How a cookie cutter is made - GIF

[PJs]

Without any context to this machine and the company producing only Ginger Bread cookie cutters (and maybe a couple of others) it is difficult to set any antecedence to their thinking and process goals. It may be that they are a Mom & Pop shop that put this thing together in a decent rudimentary way to crank out small runs based on the other operations, like forming, cutting and feeding the raw cutter cylinders. So yes, as marksbug stated a series of cams could be used actuate and time the operations manually, instead of a PLC or similar controller.

My hit is this may be a prototype as at :03 the die head at 4 O'clock (previous view was 180°) has a top plate that probably helps hold the cylinder down during the forming of the other cylinders yet is 4th in timing. Note: that gravity is holding the form in place and perhaps it isn't until the 3 previous ops it starts to lift the opposite side and the hold down plate is needed?!?

If one were to want to produce all the various types and sizes and be flexible for new designs in some higher quantities to keep them cost effective and salable, the first thing would be to make the setup modular and quick change, imho. If deciding to use this type of equipment, the rams would need multiple position mounting with a quick change die yoke, the center mold needs a drop-in/lock-down in approach. Probably adding perhaps an automated (timed) feed chute for the raw cylinders and a magnetic picker of some kind to drop the formed pieces into a bin...it would also be better if this were a vertical headstock assembly to facilitate the automation. This could all be done with simple ladder logic micro-PLC's and pneumatic's.

Full scale brain surgery/rocket science I would probably make a much larger machine which would form and side crimp the cylinders from 8' sheet stock, and feed the tube to a headstock that would form the top crimp, feed forward on to the die to a stop, part it off, then form the shapes with the cylinder dies, then eject/drop to an output hopper bin. "Crayon Overview"

Funny how the simple Gif lights a candle of verbose diagnostics and visions of the future innovation...

PJ