Plastic Flow Analysis using

CAD/CAE

Univac Precision India pvt ltd

Prepared by
P.Vijay prasanna
 WHAT IS FLOW ANALYSIS ?

Flow analysis is concerned

with the behavior of plastics
during the mould filling
process
WHY DO WE NEED A FLOW ANALYSIS?

Since the way in which the plastic flows in

to the cavity has a substantial effect on final
product performance

IT CAN GREATLY REDUCE

- TOOLING LEAD TIMES

- MOULD TRIALS

- COSTLY TOOLING AND

- PRODUCT MODIFICATIONS
 Resin Part Designer
Supplier

Part design &

Resin supply & Material
Compounding Compounding
CAE &
Shared
Process Design
Information
Molder Optimization Mold
Design
Mold
Mold Designer
Manufacturing

Mold
Maker

An integrated environment
FLOW ANALYSIS - A USEFUL TOOL

 PREDICTING THE IMPACT

OF PROCESS CONDITIONS
 COMPUTING THE OPTIMAL
RUNNER SIZE
➽ SIMULATING POST
MOLDING DEFECTS
THE MODULES

• MOLDING WINDOW

• INJETION CANAL
GEOMENTRY ,LOCATION

• FILL ANALYSIS

• COOLING ANALYSIS

• PACKING ANALYSIS

• SHRINKAGE AND WARPAGE

ANALYSIS

• STRESS ANALYSIS
CAE analysis cycle
Steps in analysis

 Pre-Processing
 Assign Boundary Conditions
 Processing
 Post-Processing
 FILLING ANALYSIS
 ESTABLISH THE FILLING PATTERN BY MELT FRONT
ADVANCEMENT PLOTS

 DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMUM PROCESSING

CONDITIONS

 DETERMINATION OF RUNNER AND CAVITY FLOW

BALANCE
 OPTIMIZATION OF INJECTION AND PACKING PROFILES

• THE POSITION OF WELD AND MELD LINES AND

NATURE OF WELD
• FINDING OUT THE OPTIMUM WALL THICKNESS
OF THE PART
 COOLING ANALYSIS

 Cooling time, cooling circuit, connections

 Cooling network flow parameters

 Effect of mould features such as inserts,

Parting planes and Mould external surfaces
on Mould cooling

 Effect of part design in Uniformity of

cooling of Part and Mould temperature
distribution
Effect of Water Flow on Heat Transfer
Analysis of Surface Temperature

One dimensional heat transfer analysis

Two dimensional heat transfers

Coolant temperature : (original cooling lines.)
Computational framework of true 3D molding cooling analysis
in-mold
constraint
 PACKING ANALYSIS

 To check whether the cavity is fully packed

 Prediction of Clamping tonnage required

 The volumetric shrinkage of the part

 Elimination of the post moulding effects

 Position and extent of sink marks

Flow length

• How far the polymer must flow from the polymer injection
location.

• Parts with thicker walls have longer flow paths

than thin-walled parts as the material will flow
more easily in the thicker regions

• Parts with larger volumes require more polymer

injection locations to fill properly
 Important Results from Different Simulation Analysis

Simulation of the filling Simulation of the Simulation of the

phase packing phase cooling phase

Filling behaviour Effectiveness of packingGood estimation of the

pressure required cooling time
Pressure distribution
Shrinkage (withoutTemperature rise in the
Temperature warpage) coolant liquid
Distribution
Remaining cooling timeHot spots on the cavity
Weld lines after wall

Air traps end of pack

Weld Line Locations

Air Trap Locations

 The integrated
analyses for
fiber-reinforced
plastic gear via
Moldex3D-I2&ansys

The integrated
analyses for fiber-
reinforced
plastic gear via Moldex3D