This presentation will focus on simulation techniques used to compare traditional hurling stick material and performance against a composite redesign. We used several Autodesk tools—including Fusion 360 software, Netfabb software, Moldflow, and Autodesk Nastran software—to evaluate and optimize the performance of the composite structure.

Selecting the correct injection molding simulation software can be challenging when designing plastic parts. This session will review the various Autodesk simulation tools available on the market today, including Fusion Injection Molding Simulation, Moldflow Adviser, and Moldflow Insight. This in-depth comparison will help you understand which injection molding simulation tool is right for your needs based on your objectives and desired outcomes.

Commercially available simulation software was used to study the effect of processing conditions on the structural performance of glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene. Processing conditions such as gate locations were used to evaluate the subsequent change in glass fiber orientation and its effect on structural performance of a demonstrative part. Results show that processing conditions play a critical role in the success of a structural composite and must be considered foremost in the design process.

 Moldflow Insight software is used to develop automotive interior and exterior in China’s Chang’an Automobile Group, from the stage of engineering design to part's structure design then to mold design and molding condition optimize also include the trouble shooting after the first trial. Based on the comparison between the experiment and Moldflow Insight results, Chang’an successfully built an analysis standard and results judge standard. With the help of API, Chang’an created many programs to automatically do the model create, molding condition optimize, results judge, and so on. To meet the assessment criteria of GDT which was used on the part of motor, normally defined the tolerance of fit. Changan's analyst explore and studied a new way to simulate and examine the part's GDT by co-work with Moldflow Insight, Digimat, and Abaqus. This class will use many actual case to show these application, through that we can see the benefit of use right  Moldflow Insight application strategy in the development of automotive interior and exterior new part.

This class will discuss the requirements and workflow for simulating flow imbalances in injection molding that are caused by shear heating in branched runner systems. Validation case studies will also include the MeltFlipper design, as well as in-cavity flow imbalances that lead to race-track effects. This class will focus on the use of the Autodesk Moldflow Insight software.

Have you attended our Autodesk University Factory Live Experience? Want to learn how we created some of the parts using Autodesk Fusion 360 software? In this session, the team that helped design the keypad for the Autodesk University Factory will walk through how Autodesk Simulation tools can help you along your design journey from concept to production. Learn if Fusion 360 injection molding simulation is right for you, or if you need Moldflow injection molding simulation to get your part production ready.

Generative design is a hot topic, but existing manufacturing methods like casting and injection molding seem to be hiding behind the curtains. This presentation will focus less so on additive manufacturing and more so on mass manufacturing methods currently being used industry wide. By leveraging existing generative design technology with casting and injection molding best practices, we can re-shape how current product design for manufacturing workflows can be achieved. By demonstrating the capabilities of new generative design technology, this talk will expose the new feature enhancements showcasing a realistic approach to the manufacturing and product design world which can be implemented into product design and manufacturing workflows today.

In this class, you will learn how to set up, run, and interpret the results for a Design of Experiment (DOE) analysis. The DOE tool in Moldflow Insight is now very powerful and can help you solve many problems. Setting up a DOE analysis to target specific requirements is the key to getting the most from the analysis. This class will introduce you to tips and tricks to get the most from the DOE analysis.

Different composite materials have been in used for many years in the automotive industry to create components that have unique characteristics, such as being strong and light. The trend in using composite materials is accelerating to meet lightweighting requirements to meet the next generation of fuel economy standards. An interesting lightweighting application combines the use of continuous fiber composite material with injection molding. The continuous fiber composite material forms a lightweight shell, while the necessary support structure can be created by overmolding it with a fiber-filled plastic. This so-called hybrid technique can create extremely lightweight strong parts that can be manufactured in large volumes. Autodesk® Simulation Moldflow® plastic injection molding simulation software can help with the design and engineering efforts for this process.

The success of a new product launch relies heavily on the ability of molding thermoplastic parts within specified tolerances and successfully assembling them into a functional product. Building a mold with the correct mold-shrinkage values is crucial for a given plastic material. Currently, a toolmaker guesses the shrinkage value from the range published by a material supplier before cutting steel. Thus, choosing one value at the mid-point of the range results in a part with vastly different shrinkage values in the flow, cross-flow, and transverse directions. Subsequently, many compromises may have to be made in order to qualify the part and approve the tool before routine production. We have been working with Moldflow software to improve and fine-tune the material testing and plastic-part simulation in order to predict accurate shrinkage values to eliminate the guesswork and make more-educated decisions before ordering tools. This session features Moldflow Insight and Moldflow.

In this class we will discuss the new capability to map fiber orientations and material properties from Simulation Moldflow software to structural finite element analysis (FEA). We will also cover how to use Simulation Composite Analysis software to simulate nonlinear material behavior of the fiber-filled material.

In this class we will introduce the basic concepts and principles behind the Application Programming Interface (API) and show how you can use it to enhance the capabilities of Moldflow Insight. The class will introduce the API functionality and conventions through a series of scripts that highlight common tasks completed with the API. Key areas covered will include creating custom plots and results, creating and examining mesh quality, exporting results, and interfacing with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. The lab will consist of a mixture of lectures and hands-on exercises to ensure that both the theoretical and practical aspects of building API scripts are covered. No previous programming knowledge is required to take this lab.

This class will review new functionality in Autodesk® Moldflow® Insight software that represents the current research directions in Moldflow development. We will discuss several capabilities, including 3D injection compression molding, conformal cooling support, 3D heater elements, crystallization analysis, breakage of long fibers and properties of LFT composites, bi-injection molding, multiple cylinder support for 3D gas injection, buckling analysis for 3D warp, improved wall slip calculation, viscoelastic residual stress, ejection force prediction, and analysis of mold fatigue.

Sometimes after optimizing a design for manufacturing, unexpected issues can occur. This was the situation with a recent case. An existing design had issues with excessive pressure, flash, and sink. The apparent root cause was a premature freeze off. Design iterations were analyzed and a particular option was used and was thought to have solved the issue. However, after the initial success the manufacturing process started to create cosmetic issues. Cosmetic defects can be much more challenging to troubleshoot. This presentation describes this case study, some old techniques, and recently added capabilities ( Moldflow Insight 2016 software), such as path lines.

Detailed analysis of mold designs is becoming increasingly necessary as advanced mold technologies are adopted. Conformal mold cooling is a cooling technique that aims to offer optimal cooling conditions exactly where you need them. The technology has been around for many years, but has become a real option now with the better and cheaper ways to manufacture conformal cooling cores. Hot runner systems are very commonly used in plastic injection molding. Although these are simple systems on the surface, what actually happens inside the hot runners and how they lose heat into the mold can be quite complex. With the Cool (FEM) functionality inside Autodesk Simulation Moldflow software coupled with Autodesk® Simulation CFD software, you now have the capability to model even the most complicated conformal geometries and hot runners in full three-dimensional detail of all components. This process enables you to evaluate and optimize the hot runner and conformal cooling design to achieve an optimal mold design and injection molding process.

As General Motors relies more on Autodesk® Simulation Moldflow® software for upfront design for manufacturability, it has become apparent that the capability to accurately predict location and relative quality of meld lines is essential to eliminate costly tool re-work—work that is necessary to resolve surface quality and/or part performance issues. A research project was initiated under the auspices of continuous improvement to study the effect of mesh density—relative to obstruction size—on the ability of Moldflow to accurately predict position, length, and quality of a meld line. This class will review the findings of this research by using case studies to illustrate the impact of poor meld-line predictions on tooling strategy and explain how these tooling decisions could have been avoided through meshing technique. Proper mesh density for the accurate prediction of meld-line location and quality will be the next best practice enhancement to the GM Moldflow Specification, GMW16355.

To produce high-quality surface finishes for plastic parts with low production costs, automotive suppliers require flash heating of the mold. Induction heating uses high-frequency electricity to heat electrically conductive materials from within the mold. Autodesk, Inc., has teamed with RocTool (the foremost technology provider of induction heating equipment) to simulate this process. This presentation describes the theory, challenges, and 3D finite element solution of the Maxwell electromagnetic field equations. Finally an excellent correlation was achieved with validation data provided by RocTool.

This class will be a live demonstration of some tips and tricks for Moldflow experts. We'll look at using some scripts and API tools. We'll also look at the use of constraints post warpage.

This class will discuss different approaches to injection molding simulations with  Moldflow Insight software. Individual users have been given a problem to solve using Moldflow software. We will present their approaches, and then we will compare and contrast the different approaches. Analyisto e analyisto— it’s a showdown you don’t want to miss. Get ready to rumble!

Weld lines can have negatively affect the part performance as well as the aesthetics. In this class we will discuss new developments around weld line strength prediction, and show a case study about how to improve a weld line formation after holes by using a differential of local thickness. The area around hole was split in 5 zones or thickness parameters. The maximum of change was 0.5mm. The thickness change was made in Dual domain mesh and after is generate 3D mesh. The weld line was evaluate by how many edge elements was count in “Weld Line” result.

The methodology was used consist in automatic workflow using 3 main programs: ANSA is a pre-processor and responsible for change of thickness in DD mesh and export model for Autodesk Moldflow Insight; this one, by command line, is going to do 3D mesh and set up and run a fill analysis; Isight is an optimization program that will control all process and to do a DOE for measuring a sensibility of thickness around the featur.