A leading UK manufacturer of returnable transit packaging requested CAE support from Plastic-IT Ltd for their new range of containers. Their in-house moulding operation has used our service many times previously and recognise the benefit of Moldflow analysis in the development of new tooling. They have benefitted from the technology that is available and coupled with our expertise they are able to optimise their product design and tooling construction in order to maximise productivity.
The new container featured some deep pockets which could not be cooled sufficiently using traditional methods and the general shape of the part required unconventional material feed positions to provide a uniform filling. A series of mould filling simulations were performed to deliver an optimised filling pattern. The mould cooling circuit performance was then analysed and the results interpreted by our skilled engineers.
Mould cooling can account for up to 80% of an injection moulding cycle and is often overlooked. For this project, we recommended that the cooling circuit was modified to incorporate high thermal conductivity metal inserts in key areas. This provided the best possible heat extraction from the tool and delivered a significant cycle time reduction too.
Using our expertise in Moldflow analysis during the early design stages of this product enabled the client to determine the optimum material feed configuration and mould cooling circuit prior to any mould steel being cut. Getting the design right first time provided the customer with the shortest time to market and delivered cycle time savings compared to the existing product line resulting in a 50% increase in productivity.