mold analysis gets faster, easier, smarter

1、<p>　　Mold Analysis Gets Faster, Easier, Smarter</p><p>　　On Dec. 28, Moldflow Corp. began shipping a major new release of its flagship injection mold simulation software. Moldflow Plastics Insight 6.0.

2、 MPI 6.0 is engineered to work much faster, be easier to use, and provide more useful information than before. Many of its enhancements are directed particularly at analyzing thick, solid parts—or thin parts with localiz

3、ed thick sectionsusing the MPI/3D module, which employs 3D solid-geometry mesh elements. Some of these new features will later be extend</p><p>　　MPI 6.0 also enhances speed and accuracy in analyzing convent

4、ional thin-shell parts—for example, in predicting fiber orientation in reinforced parts. There are also improved capabilities for analyzing very thin parts— less 1 mm—which are becoming more common. And the materials dat

5、abase has been expanded with hundreds of new materials and thousands of updates to materials properties. In recent months, Moldflow also came out with enhancements to its simpier, faster, lower-cost Moldflow Plastics Ad&

6、lt;/p><p>　　Faster 3 analysis</p><p>　　Much faster 3D analyses come from a new "coupled 3D flow solver" in MPI 6.0. The older solver offered users a choice of "Fast" or full Nav

7、ier-Stokes calculations, the latter being slower but more accurate. The new coupled 3D flow solver gives only full Navier-Stokes solutions up to 800% faster than before and is even 34% faster them the previous "Fast

8、" analysis. A number of other 3D flow improvements also result: </p><p>　　?Flow-front advancement can be calculated in lai^er time steps to gain speed without sacrificing accuracy.</p><p>　

9、　?Shear-heating calculations are said to be more accurate, especially at points where shear changes rapidly along the flow path, such as near a gate and in flows around comers.</p><p>　　?The new 3D Warp solv

10、er can calculate warpage of 3D parts an average of 7 times faster. Additional time savings are available from the new ability to use a "coarse-through-thickness" mesh to simplify warp models. This can make calc

11、iilations up to 35 times faster. </p><p>　　Apart from speed and accuracy improvements, MPI 6.0 provides some</p><p>　　previously unavailable information. Moldflow says this is the first software

12、 ever to simulate the 'getting" phenomenon when melt first enters a cavity, which tends to be more of a problem in thicker parts. This software advance could be helpful in designing automotive lenses, where jett

13、ing of the initial flow through the gate can cause visible defects.</p><p>　　Also new is the ability of MPI/3D to predict partial remelting of the interface</p><p>　　zone during overmolding of o

14、ne plastic with another. This alerts the user to the possibility of smearing the first material into the second. This result is currently available only for 3D analyses. </p><p>　　In addition, MPI/3D now can

15、 predict air traps. This feature was previously available for thin-shell models, but 3D analysis can reveal air pockets deep within parts as well as on the surface. MPI/3D can now simulate gas assist much faster through

16、use of ID beam elements instead of solid elements in runners and overflow wells. (Gas-assist simulation is already available for thin-shell models.) </p><p>　　MPI 6.0 also can aid shop-floor troubleshooting

17、by importing data on actual molding machine characteristics, process settings, and process variations from Moldflow Plastics Xpert (MPX) or Shotscope monitoring systems. This allows a simulation to be run with "real

18、life" conditions.</p><p>　　?MPI 6.0 can also export hot-runner temperature settings and layouts</p><p>　　to Moldflow's Altanium Matrix process controller, which displays graphic diagram

19、s</p><p>　　of the hot-runner system .</p><p>　　?MP1/3D provides new flexibility to display the temperature distribution</p><p>　　throughout any cross-section of the mold.This profil

20、e of steel temperatures can help optimize cooling-channel layout. {Thin-sheU analysis has a more limited capability of this sort.)</p><p>　　? MPI 6.0 can now isolate the causes of warpage for 3D parts as it

21、already does for thin-shell models. It can calculate deflections due to unbalanced cooling, non-uniform shrinkage, and fiber orientation, in addition to the total deflection. In addition, thinshell</p><p>　　

22、simulations have a new abiKty to isolate warpage due to comer effects.</p><p>　　? Previous ability to calculate core shift has been enhanced with new calculations of stresses on the cores to give insight int

23、o core fatigue before actual cracking occurs.</p><p>　　Easier & more flexible</p><p>　　In MPI 6.0 the user interface for all types of analyses has been reorganized for greater convenience an

24、d less screen clutter. For example, modeling and meshing tools, which formerly opened in windows on top of the model, now have been moved to panels</p><p>　　on the left side of the screen, so as not to obscu

25、re the view of the model. Also, the modeling and meshing tools have been consolidated into a graphical Toolbox that avoids the need to pick through menus, and the Project and Study panels are merged into a new</p>

26、<p>　　Tasks tab. All textual log windows have also been consolidated into one. And now, a single mouse click hides all panels to leave the entire screen free to display the model.</p><p>　　Evaluation o

27、f models is faster and easier with a new system of "directed diagnostics." Diagnostic warnings about meshing problems are now prioritized by degree of severity, and when a problem is selected, the model automat

28、ically orients itself to give the best visibility of the problem mesh elements, which are also highlighted. </p><p>　　The system now also automatically identifies isolated, extremely large elements</p>

29、<p>　　for correction, and the auto-fixing fionction is extended to correct colapsed areas of the mesh.</p><p>　　Another new ability is local mesh refinement in MPI/3D to increase or decrease tbe numbe

30、r of layers of elements in a specific area of the model (as already can be done with thin-shell models). Before, 3D analysis allowed users only to increase or decrease the </p><p>　　size of elements in the l

31、ayers. </p><p>　　Now it is also possible to generate analysis reports in Microsoft Word or</p><p>　　PowerPoint formats in addition to html.</p><p>　　Faster, simpler, smarter</p&g

32、t;<p>　　In September, release 7.2 of Moldfiow Plastics Advisers (MPA) added new capabilities to this simplified, easyto- leam product for preliminary analysis of molding feasibility. One of the main new features i

33、s the Advanced Geometry Adviser, which checks a newly constructed model and suggests ways to improve it before starting the analysis. It can identify thick, solid regions that could be thinned to reduce molding cycle tim

34、e and material cost, thin areas that would retard flow, and cosmetic featur</p><p>　　effect on analysis results but increase analysis time.</p><p>　　Faster analysis is also possible using a new

35、Naturally Balanced analysis mode. This mode allows you to select a naturally balanced runner system from a library of commonly used layouts. You can then edit the properties of specific runners, if necessary. Analysis<

36、;/p><p>　　is performed on a single highlighted cavity and results are extrapolated to the entire layout. Filling and packing analyses therehy take much less time than a full analysis in standard Multi Cavity mo

37、de. In addition, the new release lets you import centerlines of</p><p>　　complex or curved runners from a CAD file in IGES format.</p><p>　　The Cooling Circuit Adviser includes a new Cooling Sys

38、tem Wizard that helps create cooling circuits more efficiently than hefore. With the new wizard, you can set channel diameters, distance ahove and helow the parting plane, numher of channels, distance</p><p>

39、;　　hetween channels, and distance to extend hoses heyond the moid. You can also assign properties to multiple cooling lines at once and specify the cooling inlet location. </p><p>　　MPA 7.2 also reveals not

40、just the location of weld lines and air traps, hut the relative seriousness of these defects. It does so hy presenting the details on flow-front temperature, pressure drop, injection pressure, and fill time when these de

41、fects were formed.</p><p>　　New CAD tools</p><p>　　Two other new updates last Septemher were Moldflow Design Link (MDL) 5.2 and CAD Doctor 2.0. MDL allows direct import of solid geometry data fr

42、om leading CAD systems into MPI and MPA. MDL 5.2 has updated interfaces to the latest CAD releases</p><p>　　of Parasolid, SolidWorks, and Catia. </p><p>　　Moldflow CAD Doctor checks, corrects, a

43、nd "heals" solid models imported from popular 3D CAD systems in preparation for analyses using MPI and MPA. Version 2.0 has a new interface to MDL to import data from Catia V5,</p><p>　　Parasolid,

44、Pro/Engineer, SolidWorks, and STEP formats (vs. just Catia V4 and IGES before).</p><p>　　—Matthew H. Naitove</p><p>　　News in nano testing</p><p>　　DSM Xplore in Geleen, The Netherl

45、ands, represented in the U.S. hy Dieter Scientific, presented an unusual lahoratory device for developing expensive products like nanocomposites. It is a tiny conical twin-screw extruder designed for batch operation, unl

46、ike a normal continuous-feed extruder. It is fed hy a syringe-like device. A twoposition valve either discharges melt at the end of the screws or recirculates it hack to the feed end of the screws in a closed loop. DSM X

47、plore, which originally bui</p><p>　　DSM's original lab extruder processed 5-cc batches, so it needed only a pinch of expensive nano-materials to run tests. The latest generation uses inserts to change t

48、he effective barrel length and batch size from a minimum of 2.5 cc up to 15 cc. DSM has sold over 50 of tbe lah units. Prices range from ahout $80,000 to $100,000. </p><p>　　Elementis Specialties, a supplier

49、 of montmorillonite nanoclay, has developed a new infrared spectroscopy test to assess platelet dispersion and orientation. Based on IR absorption by the silicon- oxygen bonds in the clay, a broad absorption band indicat

50、es agglomerated clay A hand that narrows and forms a peak indicates the clay is exfoliated.</p><p>　　Elementis's method can also measure platelet orientation, which is key to harrier properties in extrud

51、ed or molded parts. A sample is rotated around the Y axis of an IR beam while the beam is successively pointed in Y and Z directions. If the IR absorption</p><p>　　hand varies in intensity, it indicates non-