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B.Sc. Vanessa Schwittay
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Press Release
Hall 1 / Booth B1036
SIGMA at Swiss Plastics 2017
Reducing Costs in Serial Production with Virtual Molding
Simulation identifies potential to reduce cycle time
During the Swiss Plastics 2017 SIGMA Engineering demonstrates how SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding is used to identify optimization potential in a real production process when going from prototype to serial production. Through a deep understanding of what is happening within the part at each stage of the molding process, it is possible to reduce cycle time without sacrificing part quality or compromising the mold performance.
Figure 1 – Temperatures at original (left) and reduced (right) cycle time. Despite a shortening of around 50%, the part temperature is still acceptable for ejection.
Reducing Costs in Serial Production with Virtual Molding
Aachen, January 12th, 2017 – At the upcoming Swiss Plastics, to take place in Luzern, Switzerland, from January 24th to 26th, SIGMA Engineering GmbH (Aachen, Germany) presents its SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding technology. The exhibit highlights how the technology supports decision making during the transition from prototype to serial production in injection molding. At the same time it also helps to substantially reduce costs and make the injection process more profitable.
In an industrial example a complex part out of PA 66 GF 35 should be produced. The complexity of the product called for a challenging ejection system, thus a prototype mold was built. The concept worked, parts were produced with the required quality, but when serial production started in the real mold, the cycle time was too long, despite the small size and low wall thickness of the product.
SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding helped to identify the optimization potential of the current process. For this approach, the complete mold, with all its components, was introduced in the software under real processing conditions and “virtual parts” were produced for 20 cycles. An analysis of part and mold in the 20th cycle showed that the part temperature is well below the recommended ejection temperature when the mold opens. Additionally, a too long packing pressure was identified. As a consequence, times for packing and residual cooling were shortened. Further optimization potential lay in decreasing the handling times. In total an about 50% shorter cycle time was possible for the process. While at the same time, residual stress inside the part was still uncritical and the deformation lay within the required tolerance.
The example shows how SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding helps molders to make sound decisions in the process set-up. Instead of blind iteration in the machine, the software effectively reveals potential for cost reduction and cycle optimization, without sacrificing process stability or part quality.
SIGMA® (www.sigmasoft.de) is 100% owned by MAGMA® (www.magmasoft.de), the world market leader in casting process simulation technology based in Aachen, Germany. Our SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding technology optimizes the manufacturing process for injection molded plastic components. SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding combines the 3D geometry of the parts and runners with the complete mold assembly and temperature control system and incorporates the actual production process to develop a turnkey injection mold with an optimized process.
At SIGMA® and MAGMA®, our goal is to help our customers achieve required part quality during the first trial. The two product lines – injection molded polymers and metal castings – share the same 3D simulation technologies focused on the simultaneous optimization of design and process. SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding thus includes a variety of process-specific models and 3D simulation methods developed, validated and constantly improved for over 25 years. A process-driven simulation tool, SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding provides a tremendous benefit to production facilities. Imagine your business when every mold you build produces required quality the first time, every time. That is our goal. This technology cannot be compared to any other simulation approach employed in plastics injection molding.
New product success requires a different communication between designs, materials, and processes that design simulation is not meant for. SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding provides this communication. SIGMA® support engineers, with 450 years of combined technical education and practical experience, can support your engineering goals with applications specific solutions. SIGMA® offers direct sales, engineering, training, implementation, and support, by plastics engineers worldwide.
This press information is available to download as pdf and doc format under the following link: www.sigmasoft.de/press
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