SOLIDWORKS Plastics

The Injection Moulding Cycle

Capabilities
FILL

Fill Time
Melt Temperature
Mould Temperature
Injection Pressure
Limit
o In-mould Gravity
Direction
o Melt Flow Rate
o
o
o
o

PACK

Hot and Cold Runners

Co-Injection Moulding
Multi-Shot Moulding
Insert Overmoulding
Gas-Assist Moulding
Plastic & Fibre Blends
Reaction Injection
Moulding (RIM)
o Valve Gates
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

COOL & WARP

o Accurately simulate the

conditions within the
mould.
o Fine tune temperatures,
pressures & cooling
systems to produce the
best possible product.

 Results Capabilities
FILL

o Fill Time
o Pressure at End of Fill
o Temperature at End of
Fill
o Flow Front
Temperature
o Shear Stress
o Frozen Layer at End of
Fill
o Part Cooling Time
o Ease of Fill
o Velocity Vectors
o Weld Lines
o Air Traps
o Sink Marks
o Clamp Force
o Cycle Time

PACK

COOL & WARP

o Birefringence
o Fibre Orientation
o Central Temperature at
End of Fill
o Average Temperature
at End of Fill
o Shear Rate at End of
Pack
o Shear Stress at End of
Pack
o Volumetric Shrinkage
o Temperature at End of
Cooling
o Pressure at End of
Pack
o Temperature at End of
Pack
o Shear Stress
o Bulk Temperature at
End of Pack
o Residual Stress at
Start of Pack

o Part Cooling Time.

o Cycle Averaged
Temperature.
o Temperature at End of
Cooling.
o Part Temperature at End
of Cooling.
o Cycle Averaged Mould
Temperature.
o Mould Temperature at
Cooling End.
o Cycle Averaged Heat
Transfer.
o Cycle Averaged Heat
Loading.
o Sink Mark Profile given
Part Deformation
o In-Mould Residual Stress
o Quenching Thermal
Stress
o Demoulding First
Principal Stress
o Deformation Animations

Dont forget the Plastics Results Advisor

TOP TIPS Functions

Creating Custom Materials
See the .pdf provided with the training content. The pdf shows many ways to create
custom materials the best way is to copy and paste a similar material in to the user defined
database and then edit its parameters. This is faster and if you dont have a value or miss
one accidentally you will have something similar as a point of reference.

Customising the Report Generator

Assuming that SolidWorks has been installed in the default location the Plastics
report template for English Language versions of the software can be found at:
C:\Program Files\SolidWorks 2014\SolidWorks Plastics\SimpoeMV\1033\PPT Template.
Anything can be changed except what the linked fields say and the total number of
slides. The linked fields generally say something like SIMPOE_FILL_RESULT and should be
left alone. The software looks for the field on the relevant slide so dont delete slides or
change the order.

Configuration Integration
Go to the SolidWorks Plastics pull-down menu > Help > Settings and click to turn on
SolidWorks Configuration Integration. Define a study for one configuration. Defining one
configuration first means we can copy and paste the study to subsequent configurations saving us
the effort.

Plastics Batch Manager

Batch Manager allows you to add multiple studies to a queue which can then be processed at a
time convenient for you. Typically I do the set up last thing on an afternoon then run the studies
overnight. Click Batch Manager and use the file browser presented on the left hand side of the
screen to navigate to where your part is saved. Select the results folder saved in the same location as
the part, click the type of study you want to run in the section below, and then click the blue plus
icon to add it to the queue. Press the play icon to start the job.
Note: If you are using configuration integration browse to the top level results folder, go in
to that folder and choose the results folders named after your SolidWorks configurations instead.

TOP TIPS FAQs

Q.

Should I run the FLOW analysis before or after the COOL analysis?

The best procedure in many cases is to start by performing a Flow analysis to get some
"baseline" results. Then, set up and run a Cooling analysis, followed by a Flow analysis which will
now be more accurate thanks to the detailed cooling channel setup from the Cooling analysis.
Several iterations of the above "loop" procedure may be used to optimize the cooling channel
design.
Please note that if the "Run Cool + Flow + Pack + Warp" command is used, the four analyses will be
solved in succession. There will be no loop iterations between the Cool and Flow analysis unless the
user manually runs the Flow and Cooling analyses - S-064446

Q.

What do the different Plastics Results files contain?

.PG2 - Mesh file for surface mesh + Gate Selection information

.PG3 - Mesh file for solid mesh + Gate Selection information
.KLG2 - Simulation progress summary (surface mesh). Can be viewed in notepad.
.KLG3 - Simulation progress summary (solid mesh). Can be viewed in notepad.
.KD2 - For a surface mesh, this includes details of :
Variables actually used in the simulation.
Summary of the results.
Computation time of Flow and Flow + Pack.
Can be viewed in notepad.
.KD3 - For a solid mesh, this includes details of :
Variables actual used in the simulation.
Summary of the results.
Computation time of Flow and Flow + Pack.
Can be viewed in notepad.
.MCH - Summary of molding machine details.
.mdata - Mesh settings.
.MAL - Material data file.
.POE - Exported files containing result information, which can be read in SolidWorks Simulation
2014 and up.

Q.

Why is my runner sketch invalid?

Runners must be continual so that the direction of flow can be calculated. Check for any
gaps and ensure all end points are merged. Ensure that the end points of lines only join with other
endpoints i.e. not the length of the line itself (so it would take 3 lines to create a T shape).

Q.

How do I show Jetting?

To generate results that will accurately show Jetting you

need to use a Solid Mesh. Once meshed go in to the Fill Settings,
in to the Advanced section and choose Options. In the window
that opens set the Volume of Fluid (VoF) Algorithm option to
Direct. Dont use it on the whole cavity as the solver time will
increase. On the Fill results look for a worm like structure forming.

Q.

How do I calculate Birefringence?

SolidWorks Plastics calculates Stress Birefringence where deformation or stress causes the
optical isotropy to be lost in one direction. In the Fill Settings go in to the Advanced section and tick
the Viscoelastic Birefringence Calculation checkbox. The results will be shown in the Fill Results.

Q.

What do the two air temperatures control?

Within the Cool Settings Air temperature is the temperature acting on the outer face of the
mould. The air temperature within the Warp Settings is the temperature acting on the part once it
has been ejected. The variable is repeated as the air temperature between the open moulds halves
will be significantly higher than the air surrounding the ejected part.

Q.

How do the Cool Settings know the Eject temperature before the
analysis has been ran?
Eject temperature is a characteristic of the material properties specified by material
provider. The Eject temperature is known as the Heat Deflection/Distortion Temperature in many
material specifications. The temperature is required to ensure that a thick enough portion of the
parts walls reaches the glass transition temperature before it is ejected (Nb. providing other
specified material properties are met). If this value is raised the part could still be molten when it is
ejected. If you want to extend the in mould cooling time its best to switch to Cooling time and
increase the value.

Q.

Why cant I see any weld lines?

You may be calculating for a small range of weld lines. Check the Advanced settings in the Fill
parameters and the weld angle. 180deg would be a head on collision 90deg would be a parallel flow.

Notes: