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ME 455 Mold Adviser Demo This is an demo version of Mold Adviser, a module of the program Moldflow. Moldflow is a commonly used program in the industry for the design and simulation of the injection molding process. Click on Mold Adviser icon to start the program. The program window will pop up. If, the tutorial does not automatically start when the program window opens, click on Help and choose Tutorials

from the pull-down menu. The Course Map window will pop up. Click the key icon: next to Start Here. Then, follow the instructions as below.

Getting Started Introduction Running the Adviser allows you to assess a model's suitability for manufacture using plastic injection molding techniques. This tutorial will introduce you to the Adviser.

Task List 1. Open a model 2. Manipulate the model 3. Select a polymer 4. Run the Gate Locator 5. View Gate Locator results 6. Select an injection location 7. Save the model as 8. Run the Adviser 9. View results 10. Tutorial overview

Follow the above task list in the stated order. You can return to any task at any time from the links at the bottom of the window: ___________________________________________________

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In addition, you can also navigate from the links at the top of the tutorial window:

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Getting Started Task 1: Open a model This task will show you how to open a model in the Adviser.

1. Click (File Open). 2. Select the cover.mpa model (located in the tutorial directory). 3. Click Open.

Note: Ensure that the file is in Adviser format (*.mpa).

The model used in this exercise is the cover of a computer mouse.

If you start the Adviser directly from your CAD system, the current model will be opened in the Adviser automatically. The model is displayed with the same rotation and color as it was in the CAD program.

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Getting Started Task 2: Manipulate the model In this task you will manipulate the model so you can see a suitable injection location.

Use the manipulation tools to position the model as shown in the image below. You can select these tools from three different places :

o from the Display menu o from the Display toolbar (on the left of the screen) o by right-clicking on the display area and selecting the Mouse Modes option

Manipulation Tools

There are a number of tools available to rotate and manipulate the model.

Click on each of the buttons below to see how they work. An animation will show you how they are used in the Adviser.

Pan - moves the view of model.

Rotates the model.

Zooms in and out.

Zooms in on a selected region.

Fits the model to the window.

The View tools on the View Point toolbar rotate the model to specific angles. You can also save and apply your own views. How to...

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Getting Started Task 3: Select a polymer In this task, you will select a particular material from the database.

1. Click (Adviser Molding Parameters) to open the Molding Parameters dialog. 2. Select the following material :

o Database: Standard o Supplier: BASF (Germany) o Trade Name: Novolen 1100T

How to... 3. Click OK.

If you don't know the material supplier or trade name, you can search for alternative materials in the Search Materials tab of the Molding Parameters dialog, by supplying the required material properties.

You can also set the processing conditions for the analysis on the Processing Conditions tab. In this tutorial you will use the default conditions.

Note that mold and melt temperature, maximum injection pressure limits, machine injection time and clamp open time are all specified once the material is chosen. If you choose another material, the values may change based on the material characteristics.

Getting Started Task 4: Run the Gate Locator This task will show you how to determine a suitable gate location to inject material into this model.

1. Click (Adviser Analysis Selection) to open the Analysis Selection dialog. 2. When the Analysis Selection dialog opens, click the Gate Location Analysis radio button

and click Start. 3. The Gate Locator analysis will take a few minutes. While you are waiting, go to the next

task and try the exercise that shows you where to inject the polymer based on the Gate Locator results.

The Gate Locator analyzes the geometry of the part and calculates how appropriate a gate location would be at each region of the part.

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Getting Started Task 5: View Gate Locator results In this task you will interpret the Gate Locator results. Once the Gate Locator calculation has finished, the display will show a spectrum of colors. Blue indicates the best location to inject the material, and red indicates the worst location to inject the material.

Once the gate locator analysis is complete, close the Results Summary dialog by clicking Close.

The result will be displayed on your screen. Look at it and identify the blue area. This is where you will place the gate. It should be similar to the result shown in the example below. (You can rotate your part for better viewing of the results)

Check your understanding

Select an appropriate injection location. To do this, click on the gate (the yellow cone), and drag it to the location that the Gate Locator analysis suggests is the best location.

The Gate Locator indicates that a location is suitable if the flow of material is balanced. It does not take into account how difficult it is to access a location to inject the material, or if a location is visually sensitive. Therefore, a blue region is suitable if it is possible to inject there and it is not a visually sensitive area.

Note: The Gate Locator takes into account the material used to fill the part. The Gate Locator will only recommend one injection location (or one additional injection location on a part where you have already selected polymer injection locations).

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Getting Started Task 6: Select an injection location In this task you will use the Gate Locator analysis to select an injection location (gate). The Advisers allow you to work with single or multiple polymer injection locations. This tutorial uses a single injection location.

1. Click (Adviser Pick Injection Location). 2. The mouse cursor changes to a cross . 3. Click on the center of the blue area of the Gate Locator analysis results (a red cone will

appear). The position is shown below. How to..

Note: If you are prompted to save the model at this point, click No.

In the previous exercise, you used the Gate Locator to find the suitable injection locations for the material. The center of the part was blue, indicating that it was a suitable location. On a part like this, the center may be visually important. However, a company logo will be placed over the center of this particular part, covering any marks from the gate.

If a blue region is not suitable because it is visually sensitive or is inaccessible, you should choose another region that will produce a balanced flow of material.

Getting Started Task 7: Save the model as ....

The demo version does not allow you to reopen a saved file, thus we will skip this task for now.

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Getting Started Task 8: Run the Adviser In the previous tasks, you set your model up for an analysis. In this task, you will run the analysis and save the results.

1. Click (Adviser Analysis Selection) to open the Analysis Selection dialog. 2. Click the Plastic Flow Analysis radio button, and then click Start.

This model will take several minutes to analyze. You may wish to read the information below and the information about the results in the next task while you wait for the analysis.

3. Once the analysis is complete, click (File Save) to save the model. 4. Read the Results Summary that is displayed on completion of the analysis. Close it once

you have finished.

The filling process displays dynamically on the model, showing the plastic flow. During filling, the Status bar at the bottom of the screen displays the current process and the Progress bar will indicate its progress.

When filling has completed, the Status bar displays Ready.

When filling has completed, a Results Summary will be displayed. This gives you a guide to the suitability of your model for injection molding. It also gives temperature, pressure, weld line and air trap summaries. Click Close when you have read the Result Summary. Click (Results Summary) to open the Results Summary again.

Note that you can click more to learn more about the filling results. You will have access to help on this subject.

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Getting Started Task 9: View results In this task you will view the results of the analysis you ran in the previous task.

1. To view the results, select the result name in the drop-down list on the toolbar or use the Results Show menu.

2. Click (Results Show Weld Lines) and (Results Show Air Traps) buttons to view these results.

3. The Results Adviser can help you to interpret results. Display the Quality Prediction results:

a. Click (Adviser Adviser). b. Select the Quality Prediction tab. c. Right-click on a yellow or red region of the result.

The Results Adviser displays detailed information on the point selected. It also displays warnings relating to the Confidence of Fill and Quality Prediction results.

Some of the results available in the Adviser are listed here. Click on the triangle to see a description of the result.

Confidence of Fill (displays the probability of a region within the cavity filling with plastic.)

Quality Prediction (measures the expected quality of the part's appearance and its mechanical properties. )

Fill Time (shows the flow path of the plastic through the part. A short shot will be displayed as translucent. This display can be animated. )

Pressure Drop (displays the drop in pressure from the injection point to the selected point, at the moment of fill.)

Injection Pressure (displays the pressure distribution at the moment of fill.) Flow Front Temperature (displays the material melt temperature at each point at the time

it was filled. ) Weld line (indicates the presence and location of weld and meld lines in the filled part

model. Weld lines appear as red lines on the model. To see all of the weld lines, you may need to rotate the model.)

Air Traps (shows the regions where the melt stops at a convergence of at least two flow fronts, or at the last point of fill. The regions highlighted in the result are positions of possible air traps. To see all of the air traps, you may need to rotate the model. Air traps appear as small blue spheres on the model.)

The Confidence of Fill and the Quality Prediction results are good starting points when checking an analysis. They will show you where there may be problems with the part.

This tutorial has given you a broad overview of the processes used with the Adviser. You have seen how to prepare a model for filling by selecting a material and a polymer injection location. You then reviewed the results and have used the Adviser to help you interpret the results.

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Generating a Report Because we are using a demo version, we can not open an .mpa file that we saved the demo version allows us to open only some of the preexisting files. Thus, you can generate a report only when your part analysis file is still open (after you have performed your analyses).

Task 1: Set your Internet browser preferences This task will show you how to set the system preferences to point to your preferred Internet browser. If you have not entered an Internet browser in the preferences, the report will not display after it is generated.

1. Select File Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2. Select External Programs in the left Explorer pane. 3. Enter the path of your preferred Internet browser in the Path to WWW Browser field. To

search for your browser, click on the button next to the field. 4. When you have selected or entered the correct path, click OK.

Task 2: Comment on the results In this task you will look through each of the results and write comments about them for the report.

The Confidence of Fill result is displayed when you open the results. You will write comments about this result and then look through the other result to see if they require comments.

1. With the Confidence of fill result displayed, click (Results Notes). Type in the following comment: The Confidence of Fill result indicates that there will be no problems filling the part.

2. For each of the other types of results: 1. Display the result. 2. Click (Results Notes). 3. Write a comment about the result.

The notes that you write for each result will appear in the report that you will create later in this tutorial.

If you want to change a comment for a result, you don't need to display the result. Instead, click

(Results Notes), select the result from the drop-down list in the dialog, and change the comment.

Task 3: The Report Wizard This task will show you how to open the Report Wizard and enter the personal details for the report.

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1. Click (Results Generate Report) to open the Report Wizard. 2. In the HTML Styles box, choose Screen as the Active Style, using the pull-down box. 3. In the Generate Report box, choose Create New Report, and then click Next. 4. In the Details box:

1. In the Title field, type Mouse Cover. 2. In the Author and Company fields, type your name and company. 3. In the Recipient and Recipient Company fields, type the name and company of the

recipient of the report (optional). 4. Type in the name and path for the gif image of your company logo, or use the

button to browse for it (optional). 5. Click Next

The Report Wizard is used to enter the details, select the content, and decide on the style of the report. You can only access the Report Wizard if you have an analyzed model open in the Adviser.

Task 4: Create the content In this task you will select the components that will be included in the report and write comments about these components.

Create an introduction and conclusion:

1. In the Include section, click to highlight Introduction. Make sure the item remains selected. If not, click the checkbox to select it again.

2. In the Options section, select Notes. 3. Click the button next to Notes, and type in an introduction in the Notes dialog that

opens. 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the Conclusion.

Create a fill time result:

1. In the Include box, highlight Fill Time. 2. In the Options box, select Animation. 3. Select Notes. 4. Click the button next to Notes, and check the notes that you wrote in the earlier task.

Create other results:

1. In the Include box, highlight Confidence of Fill. 2. In the Options box, select Vrml 3D Model. Only select this option if your reader has a plug-

in used to view VRML images. 3. Select GIF Image. 4. Select Notes. 5. Click the button next to Notes, and check the notes that you wrote in the earlier task. 6. Repeat the steps 1-5 for any other results you want in the report.

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The Report Wizard can contain images of any of the results available in the Adviser. There are three kinds of results images that you can include in the report:

still images (gif images) animation of the fill time result VRMLs (images of the part that the person viewing the report can rotate)

You can also write comments for each of the results, a summary of the results, and an introduction and conclusion. The date is automatically included.

Task 5: Generate the report In this task you will finish generating the report.

1. Click Finish. 2. If a dialog opens asking you where to save the report, select a location on your computer. 3. Click OK to generate the report.

View the report In this task, you will view the report and navigate through it.

In this tutorial, you have generated the report, so your Internet browser will automatically open with the report displayed.

1. In your Internet browser, click on links at the side of the report to navigate through it. You can also move through the report using the scroll bar.

2. If you have selected VRML or Animation options, click the appropriate button to access the function.

Animation

VRML Note: To view a VRML model, you need to have a VRML plug-in in your browser.

Immediately after a report has finished generating, your selected Internet browser will automatically display the report. If you wish to view the report again at another time, you will need to open it in your Internet browser. To do this open index.htm in your browser.

Getting StartedIntroductionTask List

Getting StartedTask 1: Open a model

Getting StartedTask 2: Manipulate the modelManipulation Tools

Getting StartedTask 3: Select a polymer

Getting StartedTask 4: Run the Gate Locator

Getting StartedTask 5: View Gate Locator resultsCheck your understanding

Getting StartedTask 6: Select an injection locationTask 7: Save the model asTask 8: Run the AdviserTask 9: View resultsTask 1: Set your Internet browser preferencesTask 2: Comment on the resultsTask 3: The Report WizardTask 4: Create the contentTask 5: Generate the reportView the report