Method for the automated manufacture of laminated plastics products
The invention relates to methods for the manufacture of laminated plastics products such as those which are normally obtained by placing several superimposed layers of material, for example paper or the like, impregnated with thermosetting resins in a press for thermoforming. 
     The layers are transformed by the combined action of the temperature and the pressure exerted by the die in order to obtain the required product. 
     In practice, however, there are several problems in carrying out these methods. For example, the resin-impregnated paper becomes more rigid, but also more brittle, and there is therefore a risk of breakage and damage. 
     Another problem arises when several packs are stacked and waiting to be supplied to the press: in these conditions, if the material constituting the facing sheets of adjacent packs is impregnated with certain resins, for example melamine resins, there is a tendency for the facing sheets to stick together. 
     According to the prior art, in order to avoid these problems, the packs are supplied directly to the press by one or more operators who see to the formation and handling of the packs. 
     In order to achieve automated formation of the laminated plastics products, therefore, it is necessary to avoid the occurrence of breakages in the layers making up the various packs and adhesion between adjacent layers of the packs. 
     The object of the invention is to achieve a method for the manufacture of laminated plastics products which does not have the above problems and enables automated manufacture of the products. 
     In order to achieve this object, the subject of the invention is a method for the automated manufacture of laminated plastics products, characterised in that it includes the steps of--forming a pack of superimposed layers of thermosetting material--placing the pack on a rigid support structure provided with means for supporting and keeping the pack in the correct position --supplying the rigid structure and the corresponding pack by gripping and transfer means to a moulding press for hot forming--after moulding, separating the rigid structure and the respective plastics laminate obtained by thermoforming of the corresponding pack of superimposed layers, the structure and the plastics laminate then being directed to respective unloading stations. 
    
    
     The invention will now be described with reference to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pack of superimposed layers of thermosetting material and a corresponding rigid support structure according to the invention, 
     FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned view of the pack and the structure of FIG. 1 assembled in the operative working position, 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of gripping and transfer means cooperating with a moulding press for carrying out the method according to the invention. 
    
    
     A pack of superimposed layers of thermosetting material is indicated 1. The pack 1 comprises a central core 2 consisting of a plurality of superimposed sheets of paper impregnated with a thermosetting resin, for example a phenolic resin, and two covering layers 3 arranged one on one face and the other on the opposite face of the interposed core 2. Each covering layer consists of a sheet of decorative paper impregnated with melamine resin. 
     A rigid metal structure in the form of a frame is indicated 4. The structure 4 is rectangular in shape and is constituted by a metal profile which forms the four sides of the structure. In section, the metal profile has an L-shaped portion, indicated 5, comprising a lower horizontal part 6 and an adjacent vertical part 7. The part 6 extends horizontally inwardly so as to form a seat for supporting a corresponding pack 1 of superimposed layers. The metal profile also has an upper horizontal part 8 which extends outwardly from the frame to form an engagement seat for facilitating the gripping and transfer of the structure 4. A group of structures 4 superimposed on each other and each provided with a respective pack 1 of layers of thermosetting material is indicated 9. An arm for gripping a structure 4 with its respective pack 1 and transferring it is indicated 10. A preheating oven, indicated 11, is situated upstream of a hot-moulding press 12. A transporter device 13 connects the oven 11 and the press 12. The latter operates a die/matrix unit for hot-forming the pack 1 to transform it into a laminated plastics tray 1a. A pneumatic device 15 is arranged at the output of the press 12 and is provided with a suction cup 16 at its end. 
     A first container 17 for receiving the trays 1a and a second container 18 for receiving the structures 4 from the press 12 are arranged downstream of the press 12. 
     Production of the trays by the method according to the invention and with the means described takes place in the following manner. A plurality of structures 9 each provided with a respective pack 1 is arranged upstream of the press 12. The arm 10 lifts a structure 4 including the respective pack 1 from the group 9 and transfers it to the preheating oven 11. After the structure has been suitably preheated, it arrives at the supply device 13 which supplies the structure 4 to the press 12. In the press 12, the die/matrix unit operates on the pack of sheets 11 and hot-forms it so as to produce a tray, for example, for canteens or the like. Subsequently, when the thermoforming operating is complete, the structure 4 with the respective tray 1a is carried out of the press 12 by the device 13, whereupon the pneumatic device 15 intervenes to grip the tray 1a by means of its suction cup 11. The tray 1a is fitted and transferred into the respective container 17. The structure 4, in turn, is directed to the respective container 18. 
     With the method described above, the packs 1 do not come into contact with each other and the possibility of adhesion between the packs is thus eliminated. Moreover, as each pack is housed in its respective rigid structure 4, it is protected and breakage or damage of the sheets which constitute the pack is avoided. Finally, since it is possible to have an automatic supply of structures 4 with respective packs 1 and to form a stack 9 of these structures, the method and therefore the manufacture of the laminated plastics products can be carried out without the direct and continuous presence of the operator, thus enabling the latter to carry out activities in a wider field and with less rigid constraints.