Multi-mold vulcanization press

Vulcanization is where the wound mandrel becomes a part: heat and pressure cross-link the rubber, and the geometry it is held in for that time is the geometry it keeps. The process is slow compared with the stations around it, which is why cure capacity — not winding speed — usually sets the output of an air spring line.

This press answers that by curing up to four molds in parallel on one station. The cure runs under controlled heat and pressure; when it finishes the mandrel is removed automatically and transferred to the stripping area, so the press is not waiting on an operator to clear it before the next load.

Because loading and unloading are part of the machine rather than a manual step between machines, the press can be tied directly into a line and its cycle counted against the line takt. That is what lets a cell run with one operator instead of one per station.