooling plate adjustably secured to the cam slide by a series of dowel pins closely fit in dowel pin openings in the cam slide and loosely fit in dowel pin holes in the tooling plate to allow vertical and horizontal adjustment. A channel extends to each oversized dowel pin opening to enable injection of a setting material to lock the tooling plate in its adjusted position after being aligned with a die opening using a pilot installed in a tool holder mounted on one side of the tooling plate. An alignment plate is installed over the other side to cover the channel to each oversized dowel pin hole and allow removal and replacement of the tooling plate without disturbing the adjusted position on the tooling plates.

Method and tool mounting for adjustment of tools on a press mounted cam

A thermoforming apparatus for forming sheets of sheet plastic onto a substrate in which a retractable substrate heater is able to be positioned over a substrate loaded into the press and energized while a plastic sheet is being heated in an oven included in the thermoformer apparatus. The plastic sheets are cut from a strip pulled from a roll of sheet material, the roll supported for side to side movement and driven by a servomotor responsive to error signals generated by a strip edge sensor to compensate for wandering of a strip edge to thereby insure accurate location of plastic sheets cut from the unwound strip.

Thermoformer for forming and heat bonding a thermoplastic sheet to a substrate

A press mounted cam has an adapter, slide and a driver with range of sizes and working angles provided at low cost by driver and/or adapter constructions having base plates and a series of side by side upright plates of a number corresponding to a given length with an angled top corresponding to a given working angle.

Press mounted cam and method of manufacture

A roller cam mechanism and driver assembly which features a positive retraction cam elements comprised of auxiliary rollers and side plate slots which cooperate upon failure of a retraction spring compressed by advance of a tooling slide to cause positive retraction of a tooling slide.

Roller cam mechanism and drive assembly with positive retraction

A rotary bending tool having a series of graphite plugs mounted in a saddle recess engaging a rocker surface to lubricate the same. The rocker is machined in an unhardened state and thereafter heat treated to be hardened, with reverse bending of the rocker thereafter carried out to correct any warpage.

Rotary bending tool and method of manufacture

An in-die tapping unit for a press in which two ball screw mechanisms are driven by closing motion between two housing pieces caused by press actuation. Both ball screw mechanisms rotate a central drive gear which causes rotation and axial advance of a pitch adapter sleeve axially advanced by a threaded engagement with a fixed pitch adapter hub, the movable pitch adapter carrying a tap holder, which rotates and advances a tap inserted therein. A striker pad and acceleration spring reduces the shock loading of the unit when the press engages the upper housing piece.

Die tapping unit

A thermoforming machine utilizes two clamping frames to advance cut sheets through heating and forming stations, with the clamping frames returned via an overhead path above the oven in the heating station. Pneumatic cylinders arranged about the inner perimeter of the frames are operated to grip the sheet and release the sheets, which are pressurized and released via fluid connections established when the frames are lifted from a transfer bar structure at the loading and forming stations. The clamping frames have pivoted end sections which are engaged by extendible gear posts at the forming station to bend the clamped sheet into greater conformity with the tooling shape prior to forming.

Thermoforming machine with linear recirculation of sheet holding frames

Adjustable clamping frames for rotary thermoforming machine have movable sets of clamp supporting members which are driven by selectively engageable drive units to carry out a size adjustment at a station in the thermoforming machine.

Growing community of inventors

Midland, MI, United States of America

Victor L Chun