Patent ID: 7399174

Claim:
An apparatus for compression molding a plastic article, comprising: a base; a first actuator carried by the base and including a core, a second actuator carried by the base and including a female mold section defining a portion of a mold cavity in which the plastic article is formed, said core being at least partially received in said female mold section, at least one linear bearing associated with at least one of the first actuator and second actuator to guide said at least one of the first actuator and second actuator for linear reciprocation relative to the base, each linear bearing including a rail carried by one of the base and said at least one of the first actuator and second actuator and a block slidably received on the rail and carried by the other of the base and said at least one of the first actuator and second actuator that does not carry said rail, and a plurality of balls carried by the block, wherein the rail includes a track in which the balls are partially received.