Patent ID: 7980845

Claim:
A molding apparatus comprising: a first mold half; a first mold core received in the first mold half, the first mold core having a first molding surface; a second mold half positioned opposite to the first mold half, the second mold half including a receiving cavity defined therein, the receiving cavity being cylinder-shaped, the second mold half including an inner surface in the receiving cavity and a plurality of parallel grooves defined in the inner surface, the grooves being angularly equidistantly spaced from each other; and a second mold core received in the receiving cavity of the second mold half, the second mold core comprising a sleeve and a core insert received in the sleeve, the sleeve being cylinder-shaped, a radius of the sleeve being less than the radius of the receiving cavity, the sleeve comprising a plurality of flat side surfaces, the core insert having a second molding surface facing the first molding surface, the first molding surface and the second molding surface configured for cooperatively defining a molding cavity therebetween; and a plurality of spacers configured for being selectively disposed in the corresponding grooves, each of the spacers configured for being sandwiched between the second mold half and the sleeve, the plurality of flat side surfaces of the sleeve being configured for coming into contact with the corresponding spacers, the plurality of spacers being configured for aligning the second molding surface with the first molding surface.