Mold Analysis Gets Faster, Easier, Smarter.doc

MoldAnalysisGetsFaster,Easier,SmarterOnDec.28,MoldflowCorp.beganshippingamajornewreleaseofitsflagshipinjectionmoldsimulationsoftware.MoldflowPlasticsInsight6.0.MPI6.0isengineeredtoworkmuchfaster,beeasiertouse,andprovidemoreusefulinformationthanbefore.Manyofitsenhancementsaredirectedparticularlyatanalyzingthick,solidpartsorthinpartswithlocalizedthicksectionsusingtheMPI/3Dmodule,whichemploys3Dsolid-geometrymeshelements.SomeofthesenewfeatureswilllaterbeextendedtomoretypicalthinsheUplasticgeometriesthatutUizeconventionalmidplaneanalysisorMoldflowsproprietary"DualDomain"surface-meshtechnique,suppliedintheMPI/Fusionmodule.MPI6.0alsoenhancesspeedandaccuracyinanalyzingconventionalthin-shellpartsforexample,inpredictingfiberorientationinreinforcedparts.Therearealsoimprovedcapabilitiesforanalyzingverythinpartsless1mmwhicharebecomingmorecommon.Andthematerialsdatabasehasbeenexpandedwithhundredsofnewmaterialsandthousandsofupdatestomaterialsproperties.Inrecentmonths,Moldflowalsocameoutwithenhancementstoitssimpier,faster,lower-costMoldflowPlasticsAdvisers(MPA),andtoothersoUwareproductsforCADintegration.Faster3analysisMuchfaster3Danalysescomefromanew"coupled3Dflowsolver"inMPI6.0.Theoldersolverofferedusersachoiceof"Fast"orfullNavier-Stokescalculations,thelatterbeingslowerbutmoreaccurate.Thenewcoupled3DflowsolvergivesonlyfullNavier-Stokessolutionsupto800%fasterthanbeforeandiseven34%fasterthemtheprevious"Fast"analysis.Anumberofother3Dflowimprovementsalsoresult:Flow-frontadvancementcanbecalculatedinlaiertimestepstogainspeedwithoutsacrificingaccuracy.Shear-heatingcalculationsaresaidtobemoreaccurate,especiallyatpointswhereshearchangesrapidlyalongtheflowpath,suchasnearagateandinflowsaroundcomers.Thenew3DWarpsolvercancalculatewarpageof3Dpartsanaverageof7timesfaster.Additionaltimesavingsareavailablefromthenewabilitytousea"coarse-through-thickness"meshtosimplifywarpmodels.Thiscanmakecalciilationsupto35timesfaster.Apartfromspeedandaccuracyimprovements,MPI6.0providessomepreviouslyunavailableinformation.Moldflowsaysthisisthefirstsoftwareevertosimulatethegetting"phenomenonwhenmeltfirstentersacavity,whichtendstobemoreofaprobleminthickerparts.Thissoftwareadvancecouldbehelpfulindesigningautomotivelenses,wherejettingoftheinitialflowthroughthegatecancausevisibledefects.AlsonewistheabilityofMPI/3Dtopredictpartialremeltingoftheinterfacezoneduringovermoldingofoneplasticwithanother.Thisalertstheusertothepossibilityofsmearingthefirstmaterialintothesecond.Thisresultiscurrentlyavailableonlyfor3Danalyses.Inaddition,MPI/3Dnowcanpredictairtraps.Thisfeaturewaspreviouslyavailableforthin-shellmodels,but3Danalysiscanrevealairpocketsdeepwithinpartsaswellasonthesurface.MPI/3DcannowsimulategasassistmuchfasterthroughuseofIDbeamelementsinsteadofsolidelementsinrunnersandoverflowwells.(Gas-assistsimulationisalreadyavailableforthin-shellmodels.)MPI6.0alsocanaidshop-floortroubleshootingbyimportingdataonactualmoldingmachinecharacteristics,processsettings,andprocessvariationsfromMoldflowPlasticsXpert(MPX)orShotscopemonitoringsystems.Thisallowsasimulationtoberunwith"reallife"conditions.MPI6.0canalsoexporthot-runnertemperaturesettingsandlayoutstoMoldflowsAltaniumMatrixprocesscontroller,whichdisplaysgraphicdiagramsofthehot-runnersystem.MP1/3Dprovidesnewflexibilitytodisplaythetemperaturedistributionthroughoutanycross-sectionofthemold.Thisprofileofsteeltemperaturescanhelpoptimizecooling-channellayout.Thin-sheUanalysishasamorelimitedcapabilityofthissort.)MPI6.0cannowisolatethecausesofwarpagefor3Dpartsasitalreadydoesforthin-shellmodels.Itcancalculatedeflectionsduetounbalancedcooling,non-uniformshrinkage,andfiberorientation,inadditiontothetotaldeflection.Inaddition,thinshellsimulationshaveanewabiKtytoisolatewarpageduetocomereffects.Previousabilitytocalculatecoreshifthasbeenenhancedwithnewcalculationsofstressesonthecorestogiveinsightintocorefatiguebeforeactualcrackingoccurs.Easier&moreflexibleInMPI6.0theuserinterfaceforalltypesofanalyseshasbeenreorganizedforgreaterconvenienceandlessscreenclutter.Forexample,modelingandmeshingtools,whichformerlyopenedinwindowsontopofthemodel,nowhavebeenmovedtopanelsontheleftsideofthescreen,soasnottoobscuretheviewofthemodel.Also,themodelingandmeshingtoolshavebeenconsolidatedintoagraphicalToolboxthatavoidstheneedtopickthroughmenus,andtheProjectandStudypanelsaremergedintoanewTaskstab.Alltextuallogwindowshavealsobeenconsolidatedintoone.Andnow,asinglemouseclickhidesallpanelstoleavetheentirescreenfreetodisplaythemodel.Evaluationofmodelsisfasterandeasierwithanewsystemof"directeddiagnostics."Diagnosticwarningsaboutmeshingproblemsarenowprioritizedbydegreeofseverity,andwhenaproblemisselected,themodelautomaticallyorientsitselftogivethebestvisibilityoftheproblemmeshelements,whicharealsohighlighted.Thesystemnowalsoautomaticallyidentifiesisolated,extremelylargeelementsforcorrection,andtheauto-fixingfionctionisextendedtocorrectcolapsedareasofthemesh.AnothernewabilityislocalmeshrefinementinMPI/3Dtoincreaseordecreasetbenumberoflayersofelementsinaspecificareaofthemodel(asalreadycanbedonewiththin-shellmodels).Before,3Danalysisallowedusersonlytoincreaseordecreasethesizeofelementsinthelayers.NowitisalsopossibletogenerateanalysisreportsinMicrosoftWordorPowerPointformatsinadditiontohtml.Faster,simpler,smarterInSeptember,release7.2ofMoldfiowPlasticsAdvisers(MPA)addednewcapabilitiestothissimplified,easyto-leamproductforpreliminaryanalysisofmoldingfeasibility.OneofthemainnewfeaturesistheAdvancedGeometryAdviser,whichchecksanewlyconstructedmodelandsuggestswaystoimproveitbeforestartingtheanalysis.Itcanidentifythick,solidregionsthatcouldbethinnedtoreducemoldingcycletimeandmaterialcost,thinareasthatwouldretardflow,andcosmeticfeaturessuchasfilletsandtextthatcouldberemovedfromthemodelbecausetheydonothavemucheffectonanalysisresultsbutincreaseanalysistime.FasteranalysisisalsopossibleusinganewNaturallyBalancedanalysismode.Thismodeallowsyoutoselectanaturallybalancedrunnersystemfromalibraryofcommonlyusedlayouts.Youcantheneditthepropertiesofspecificrunners,ifnecessary.Analysisisperformedonasinglehighlightedcavityandresultsareextrapolatedtotheentirelayout.FillingandpackinganalysestherehytakemuchlesstimethanafullanalysisinstandardMultiCavitymode.Inaddition,thenewreleaseletsyouimportcenterlinesofcomplexorcurvedrunnersfromaCADfileinIGESformat.TheCoolingCircuitAdviserincludesanewCoolingSystemWizardthathelpscreatecoolingcircuitsmoreefficientlythanhefore.Withthenewwizard,youcansetchanneldiameters,distanceahoveandhelowthepartingplane,numherofchannels,distancehetweenchannels,anddistancetoextendhosesheyondthemoid.Youcanalsoassignpropertiestomultiplecoolinglinesatonceandspecifythecoolinginletlocation.MPA7.2alsorevealsnotjustthelocationofweldlinesandairtraps,huttherelativeseriousnessofthesedefects.Itdoessohypresentingthedetailsonflow-fronttemperature,pressuredrop,injectionpressure,andfilltimewhenthesedefectswereformed.NewCADtoolsTwoothernewupdateslastSeptemherwereMoldflowDesignLink(MDL)5.2andCADDoctor2.0.MDLallowsdirectimportofsolidgeometrydatafromleadingCADsystemsintoMPIandMPA.MDL5.2hasupdatedinterfacestothelatestCADreleasesofParasolid,SolidWorks,andCatia.MoldflowCADDoctorchecks,corrects,and"heals"solidmodelsimportedfrompopular3DCADsystemsinpreparationforanalysesusingMPIandMPA.Version2.0hasanewinterfacetoMDLtoimportdatafromCatiaV5,Parasolid,Pro/Engineer,SolidWorks,andSTEPformats(vs.justCatiaV4andIGESbefore).MatthewH.NaitoveNewsinnanotestingDSMXploreinGeleen,TheNetherlands,representedintheU.S.hyDieterScientific,presentedanunusuallahoratorydevicefordevelopingexpensiveproductslikenanocomposites.Itisatinyconicaltwin-screwextruderdesignedforbatchoperation,unlikeanormalcontinuous-feedextruder.Itisfedhyasyringe-likedevice.Atwopositionvalveeitherdischargesmeltattheendofthescrewsorrecirculatesithacktothefeedendofthescrewsinaclosedloop.DSMXplore,whichoriginallybuiltlabequipmentformaterialssupplierDSM,becameaseparateunittwoyearsago.DSMsoriginallabextruderprocessed5-ccbatches,soitneededonlyapinchofexpensivenano-materialstoruntests.Thelatestgenerationusesinsertstochangetheeffectivebarrellengthandbatchsizefromaminimumof2.5ccupto15cc.DSMhassoldover50oftbelahunits.Pricesrangefromahout$80,000to$100,000.ElementisSpecialties,asupplierofmontmorillonitenanoclay,hasdevelopedanewinfraredspectroscopytesttoassessplateletdispersionandorientation.BasedonIRabsorptionbythesilicon-oxygenbondsintheclay,abroadabsorptionbandindicatesagglomeratedclayAhandthatnarrowsandformsapeakindicatestheclayisexfoliated.Elementissmethodcanalsomeasureplateletorientation,whichiskeytoharrierpropertiesinextrudedormoldedparts.AsampleisrotatedaroundtheYaxisofanIRbeamwhilethebeamissuccessivelypointedinYandZdirections.IftheIRabsorptionhandvariesinintensity,itindicatesnon-randomorientationoftheplatelets.AlternativetestmethodslikeelectronmicroscopesandX-raydiffractionanalysisaremuchmorecomplexandprovidelessclearresults,Elementissays.ISI