Physical Simulation of Plastic Processing
Plastic processing involves shaping of thermoplastic and thermoset materials. It varies from extrusion, injection moulding, blow moulding and rotational moulding, thermoforming to thermoset processes. The equipment used in these processes is gaining in sophistication and used in broader applications. For example, the injection moulding process is now used to a large scale for the production of automotive parts. The need to develop and improve the production processes in order to increase efficiency and reduce total costs is clear. However, the development of optimised solutions for manufacturing processes is long and costly.
Physical Simulation of plastic processing has become an important tool for the optimisation of process parameters, design of moulds and dies, tooling and process-monitoring. Extensive experimental work, design of experiments and theoretical work has been made in order to understand the interaction between the material behaviour, working-tool design and production conditions. However, because of the complexity of the process, it is often quite difficult to make reliable predictions. Physical simulations provide the possibility to evaluate a wide range of conditions on the same laboratory-scale model. Combining theory and experimentation with physical simulation can drastically reduce the time-scale and cost of the development of production processes without losing accuracy in predictions.
Physical Simulation offers various Solutions: process optimisation, die and mould design, tooling design and process-monitoring. By using computer simulation tools, such as finite element method, the proposed designs can be simulated and the performance of the equipment will be evaluated. Physical simulations provide optimised solutions by accounting for material properties, i.e. rheology and flow properties, melt temperature, injection moulding parameters, heat transfer, cooling and cycle time. This provides the possibility of designing, optimising and troubleshooting production processes in a virtual environment, which reduces the need for physical prototypes and tests in the development stage and therefore saves time and money.
When plastic processing equipment is redesigned or upgraded, physical simulations can be used to test the equipment and evaluate the process parameters. This can be done in a virtual environment before actual production starts. Physical simulations provide information about the response of
the system to the input variables such as pressure and temperature, these information will then helps the engineers to select the right material and optimise the design of moulds and dies and process parameters to guarantee maximum process efficiency. With physical simulations, the engineers can also calculate the optimum running conditions. For example, they can analyse the effects of injection speed on the quality of the product and then adjust the parameters to achieve the best quality.
Physical simulations of plastic processing have a wide range of applications. It can be used to reduce the cost of production, to develop and improve the process parameters and equipment, and to test and analyse the performance of the moulds and equipment. The use of physical simulations can reduce the need for physical prototypes and tests in the development stage and therefore shorten the design process significantly. In addition, it eliminates the need for expensive physical trials which enables companies to save money by reducing their production costs.
Physical simulation of plastic processing is an effective tool for optimisation and development of production processes and has wide range of applications. It helps designers and manufacturers to reduce the cost of production by accounting for the material properties, such as rheology and flow properties, melt temperature, injection moulding parameters, etc. and to design and optimise the working tools and equipment. The use of physical simulations can reduce the need for physical trials, thereby shortening the design process and reducing the costs drastically.
