Plastics SIM

While creating new plastic parts or designing molds to produce them, many small questions will raise during the day. Some are simple, like how many mm has one inch? Others are more complex since a decision needs to be made to buy a hot runner system or use a cold runner instead. And sometimes one just needs a little help to interpret a color code in the CAD model correctly. In order to support the daily work of part and mold designers the application is divided in five main areas. Let's take a look at each of them to see what is in it for you: 1. Unit Conversion There is a selection of 16 groups that contains specific parameters for each group. Each of the parameters in one group can be calculated into another, for example g/cm3 into lbm/in³. The groups range from temperatures, specific volume and density down to mass, power and flow rate. Each of the available parameters can be seen and is used in the plastic industry. Convert one unit into another is often needed and fast done with the functions in this section. 2. Equivalent Diameter This is a section dedicated to simulation guys. If a filling simulation needs to be done for a plastic part it is necessary to add the runner system for best results. In order to make life easier a given real shape of a cold runner can be transformed into an equivalent diameter. A diameter can be assigned to the runner element in simulation pretty easily and is simple to modify during optimization. However, the shape of the cold runner influences the flow of the plastic. This is taken care in the calculation of the hydraulic diameter. There is a variety of shapes available for which the hydraulic diameter can be calculated. 3. Dosing There is a gap between part and mold designers doing simulation of the injection molding process and the setter on the shop floor. Simulation guys tend to talk in s and at their best in cm³ while setter always think in mm and mm/s as well as cm³ and cm³/s. In this section it is possible to transfer a given injection profile from one unit to another. Moreover a special calculation for 2.5D and 3D simulation was added. 4. Comparison In order to judge if something is getting better or worse it is good to take a look to the change as a percentage value. This is the first main function in this section. Enter two values and see what increase or decrease of the value had taken place. The second function in this section is about how to decide if a cold runner or a hot runner shall be used. With this function you can calculate the break even point in order to learn at which number of produced parts it is economically to buy a hot runner system. If the decision is made to use a hot runner it is important to check the shot volume inside of the hot runner compared to the overall shot weight. This is especially true for materials that are sensitive to temperatures. 5. Knowledge base This section is a treasure trove of knowledge. From here you can access the following features directly: - CAD color table reference - CLTE calculation - Tolerance reference - Mold material reference - Tempering unit evaluation If you are running Xmold or InMold Solver within your company network you can directly access the additional information. If an internet connection is available you can access the online glossary for the plastic industry as well as e-Learning courses. Moreover you can directly request a simulation of a plastic part. With all of this, the Plastic SIM App is a very handy assistant for part and mold designers working in the plastic industry.