Rubber bellows for cars

A robotised cell including an injection moulding machine featuring a 12-nozzle temperature-controlled unit with a 12-cavity mould and double series of mandrels represents the proposal of Delia for the production of rubber bellows for cars. The cell configuration makes it possible to carry out the removal and finishing of the product in masked time, i.e. with the press closed during the vulcanisation stage, thereby significantly reducing the overall duration of the cycle.
The cell moves the mandrel holder bars alternately outside the press and, during the injection of a new series of bellows, a 12-position cutting-off unit removes the sprue from the collar of the bellows and a trimming head eliminates flash from the edges of the piece. At the end of the cutting and flash removing operations, the mandrel holder bar with the moulded pieces is picked up and placed in the region of the demoulding head, which simultaneously removes the two rows of six pieces using special gripper units.
This system offers a series of advantages. First of all, it allows a shorter mould-open time which means less cooling of the mould itself and a shorter vulcanisation time. It also allows a reduction of the time needed to remove the pieces, an operation that takes place in series and not manually, piece by piece, thereby eliminating relative downtimes. This also eliminates the risk of burns from the compound contained in the injection chamber and improves the quality of the products.