🚀 Fully Automated Injection Molding for Hose Heads (Tube End Forming)

🔧 System Overview – Fomtec Vertical Injection Molding Machine + Automation Peripherals

I. 🏗️ Core Equipment Combination

• Injection Molding Machine (Host) – Fomtec FT‑DS Double‑Sliding‑Table Vertical Injection Molding Machine
  series (FT‑xx‑DS). The double‑station sliding table allows two lower molds to alternate left and right on the same plane.

• Automation Partner – A specialized automation equipment supplier providing robotic arms for heading machines
  and automatic loading/unloading systems.

✅ This combination has been proven in real production: a hose manufacturer introduced Fomtec rotary‑table heading machines,
paired with the supplier’s robotic manipulators and automatic tube feeders. After nearly two months of production verification,
the system passed acceptance.

II. 📋 Detailed Analysis of Automation Equipment for Each Process Step

🔹 Step 1: Packaging Tube Feeding → Tube Arranging & Queuing

📦 Equipment Name: Automatic Tube Arranging Machine / Stack‑Pushing Automatic Tube Feeding Device

🎯 Function:
Separate, queue, and organize semi‑finished hoses (open‑ended hollow tubes) from packed cartons/boxes. After being fed into the storage hopper, the tubes are orderly dispatched by the conveyor belt.

🧩 System Components:

• Storage hopper – holds bulk tubes.

• Feeding conveyor belt – conveys tubes forward in an orderly manner.

• Stack‑pushing feeding mechanism – includes the frame, push‑type pusher, continuous turnover
  automatic feeding mechanism, and conveyor line.

• Pressure bar – prevents tubes from jumping or misaligning on the conveyor.

✨ Technical Features:

• Supports 1‑out‑of‑8, 1‑out‑of‑10, or 1‑out‑of‑12 configurations, adjustable according to the actual cavity
  count of the mold.

• Can orient tubes based on printed patterns, supporting oval tube production.

• Uses elliptical fixtures to correct positioning for oval tube production.

🔗 Integration Logic: The arranging machine turns randomly packed tubes into an orderly queue and feeds them to the pick‑up position for the next step – it is the first critical link in the fully automated line.

🔹 Step 2: Tube Turning (Horizontal → Vertical)

🔄 Equipment Name: Continuous Turnover Automatic Feeding Mechanism / Turning Unit

🎯 Function:
Turn the horizontally oriented plastic tubes into a vertical orientation so that the robot can grip them and insert them into the injection mold.

⚙️ Working Principle:

• A horizontal pusher moves the tubes from the transfer mechanism into the turning unit.

• The turning unit rotates 90 degrees, changing the tube from horizontal to vertical.

• The turning assembly is equipped with tube positioning fixtures (core pins) to hold the tubes in place.

🔗 Integration Logic: Tubes are usually conveyed and queued horizontally (for easy transport), but they must be vertical when inserted into the mold (since the core pins of a vertical injection molding machine are vertically arranged). Therefore, a 90° turn is essential between the conveying and insertion stages.

🔹 Step 3: Robot Picks Tubes (from the Loading Position)

🤖 Equipment Name: Multi‑Axis Robot (with Gripping Fixtures) / Heading Machine Robotic Arm

🎯 Function:
The multi‑axis robot approaches the turning unit and grips the already‑vertically‑oriented plastic tubes using gripping fixtures.

🔩 Types of Grippers (selected according to tube shape):

• Round tube gripper – two gripping plates with concave circular arcs for round tubes.

• Oval tube gripper – two gripping plates with concave oval surfaces for oval tubes.

✨ Technical Features:

• Can grip multiple tubes simultaneously (matching the mold cavity count, e.g., 1‑out‑of‑8/10/12).

• Uses vacuum suction cups or mechanical clamps.

• Interlocked with the injection molding machine to prevent collisions.

🔗 Integration Logic: The robot is the core handling tool that bridges the “loading/turning area” and the “injection molding machine”. Its motion must be precisely synchronized with the cycle of the Fomtec molding machine.

🔹 Step 4: Robot Places Tubes into the Fomtec Vertical Injection Molding Machine

🤖 + 🏗️ Equipment Name: Multi‑Axis Robot (Insertion & Extraction Group) paired with Fomtec FT‑DS Double‑Sliding‑Table Vertical Injection Molding Machine

📊 Key Advantages of the Fomtec FT‑DS Double‑Sliding‑Table Machine:

⚙️ Working Sequence of the Insertion/Extraction Group:

1. Finished‑part gripper picks up the finished hoses from one station of the double‑sliding‑table machine.

2. Semi‑finished‑part gripper picks up the semi‑finished hoses from the slide‑table fixture.

3. The insertion/extraction group rises and moves laterally, delivering finished parts to the finished‑part conveyor
   and placing semi‑finished parts onto that station.

4. The group descends again, and the stepped‑down design of the semi‑finished gripper presses the semi‑finished tubes
   securely onto the mold cores of that station.

5. The group rises and resets, then repeats the insertion/extraction operation for the other station.

6. The cycle repeats to achieve a high‑speed, fully automated plastic hose heading production line.

💡 Value of the Double Sliding Table:
In a traditional single‑station machine, the machine must stop during part removal and loading. With the double‑station design, one station is molding while the other is being unloaded and reloaded. This effectively turns “waiting time” into “productive time” – the fundamental reason for the 30‑50% efficiency improvement.

🔹 Step 5: Injection Molding (Performed by the Fomtec Vertical Injection Molding Machine)

🏗️ Equipment Name: Fomtec FT‑DS Double‑Sliding‑Table Vertical Injection Molding Machine

🧪 Injection Molding Process:
The hose body is inserted onto the heading pins (mold cores). Under the hydraulic cylinder force, the mold closes. Molten PE plastic is extruded from the screw and injected through the main nozzle, then distributed through the runners into the individual sub‑nozzles of each cavity. The plastic flows and fills the closed space formed by the thread plate, shoulder mold, and heading pins, where it cools and solidifies. The heading (tube head) is welded to the hose body under high temperature during this process.

📌 Key Technical Specifications of the Fomtec FT‑DS Series:

• Vertical clamping and vertical injection design – suitable for molding plastic parts with inserts.

• LCD display with storage for up to 200 sets of molding parameters.

• Multi‑stage pressure and speed control for both injection and clamping.

• High‑precision P.I.D. temperature control – stable for each zone.

• Injection system features dual injection cylinders, dual mounting cylinders, and dual guide columns for
  smooth movement.

• Specially designed screw and barrel assembly suits different injection processes.

• Equipped with high‑torque, low‑noise hydraulic motors.

• High‑quality self‑lubricating bearings used at all moving points.

• Reinforced machine frame for the sliding‑table version ensures accurate and stable sliding mold action.

🔹 Step 6: Finished Part Removal → Demolding and Unloading

📤 Equipment Name: Multi‑Axis Robot (Demolding Unit / Finished‑Part Gripper) with Finished‑Part Conveyor

🎯 Function:
After one molding cycle, the mold opens and rises. Under the action of the center ejector and side ejectors, the finished hoses with the newly formed heads are released from the heading pins.

🔄 Unloading Sequence:

1. The finished‑part gripper removes the finished hoses from the mold cores.

2. The insertion/extraction group rises and moves laterally.

3. The finished hoses are transferred onto the finished‑part conveyor belt.

4. The conveyor moves the products to the unloading station or packaging area.

✨ Technical Features:

• Interlocked control with the injection molding machine.

• Equipped with material‑out / fault alarm devices.

• Entire process operates without manual intervention.

III. 📊 Overall Fully Automated Production Line Flow Chart

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  🚀 Fully Automated Hose Heading Production Line Flow      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                             │
│  ┌─────────────┐   ┌───────────────┐   ┌────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐ │
│  │ 📦 Packaged │   │ 🔧 Tube       │   │ 🔄 Turning │   │ 🤖 Multi‑Axis│ │
│  │    Tubes    │──▶│  Arranging    │──▶│  Mechanism │──▶│   Robot      │ │
│  │   Feed      │   │  Machine      │   │ (Horizontal│   │  (Pick‑up)   │ │
│  │ (Bulk input)│   │ (Queue &     │   │  → Vertical)│   └──────┬───────┘ │
│  └─────────────┘   │  orient)     │   └────────────┘          │           │
│                    └───────────────┘                          │           │
│                                                               │           │
│                                                               ▼           │
│                                                ┌──────────────────────┐  │
│                  ┌─────────────────────────────│ 🏗️ Fomtec FT‑DS     │  │
│                  │                             │  Double Sliding‑Table│  │
│                  │                             │  Vertical Injection  │  │
│                  │                             │  Molding Machine     │  │
│                  │                             │                      │  │
│                  │                             │  ┌─────┐  ┌─────┐  │  │
│                  │                             │  │Station│ │Station│  │  │
│                  │                             │  │  A   │  │  B   │  │  │
│                  │                             │  │⚙️Mold │  │📤Load/│  │  │
│                  │                             │  │      │  │Unload │  │  │
│                  │                             │  └─────┘  └─────┘  │  │
│                  │                             └──────────┬───────────┘  │
│                  │                                        │              │
│                  │                                        ▼              │
│                  │                             ┌─────────────────────┐  │
│                  └────────────────────────────▶│ 🤖 Multi‑Axis Robot │  │
│                                                │ (Insertion/Extract  │  │
│                                                │  Group)             │  │
│                                                └──────────┬──────────┘  │
│                                                           │             │
│                                                           ▼             │
│                                                ┌─────────────────────┐  │
│                                                │ 📦 Finished‑Parts   │  │
│                                                │  Conveyor (Unload)  │  │
│                                                └─────────────────────┘  │
│                                                                             │
│  💡 Note: While Station A is molding, Station B performs unloading + loading;│
│        they alternate, achieving a 30‑50% efficiency gain.                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

IV. 📌 Summary of Automation Equipment (Generic)

Based on publicly available information, the automation supplier provides the following core equipment for the hose heading automation field:

✅ Real‑World Application Example:

• A well‑known hose manufacturer purchased 2 heading machine robotic arms from the automation supplier for a contract value.

• A Fomtec rotary‑table heading machine, paired with robotic manipulator + tube arranging machine for automatic
  tube feeding, has passed factory acceptance.

V. 🛠️ Configuration Recommendations & Key Considerations

✅ Recommended System Configuration

⚠️ Critical Points for Synergistic Operation

1. 🔄 Cycle Time Matching – The output speed of the tube arranging machine, the pick‑and‑place speed of the robot,
   and the molding cycle of the injection machine must be synchronized to avoid bottlenecks or idle waiting.

2. 🛑 Anti‑Collision Interlock – The robot and the injection machine must have signal interlocking to prevent the machine
   from closing while the robot is inside the mold area.

3. 🔔 Material‑Out Alarm – The arranging machine should be equipped with a material‑out alarm device to avoid
   empty running.

4. 🧩 Mold Adaptability – The Fomtec double‑sliding‑table machine requires two lower molds (left and right). The mold
   design must be coordinated with the robot grippers.

🎯 Final Summary

This “Fomtec host + automation peripherals” combination has been proven in actual production and can realize fully automated hose heading without any manual intervention. By leveraging the double‑sliding‑table technology and synchronized robotic handling, manufacturers can achieve 30‑50% higher productivity, consistent quality, and significant labor savings.