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- Calculation of tool cooling
- Calculation of the filling
- Calculation delay
- Explanation via web streaming
- Special procedure
Injection molding simulation
A plastic part may look perfect in CAD but still cause problems during injection molding. Warpage, sink marks, weld lines, air pockets, or filling issues often don’t become apparent until the sample is produced. At that point, making changes to the mold is usually expensive and time-sensitive.
Using WESTCAM’s injection molding simulation, we test your part as early as the development phase. Based on your CAD data, we analyze filling behavior, cooling, warpage, and relevant process parameters. This provides you with a solid basis for decision-making before any tooling costs are incurred.
WESTCAM SERVICE: Injection molding simulation
Injection molding simulation is particularly helpful when a plastic part is technically complex or needs to be validated before tooling is built.
Typical questions:
- Is there room for improvement in terms of material, geometry, or tool design?
- Is the component filling completely and evenly?
- Where can seams or air pockets form?
- Should we expect shrinkage or warping?
- Has the injection point been chosen appropriately?
- How does cooling affect component quality and cycle time?
Identifying Typical Problems in Injection Molding Early On
A professional Moldflow analysis can help identify risks before they become costly in production.
Among other things, we analyze:
- Special processes such as 2K, inlays, core offset, or gas injection
- Filling Problems
- Points of entry
- Binding Seams
- Air pockets
- Warping and Shrinkage
- Cooling Channel Efficiency
- Injection Point and Flow Behavior
- Cycle time based on the assumptions made
Our Services for You
WESTCAM supports you as an extension of your own team for thermoplastic injection molding simulation. You provide us with your part or your specific challenge; we examine the relevant aspects and present the results in a clear and understandable way.
Analysis of Your CAD Model
- We review the input data and determine which simulation is most appropriate for your specific problem.
Results Review with Recommendations for Action
You’ll receive the results presented in an easy-to-understand format and discuss them with our simulation experts. The goal is not just a report, but a clear basis for decision-making regarding the next steps.
Calculation of tool cooling
- Cooling channels created using center lines as beams (1-D replacement elements)
- Comparison of normal / near-contour cooling (3D cooling channel)
- Calculation of variothermal cooling
- Transient calculation
- Temperature distribution in the tool
Calculation of the filling
- Processing window
- Filling behavior
- Simple holding pressure profile
- sink marks, air pockets, weld lines
- Density distribution, shear
Calculation delay
- Deformation of all influences
- Deformation due to shrinkage, cooling, fiber orientation
Explanation via web streaming
- Estimation of the cycle time based on the assumptions made
- Preparation of the results (PPT, MFR)
- Discussion of possible optimizations on the component
Special procedure
- 2K, inserts, core offset, gas injection;
Free Estimate for Your Component
Are you unsure whether an injection molding simulation is worth it for your part? Upload CAD data. Describe the problem. Get an initial assessment.
Why WESTCAM?
WESTCAM combines software expertise with practical experience in product development, simulation, and plastics engineering. We use Autodesk Moldflow and support companies that do not routinely perform injection molding simulations in-house but need reliable results for specific components.
Our best-in-class products
Moldflow Adviser
Thermoplastic injection molding simulation software for part and mold designers. Optimize your design for the production of moulded parts.
Moldflow Insight
Simulation software for injection molding and injection compression molding of plastic parts. Minimize production delays with the automation tools.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is injection molding simulation?
Injection molding simulation describes the digital simulation of the entire injection molding process on the basis of:
- CAD geometries
- Material data
- process parameters
Key aspects of plastics processing are analyzed virtually before a tool is built or a component is produced.
Typical questions of injection molding analysis:
- How does the component fill in the mold?
- Where do weld lines or air pockets occur?
- How does cooling affect the process?
- Where can delays occur?
- How do material properties influence the component?
Especially in tool and mold making, simulation helps to identify critical points at an early stage and to make well-founded decisions regarding gating, cooling and tool design.
Why is injection molding simulation crucial in toolmaking?
For toolmakers and mold makers, changes to the tool are one of the biggest cost factors in the development process.
If problems only become apparent during sampling, adjustments are often very time-consuming.
With Moldflow Simulation, many of these risks can be identified in advance.
Typical advantages:
Fewer change loops in toolmaking – simulation helps to identify design weaknesses at an early stage and reduce tool changes.
Better tool design – toolmakers receive valuable information on:
- Injection points
- Flow paths
- Cooling
- Pressure distribution
Who is the market leader for injection molding simulation?
Autodesk Moldflow is one of the world’s leading solutions for the simulation of injection molding processes.
The software makes it possible to realistically simulate the entire plastic injection molding process and to analyze critical influencing factors as early as the development phase.
The most important simulation areas include
- Fill analysis (fill simulation)
- Reprint analysis
- Cooling analysis
- Warpage analysis
- Material flow analysis
- Evaluation of injection points
A particular advantage of Moldflow is the extensive material database, which integrates real material properties into the simulation.
What is Moldflow Insight?
Advanced injection molding analysis for complex components. Moldflow Insight offers significantly extended simulation options for more demanding issues in injection molding and toolmaking.
The software is aimed at companies that want to carry out in-depth analyses in the injection molding process.
Moldflow Insight can be used to simulate, among other things:
- Detailed cooling processes in the tool
- Warpage and dimensional accuracy of components
- Complex material models
- Demanding component geometries
- Multi-component processes
Moldflow Insight provides a valuable basis for decision-making, especially for toolmaking companies that develop tools for sophisticated plastic parts.
What is Moldflow Adviser?
Injection molding simulation for component development. Moldflow Adviser is the ideal introduction to injection molding simulation for developers, designers and toolmakers.
The software supports the development process by making critical areas of a component visible at an early stage.
Typical areas of application:
- Analysis of filling behavior
- Evaluation of injection points
- Identification of weld lines and air pockets
- Initial assessment of warpage and shrinkage
Moldflow Adviser is a valuable tool, especially for toolmakers and mold makers, for evaluating components even before the tool is designed.
This allows risks in the injection molding process to be reduced at an early stage.
Are there any practical examples of injection molding simulation?
The example of automotive supplier Kromberg & Schubert Austria shows just how great the influence of digital simulation can be.
The company uses Autodesk Moldflow to digitally secure plastic components as early as the development phase.
By using injection molding simulation, the company was able to:
- Improve development processes
- Better tool design
- Reducing risks in the injection molding process
- Evaluate new materials and processes digitally
Today, simulation is an integral part of the product development process.
We advise you personally!
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