Travin moulding

[m_c]

So, I've been toying with the idea of an injection moulder for a while, however I've always been put of by industrial machines requiring a quite substantial 3 phase supply, despite their usually dirt cheap prices.
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I've had a few different ebay searches on the go, and a benctop one happened to pop up on the radar a few weeks ago, and after a little bit research, it was deemed well enough priced to take a gamble on.
It finally arrived yesterday-
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8683/15525404140_2b1fc45ba7_z.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_mtb/15525404140/)
As Bought (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_mtb/15525404140/) by mc_mtb (https://www.flickr.com/people/mc_mtb/), on Flickr
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It's an older Travin TP1, and I've got to say, I think the gamble has paid off. Should be more than good enough for doing some experimentation, although I still need to think of something worthwhile to make!
The only bits missing are the guards, air pressure regulator, and the feed mechanism for the hopper, but it comes with a proper temperature controller (would cost £330 as an upgrade on a new one), and other than being a bit dusty/greasy, it looks in good condition.
Guards I can make, I happen to have a spare pressure regulator lying around, and I can try it without the feeder for now.
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An email to Travin late last night asking if they had a manual available, resulted in an email first thing this morning with one attached :)
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I now just need to do a bit reading on making moulds....

[gavztheouch]

Good to see another injection molder on the forum. :love-struck:

[Robin Hewitt]

I know Travin, they made me a couple of moulds when I was starting up, is Brian still in charge?

They had the various moulders on display, the Eagle was usually running. IIRC the TP1 was set up to mould screwdriver handles onto screwdriver blades. The mould was cast in metal loaded epoxy contained by a substantial steel outer.

[m_c]

It seems to be a Kevin that handles all the communication, so I've got no idea who's in charge!
I've only emailed them once so far, and I've got to admit I was surprised by the speedy response, given that every other company I've dealt with lately has taken days to reply if they've even bothered to reply.
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I'm currently sat with the manual studying their ejection mold plans, to try and understand exactly what each bit does. I think a more basic mould will be on the cards first though!

[PaulAtAvon]

I have a very similar machine, which I think is a TP2. The difference being that the ram is powered by a manually operated rack and pinion rather than by an air cylinder.

Needless to say bolting the thing down is essential as some leverage is required!

Again, it's an EBay purchase, but it doesn't take long before you realise that there's a lot of work in tool-making for even these simple machines.

Anyway, I thought some photos of a mould tool that I produced may be of interest. it's for a simple flat lid with 4 holes in it. The photos are of the moving half of the tool. The other half is simply flat, although that might change.

The real time-saver is the ejection mechanism. This means that the machine can probably do 2 cycles per minute.

The tool is the standard size for this type of Travin, i.e. 4 inch by 3 inch, and injection is obviously on the split line.

The tool path for the cavity was produced by Meshcam, and milled out on a Taig. It's almost 2D, but as a starter tool, it was enough to give me an idea of what was required, and a feel for how the machine operates.

http://www.mycncuk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14932&stc=1http://www.mycncuk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14933&stc=1http://www.mycncuk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14934&stc=1