Abstract: An apparatus for fabricating molded articles includes a turntable rotatable about an axis and having an edge. A number of independent diaphragm presses are supported for rotation with the turntable and are spaced from its axis of rotation. A fixed high-frequency heating station is positioned above and in the vicinity of the edge of the turntable, the station including a hood which defines a cavity into which the presses are sequentially positioned. A cooling device is positioned either to the side of the turntable or mounted on the turntable coaxially with its axis of rotation. Conduits connect or couple the cooling device to the presses to effect cooling of the presses subsequent to removal from the heating station as they advance to a parting station.

Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing furniture by joining panels and making corners, in which at least two panels each having generally parallel generally planar major faces and a generally planar end surface bounding one edge of the major faces are arranged with mold instrumentalities to form a mold cavity bounded in part by the respective end surfaces of the two panels. Plastic material is deposited into the mold cavity and the two panels are bonded together into a corner configuration by the plastic material while the plastic material is confined and shaped into a predetermined configuration. The plastic material preferably is a structural foam material and the mold instrumentalities preferably define an inclined, heated mold cavity in which reactants may form the structural foam.

Abstract: A plurality of groups of mandrels are arranged for movement successively through a plurality of workstations with each group being worked on at a station while other groups are being worked on simultaneously at other stations to produce continuously automatically groups of retractile cords. Cordage is fed from a supply into clamping engagement with each of the mandrels in the group in a cord-loading position and then wound in a plurality of spaced-apart convolutions on each of the mandrels of that group after which the wound cords are severed from the cordage supplies. The wound cords are advanced incrementally through a heating zone, wherein the cords are exposed to radiant heating supplemented by preheating of the mandrels while cordage is being wound on the next successive groups of mandrels.