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Mold flow software |
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| Gets parts to automotive market quicker |
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| Moldflow predicted a customer part would not fill properly or a short shot would occur (inset). Gating in the centre hub area was not an option, so an alternative had to be found (main plot).
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Aar-Kel Moulds Ltd. of Wallaceburg, ON (aarkel.com), produces high pressure plastic injection molds, thermoset compression molds, lost core molds, aluminum die cast dies and magnesium die cast dies for OEMs and Tier One suppliers in the automotive industry.
Its customers include Magna/Decoma for automotive exterior body parts, Delphi HTS for automotive HVAC and Lear for automotive interior trim.
Ken Kusalik, Aar-Kelís mold flow analyst, assists in the early stages of mold and die case designs. He uses Moldflow Plastic Insight (MPI) software from Moldflow Corp. (moldflow.com) to determine part gating, runner systems, drop locations, cooling and troubleshooting.
ìA majority of our tooling uses hot manifolds,î said Kusalik. ìWe can also determine the minimal number of drops needed to fill a part with the best possible quality. Fewer drops mean lower tool costs.î Besides using MPI software during the design cycle, Kusalik and his team also use Unigraphics, CATIA, Cimatron and Cadkey software packages for design and manufacturing.
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| Air Trap: An Aar-Kel customer had problems with an air trap on a part side wall that could not be removed through normal processing. Moldflow assisted in duplicating the problem and a solution was found.
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The team recently faced a project in which MPI was used to predict a short shot part (inset below). ìDue to the part design and customer needs, areas to gate were very limited. Using MPI, we were able to predict that the part would not fill based on the customerís design. We were able to offer solutions prior to tryout. On this same part, MPI also predicted there would be an air trap issue (above right). Again, due to part design and customer needs, conventional methods could not be used to solve this problem.
ìMPI was used to help in another case in which a customer had concerns with holding dimensional tolerances on a particular part.
ìA prototype part warped excessively. Using MPI, we were able to predict the amount and direction of warpage and incorporate the appropriate changes to correct the issue. As a result, dimensions were held within the tolerances allowed.î
He said that the company saved a significant amount of time as a result of using Moldflow software and his teamís expertise. In addition, the company saved time in terms of updating the 3D parting line data showing flow runners, extra setup on the machine to cut parts, drilling of extra vent pins, additional polishing and extra tryout time in order to obtain good parts.
ìAar-Kel considers Moldflow in these cases to create good quality parts at the first tryout,î said Kusalik. ìThis, in turn, will not only save time and costs, but the customer will be much happier having parts with which to test and obtain dimensions.î
Kusalik says that project deadlines are critical. ìThe ability to design and build a quality tool is very important. Utilizing MPI in-house allows us to eliminate any guesswork. It allows us to try new ideas before the tool is actually run. Out-sourcing this type of work is costly and the time loss waiting for information can hinder tool design and try out timelines.
ìAs we progress in the future, timeframes for building molds and manifolds will be reduced considerably. We do not have the time for material suppliers to run an iteration in a few weeks, only to find that a particular location canít be used, or, that a gate needs to be moved to improve a weld line. MPI affords us the ability to select realistic locations, and eliminate impractical options such as near deep ribbing to make boring clearances for nozzles.
ìMany times, material suppliers run scenarios that are impractical to incorporate because of a variety of issues. In addition, they seldom consider the fact that the tool shops require a few days so that manifolds can be ordered.î He added that having MPI in-house affords Aar-Kel the opportunity to have control of exacting locations and running numerous iterations, based on previous results ñ within a quick turnaround.
This article was provided by Moldflow Corp.
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