Sofia Martinez
SOLIDWORKS Plastics is an intuitive simulation software that helps engineers and designers optimize plastic parts and injection molds. It offers an easy-to-use interface with guided analysis, intelligent defaults, and automated processes. SOLIDWORKS Plastics enables users to simulate the injection molding process, predict manufacturing defects, and evaluate part manufacturability early in the design stage. This helps to reduce costs, improve part quality, and meet project deadlines. With its powerful tools, users can create intricate geometries, analyze mold layouts, optimize feed systems, and estimate cycle times. SOLIDWORKS Plastics Professional and Premium versions provide advanced simulation capabilities for analyzing mold cooling and predicting part warpage, ensuring that molds work correctly the first time and minimizing the need for costly rework.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | Easy to learn and use, with an intuitive interface that leads users through the process step by step |
| Analysis tools | Measure draft angles, wall thickness, undercut, and automatically find and create the parting line and surfaces |
| Mold design tools | Easy to build mold geometry |
| Mesh | Solid mesh for accuracy and when thickness varies; surface mesh for faster results and uniform wall thickness |
| Injection location | One-click option to set the location, with flow pattern prediction to ensure appropriate results |
| Results | Results are displayed as the part fills, with a summary provided by the Results Adviser |
| Integration | Plastics operates inside the SOLIDWORKS user interface as a native program, allowing for quick adjustments without switching windows or transferring files |
| Customisation | Fully customisable, with automated processes to ensure correct setup |
| Database | Contains thousands of commercial plastics and is fully customisable |
| Feedback | Rapid feedback on how modifications to wall thickness, gate locations, materials, or geometry can affect manufacturing |
| Optimisation | Optimise part wall thickness, gate locations, and runner system size and layout to ensure the mold works correctly the first time |
| Defect prediction | Predicts and avoids manufacturing defects in plastic parts and injection mold designs, improving part quality and decreasing time to market |
| Simulation | Easy-to-use simulation for analysing plastic parts and injection molds, with automated report generation tools to facilitate collaboration |
| Mold rework | Virtually eliminates the need for costly mold rework, ensuring deadlines and budgets are met |
| Cooling line optimisation | Includes SOLIDWORKS Plastics Professional to analyse mold cooling line layouts and optimise cooling lines, minimising cycle times and manufacturing costs |
| Warpage analysis | Predict molded part warpage with SOLIDWORKS Plastics Premium |
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What You'll Learn
Create a 3D model
To create a 3D model using SOLIDWORKS Plastics, you can follow these steps:
Firstly, decide what you want to model. For instance, you could choose to model a birdhouse, which would allow you to explore various features of SOLIDWORKS, such as multiple planes, rectangular shapes, and circular shapes.
Next, open the SOLIDWORKS program. Click 'Start', then 'All Programs', followed by 'SOLIDWORKS 2010' and 'SOLIDWORKS 2010 x64 edition'. In the top left of the window, create a new document by clicking on the sheet of paper icon. From the options presented, select 'Part' and then 'OK'.
Now, you can start to create your 3D model. SOLIDWORKS provides powerful tools for creating intricate geometry and validating the design for manufacturability. You can use analysis tools to measure draft angles, wall thickness, and undercut. These tools can also automatically find and create the parting line and parting surfaces.
For a simple object like a birdhouse, you can use the following steps:
- Select the line tool from the options toolbar.
- Click on the top left point of the birdhouse.
- Extend this line down and to the left by following the 45-degree line and clicking on a second point. SOLIDWORKS will display the length and angle of the line you're creating.
- Click a third time, a short distance 45 degrees up and left of the previous point.
- Click directly above the top point of the birdhouse. SOLIDWORKS will show a dotted blue line when your cursor is in the correct position.
- Finally, click on the top point of the birdhouse.
You can also add features like a hole for the birdhouse entrance and a perch. To do this:
- Select the Type tab in the Hole Positions toolbar and choose 'Up to Next' from the End Condition section. This will create a hole through the front face of the birdhouse.
- Select the Sketch toolbar and choose the circle button.
- Select a center point for the perch in relation to the entrance hole and drag away to create the perch.
- Center the perch using the previous method.
- Select the Features toolbar and choose Extrude Boss/Base. Enter the desired length for the perch and select the green checkmark.
To view your object in 3D:
- Select the View Orientation icon from the view toolbar.
- Choose the second icon from the left in the top row, labeled 'Isometric'.
These steps will help you create a basic 3D model in SOLIDWORKS Plastics, allowing you to explore the software's capabilities and create more complex designs.
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Set up a Solid or Surface mesh
To set up a Solid or Surface mesh in SOLIDWORKS Plastics, follow these steps:
- Go to the Plastics tab: This is where you will create your Solid or Surface mesh. The Plastics tab is a dedicated section within the SOLIDWORKS interface that allows you to work specifically with plastic injection molding simulations.
- Choose between Solid Mesh and Surface Mesh:
- Solid Mesh: Select this option if your part has varying thicknesses or if you require high accuracy. Solid mesh takes into account the precise thickness variations and provides an accurate simulation.
- Surface Mesh: Opt for this choice if you prioritise faster results and your part has a uniform wall thickness. Surface mesh simplifies the calculation process by focusing on the outer surfaces, resulting in quicker simulations.
Utilise Automatic or Manual Mode:
- Automatic Mode: This mode generates a good starting mesh, providing a time-saving and convenient starting point.
- Manual Mode: If you prefer more control and the ability to refine your mesh, select manual mode. This option allows for simple adjustments and provides feedback on mesh quality, helping you optimise your simulation.
Refine and Customise: Depending on your specific requirements, you can further customise your mesh settings. Modify existing data or enter new parameters to align with your unique needs. If your final material formula is yet to be determined, you also have the option to choose a generic material.
Remember that creating a Solid or Surface mesh is a crucial step in setting up your plastic injection molding simulation. It involves defining the characteristics of your part's geometry, such as thickness variations or uniform surfaces, to ensure accurate simulations and predictions.
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Set the injection location
When setting the injection location in SOLIDWORKS Plastics, there are a few important considerations and techniques to keep in mind. Firstly, understand that the injection location refers to the point where the cavity is filled from the runner system. Gates are a part of the runner system and attach to the injection location. These gates can vary in shape, but for this example, we'll assume a conical gate with a circular profile.
Traditionally, creating an injection location in SOLIDWORKS Plastics Simulation involved using a single nodal point. However, this method has some limitations. Using one nodal point means that the injection only occurs through one adjacent cell, which can result in high shear rates and inconsistencies in the injection location size. Additionally, it can be challenging to select the same location repeatedly across different meshes.
To overcome these issues, SOLIDWORKS recommends using the "Split Line" command. By adding an intersection on the model, the "Split Line" creates a hard edge, ensuring that the mesh places a node at the intersection. This makes it possible to repeatedly select the same location, addressing the inconsistency issue. However, it still only selects a single nodal location.
For improved accuracy, it is suggested to specify a 4mm injection location. This allows the software to distribute the injection over multiple cells, reducing the shear effect. By doing so, you can enhance the accuracy of your simulations and achieve more reliable results. This simple modification to standard practices can lead to notable improvements in your SOLIDWORKS Plastics projects.
Additionally, when working with a model that includes an injection system (gates, runners, and sprue), you can define the injection location at the sprue inlet. You also have the option to define control valves at one or more gates. On the other hand, if your model only includes a cavity, you can directly define injection locations on the cavity itself.
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Monitor the fill
To monitor the fill in SOLIDWORKS Plastics, you must first complete a Fill study. This is the first analysis performed when using SOLIDWORKS Plastics and it helps to optimize the plastic injection moulding process, create high-quality parts, and reduce manufacturing costs. The Fill study will show you how the molten plastic resin is injected into a mould cavity and this will depend on factors such as injection pressure and temperature, part wall thickness, mould wall temperature, and resin properties.
To complete a Fill study, you must first create a mesh of the CAD model. The mesh can be made coarser or finer using the slider bar. A coarser mesh will solve faster but with less accuracy, while a finer mesh will take longer but provide a higher fidelity solution. Once the mesh has been created, you can specify the rest of the data for the study to solve. This includes assigning a material to the project by right-clicking on Polymer under the Material folder.
After the data has been specified, it's time to solve the study. To do this, expand the Run folder, right-click on Flow, and choose Run. The solver window will appear and you can monitor the progress of the solution in the SOLIDWORKS graphics area and the solver window text. The time it takes to solve will depend on the size of the mesh.
Once the solution has been found, you can review the data generated. The SOLIDWORKS Plastics Results Adviser will provide a brief explanation of each output quantity. You can review the different outputs by selecting them from the Available Results list in the property manager. Some of the results can be animated, such as the Fill Time plot. You can also select any of the available results to view a contour plot.
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Analyze mold cooling
SOLIDWORKS Plastics is an add-in product for SOLIDWORKS that enables simulations for plastic injection moulding. It is available in three levels: SOLIDWORKS Standard, Professional, and Premium. The cooling stage is an integral part of injection moulding and is included in all versions of SOLIDWORKS Plastics.
SOLIDWORKS Standard is ideal for part designers who need to know if parts can be manufactured using the injection moulding process. It can predict single-part mould filling and common defects such as short shots (incomplete fills), weld (knit) lines, sink marks, and air traps in the model. It also estimates cooling time, allowing designers to make changes to reduce cooling time or minimise defects.
SOLIDWORKS Professional adds the ability to analyse the pack or "pressure hold" cycle, more complex materials, and multi-cavity moulds. It also includes the pack stage and other capabilities.
SOLIDWORKS Premium is designed for mould designers concerned with the complete plastic injection moulding process. It includes the calculations related to the cool and warp stages, allowing users to simulate cooling channel design and predict warpage. It offers greater temperature prediction accuracy and is available in four models depending on the level of mould detail. It also allows for the representation of runners, cooling channels, and a mould body around the cavity. Cooling channels can be modelled using solid bodies to represent more complex cooling, such as conformal cooling channels.
The cooling functionality in SOLIDWORKS Premium uses a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach to solve the coolant flow field within the channels. This approach operates on a solid body representation of the cooling channels based on sketches of their path through the mould.
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Frequently asked questions
SOLIDWORKS Plastics is used to simulate the process of injection moulding a plastic part. It can predict manufacturing-related defects and help avoid costly rework.
First, create a 3D model. Then, show the Plastics tab and create a Solid or Surface mesh. Use Solid mesh when accuracy is important and a Surface mesh for faster results.
SOLIDWORKS Plastics is easy to learn and use, even for those without extensive analysis or plastics expertise. It is also cost-effective, helping to reduce costs and time to market.
SOLIDWORKS Plastics simulates how melted plastic flows during the injection moulding process. It contains a database of thousands of commercial plastics and provides technical insights to engineers during the design process.
SOLIDWORKS Plastics Professional is an advanced version of SOLIDWORKS Plastics that allows users to analyse mold cooling line layouts and predict moulded part warpage. This helps to minimise cycle times and decrease manufacturing costs.
