PRIOR ART-
The prior art mentioned below is in no way acknowledged as common knowledge and
is by way of illustration only.
Thermoforming for plastic moulds is a major industry. Many products such as plastic
cups, plates, containers etc are manufactured through this process. The method used in
thermoforming plastic for production of disposable containers is called the CAM
technology.
CAM technology utilizes a machine that has a bottom platen that moves up and down
with the help of a mechanical CAM. The lower mould is fixed on the bottom platen
and will move up to meet the upper mould. The forming, once the moulds have met, is
done through air pressure. Once forming is complete the bottom platen will come
down and the newly formed product will be ejected from the cavity of the mould with
the help of ejector rod and air pressure.
A modification to the CAM technology is the bottom platen being moved in a vertical
position with the help of an eccentric disc which is driven by a servo motor. In both
cases the products once ejected are heaped on the ground without getting stacked.

Conventional CAM based as well as Servo driven machines eject products in a
haphazard manner which makes staking and counting of products a cumbersome task.
Also, as products such as plastic drinking cups are produced they are ejected onto the
ground and have to be picked up manually, this process results in low hygiene level
products, especially where products which are meant for containing edible items are
produced.
US patent 597877 (Merklinghau's et. al., 1999) describes a thermoforming system that
utilizes a single motor to form by alignment of the two halves of the mould. The main
drawback in such a system is that, the products although stacked are not separated at
regular intervals. Also, the method employed in staking is not efficient.
The present invention deals with a new mechanism that solves the problems faced by
the CAM based as well the Servo Machine based techniques of thermoforming. The
present invention improves the performance and the production cycles of the machine,
allows for perfect stacking and counting of products as well as, swing of the mould
which is not possible with either of the present systems in use, thus saving manpower,
maintaining highest standards of hygiene.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION - It is an object of the present invention to
provide a machine for thermoforming which provides a near sterile end product that
can be hygienically stacked and counted

Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient machine which utilizes five
axis servo motors to function in synchronization to provide the best quality moulded
product.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine that provides an easy and
maintenance free method to collect and stack the moulded product according to the
desired number.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine that provides product
stacking means for both Single Row and Multi Cavity Row Moulds.
Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient machine that is fully
automated and has electronic means to operate the swing machine, thereby reducing
man power.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS :
Fig 1 describes a schematic diagram, of the swing machine.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS :
In the following description of various embodiments including the preferred
embodiment, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which show by way of
illustration the embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be
understood that other embodiments may be used and structural and functional
modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description
given herein with respect to these drawings is for explanatory purposes as the
invention extends beyond these limited embodiments.
The present invention relates to a swing machine for shaping stacking and counting
thermoplastic material. Fig 1 describes a schematic representation of the said swing
machine. The said machine is constructed with the help of a logic know as the five-
axis servo.
As show in Fig l a plurality of servo motors work in synchronization in the swing
machine assembly. Motor 1 at the bottom of the assembly holds the forming assembly
201. Motor 2 transports plastic sheet 202 from the dorsal end of the machine to the
forming station. The lower platen 204 moves up due to the action of motor 1. Once
motor 2 accurately positions the sheet, by accurate sheet indexing motor 1 enables the
mould 203 to close. Accurate sheet indexing helps position the plastic sheet 202
accurately over the forming assembly. Motor 3 enables the plug C to move
downwards. Plug C is then fitted into the mold 203 which stretches the plastic sheet
202 inside the cavity while forming. The closed mould allows for forming action to

take place through a uniform heating arrangement. After forming action is performed
Motor 1 moves the lower platen 204. Motor 4 has a crank A which enables the bottom
platen to swivels to an angle of 45 to 90 degrees, more precisely to an angle of 85.43
degrees while still holding the plastic sheet 202. Plastic sheet 202 now holds the
moulded products 205. Cylinder 1 helps to push the moulded plastic product 205 with
the help of the ejector rod 206 to exert pressure and demould the moulded plastic 205.
The moulded product 205 is pushed into the stacker 207 attached to arm extended
from Motor 5. Motor 5 enables the forward and backward movement of the stacker
207. Cylinder 2 helps in the upward and downward movement of the separator 208.
Cylinder 3 helps the separator 208 to separate the products by a downward action of
the cylinder. The action of the separator results in staking and counting of the
moulded plastic product 205.
The shape of the stacker 207 can vary from round to square to rectangular depending
upon the shape and size of the product mould. The stacker 207 can be large in size for
double row cavity moulds to smaller sizes for single row cavity moulds.
The main advantage of the swing machine is the hygienic method of handling the
moulded plastic product 205. As the product is demoulded and transferred to the
stacker 207 without human intervention, the level of hygiene is high and the end
products are almost sterile.

The swing machine assembly uses five axis servo motors which increase performance
and the production Cycles of the machine making it user friendly. Due to the
implementation of Servo Motor for the movement of lower platen 204 as well as the
swivel movement, and the uniform heating arrangement the formation of product is
very consistent.
The swing machine also incorporates a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) which
is attached to the machine for the operation helps the operator to operate the machine
easily and it is very user friendly which indicated the errors in the screen if any occurs
which becomes easier for the operator to understand and solve it accordingly.
The PLC will enable the user to control the number of finished moulded product 205
which is collected and separate once inside stacker 207.
Having fully described the preferred embodiments, other equivalent or alternative
methods for swing machine for shaping stacking and counting thermoplastic material
will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention has been described above by
way of illustration, and the specific embodiment disclosed is not intended to limit the
invention to the particular forms disclosed. For example, the embodiments described
in the foregoing were directed to providing a clear idea about the preferred modes,
including the best mode, of making and using the present invention. However, in
alternate embodiments, those skilled in the art may implement the invention without
deviating from the central idea of the invention. The invention therefore covers all

modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the
following claims.

CLAIMS:
We claim,
1. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material
comprising of:
a) More than one motor acting in a synchronization, wherein the said first
motor (motor 1) holds the forming assembly;
a second motor (motor 2) can transport a plurality of plastic sheets from the
dorsal end of the machine and can perform the function of accurate sheet
indexing and can perform the forming action;
a third motor (motor 3) can move the plug and fit the said sheet into the mould,
wherein the fit mould stretches the said plastic sheet inside the mould cavity.
a fourth motor (motor 4) can use a crank shaft to turn the lower platen at an
angle;
a fifth motor (motor 5) can use a forward and backward movement to move the
stacker;
b) a cylinder 1 can push the moulded plastic product by means of an ejector
rod;
a cylinder 2 can move a separator in an upward and downward motion;
a cylinder 3 can separate individual finished products;
c) a programmable logic controller unit.

2. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein, the said forming action is performed by a uniform
heating arrangement.
3. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the said crank shaft of motor 4 can cause the said
bottom platen to turn at an angel of 45 to 90 degrees, more preferably at an
angel of 85.43 degrees.
4. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the said cylinders are pneumatic device that helps
in the process of separation.
5. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the programmable control unit controls all the
parameters for separation and staking of the finished plastic product.
6. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the said motors are five axis servo motor.

7. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the said stacker may be circular or square or
rectangular.
8. A swing machine for shaping, stacking, counting thermoplastic material as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the said first motor (motor 1) moves may move in
an upward and downward motion.

The present invention relates to a swing machine for shaping stacking and
counting thermoplastic material. The machine comprises of a plurality of
motors working in synchronization to manufacture and accurately stack and
count the finished product. The machine utilizes the five axis servo motor to
perform independent tasks involved in the process of thermoforming.