Patent ID: 8057720

Claim:
A method of operating an injection molding machine, the method comprising: forming a cavity by assembling a plurality of molds with each other, such that the plurality of molds includes two rotatable molds of substantially the same shape and movably and rotatably mounted between two outer molds, disassembling the plurality of molds from each other; and holding a molded piece in one of the molds with a pressing device along a pressing device path when the molds are being disassembled and a predetermined distance between the molds is not exceeded, the pressing device to move independently from the two rotatable molds and the outer mold, wherein the two rotatable molds rotate about an axis perpendicular to the pressing device path, and wherein the pressing device moves in a first direction to press the molded piece and then moves in a second direction to release the molded piece when a first of the rotatable molds and the outer mold move away from each other by a distance more than a predetermined gap.