European Moldflow User Meeting

13. CONNECT! Online

June 28 - 29, 2022 - Save the Date!

Announcement of the 13th CONNECT!

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Last Call – Only 2 weeks left until CONNECT!

Please remember to register, this is still possible until June 15, 2022.
The following program items await you:

Presentations…
From industry and research as well as from Autodesk Moldflow. We are pleased to announce all presentations below. All presentations will be translated from English to German and vice versa by simultaneous interpreters.

Workshops…
Parallel to the presentations, you can participate in workshops. Workshops from Engel, Autodesk, e-Xstream, PEG and others will be available on the CONNECT!

Q&A Session…
Additionally, you will have the opportunity to submit questions to Autodesk to be discussed following Franco Costa’s presentation. Take the opportunity to discuss your questions directly with Moldflow experts. See the button below!

Hot Runners…
Pack your running shoes and be part of the traditional Hot Runner run. This will take place on the morning of the second day before breakfast. We look forward to seeing you there!

And of course the evening program….
We look forward to sharing the event program with you again!

Submit questions to Autodesk here

Presentation of this years lectures

Speaker Agenda Download

Training Session Agenda Download

Alexandre Chatelain, DOMO Engineering Plastics

Get it aligned! Fiber orientation for predictive part performance simulation with DOMO Engineering Plastics

DOMO Engineering Plastics presents several aspects of fibre orientation validation with Autodesk Moldflow RSC model parameters optimization for its polyamide glass fibre reinforced materials. On various geometries of interest, DOMO EP will share its latest developments on material characterization improvements and validation on tomography measurements. Impacts on the part performance (warpage, mechanical behavior, failure) of the glass fibre orientation tensor predictions will be illustrated on customers cases and advanced in-house measurements.

Simon Staal, SABIC Limburg B.V.

Advanced Warpage Counter Correction 4.0

From designers to mould makers, warpage of injection moulded plastic parts might be considered as one of the more difficult challenges. In a world where we push for high quality first time right injection moulding, going through multiple time consuming and costly iterations should of course be avoided. SABIC supports new developments in industry 4.0 and virtual prototyping. Applying a warpage correction to the mould product cavity is a process already seen in the market for many years, with the compensation figures either based on either prototyping or simulation. However we typically find the end result to still have a significant amount of residual warpage. In close collaboration with the joint venture Inpro a set of software tools have been developed which automatically iteratively creates the warpage compensated model, either in the full part or in specific focus areas. The results have been experimentally validated with a full scale injection moulded part. The presentation will highlight the software development approach, the link to Moldflow and other software suites, and the experimentally validated results before and after warpage compensation.

Mason Myers, Autodesk Inc.

Moldflow Mondays – Miscellaneous Moldflow Concepts, Workflows, and Best Practices

Software training is essential for any new Moldflow analyst. Multiple Moldflow courses are publicly available however reviewing key concepts, important updates, and new workflows are critical for all simulation engineers. This presentation will focus on multiple Moldflow concepts ranging from modeling techniques, analysis sequence selection, result comprehension, recent software updates, and industry best practices.

Martin Hohberg, SIMUTENCE GmbH

New simulation approaches for sheet molding compound (SMC) process simulation

The simulation of extrusion processes with SMC has so far posed great challenges to simulation software due to the special flow behavior and led to an insufficient prediction quality for the virtual process design. Through a material specific characterization, new simulation approaches within Moldflow, as well as a sequential approach with an initial forming simulation in ABAQUS to represent also complex material layouts, very good results were achieved in first studies. These methods and their experimental validation will be demonstrated in this presentation using a honeycomb structure and an ultralight aircraft rim.

Dr. Franco Costa, Autodesk Inc.

Moldflow Solver Research & Development Update

The Senior Research Leader of Autodesk Moldflow reports on recent and current (research) activities to improve the accuracy of Moldflow predictions. Special attention / focus is given to the further development of the use of shrinkage characterization data for 3D analyses as well as new functions and performance features in different areas of the solver.

Jürgen Hollering, DRÄXLMAIER Group

Simulation and Reality – Experiences from Validation

In this presentation, several aspects of the simulation will be considered and compared with reality. These include, among others, warpage validation on different geometries, validation of the calculated fiber orientation as well as the comparison of the pressure requirement.

Anton Sageder, Borealis Polyolefine GmbH

Routine for improved Shrinkage and Warpage result with Autodesk Moldflow 3D mesh

Accurate shrinkage and warpage simulation by using Autodesk Moldflow 3D mesh can be still a challenge. As CRIMS data for 3D elements not used in the current Moldflow versions Borealis is dealing to fine-tune the CLTE value manually to find the right shrinkage value in a working project. The speech underlines the high importance to consider anisotropic CLTE and mechanical data to get out correct shrinkage and warpage result. Materials like PE normally considered as an isotropic material. A showcase for a Polyethylene part demonstrates the importance of using anisotropic material data to improve the output. Using the routine for glass fibre reinforced PP material delivered improved result quality.

Andrei Postolachi, MAHLE Componente de Motor SRL

Challenges in developing virtually the production process of an overmolded component

Virtual validation technology like Moldflow helps saving time and material, as well as reducing the scrap rate by improving product quality. Generally it enables to develop faster new products with less costs.
The simulation engineer provides insights that are useful in designing parts, molds, and molding processes.

The accuracy of the CAE analysis depends markedly on the quality of the provided input data. The results generated by the calculation tool (Moldflow) need to be correctly and intelligently interpreted by the user before presented. Usually each single analysis can deliver a huge variety of results containing a lot of information. The mastery of the engineer performing such an analysis consists in filtering this information and identifying the critical points and defining the risks.

The Moldflow engineer is at the cross ways between the production, laboratory and design. On the one hand the product needs to be designed to fulfil its function properly and in combination with the chosen material it must be able to withstand all loads during the lifetime. On the other hand the component must be manufacturable and cost competitive.

In the development process there are multiple factors that influence the final product.

Material properties for product design
Design for strength
Part thickness
Boosting structural integrity with ribs
Processing settings

In the presented example the situation got even more challenging because the product was intended to be overmolded by very thin walls and the material should contain glass fibers. In order to deliver a product of high quality, the chosen strategy was to optimize the product in the design stage, validate it by numerical calculation as well as testing, select a material that corresponds to the requirements and in the last stage optimize the injection parameters. There were a lot of design and simulation loops but in the end we managed to deliver an appropriate design that respected all the requirements.

Andreas Rötzer, DRÄXLMAIER Group

Challenges in developing virtually the production process of an overmolded component

Simulative prediction of the warpage behavior of large fiber-filled and foamed plastic components presents many challenges to designers. Various complex processes such as bubble formation, fiber orientations and fiber breakage during filling interact with each other. At the same time, companies, forced by continuously shorter development times, are aiming for faster result generation. For these reasons, there have been several solver adaptations or extensions in recent years. It is therefore important to perform regular comparisons between simulation and reality in order to ensure the required calculation quality. DRÄXLMAIER Group gives an insight into the beginnings of such analyses in the company up to the latest evaluations.

Andres Garcia, Thermoplastic Composites Research Center

A simulation based approach for predicting processing and structural performance of overmolded thermoplastic composites

Overmolding of thermoplastic composites is a technology in which a thermoplastic composite insert is formed and subsequently injection overmolded. Although the process is well established by now, there is a lack of tools for a first-time-right design. A simulation route was developed to predict the structural performance of overmolded thermoplastic composites, including the different processing steps and development of interface strength. The simulation approach is illustrated, and experimentally validated, by means of a specially designed demonstrator part.

Seth A. Hindman, Autodesk Inc.

Moldflow’s Journey to Expanded Value

In this session, Autodesk will explore the challenges and opportunities that currently confront the injection molding ecosystem and their strategy to enable compelling and expanded value. Whether considering current inhibitors to productivity, future capabilities or the need for additional business flexibility, this session intends to explore Autodesk’s thoughts on how it can help improve your business outcomes.

Kai Winter, Volume Graphics GmbH

A holistic approach to the measurement of simulation results

the linking of process parameters, simulation results and real measurements using the example of warpage

Today, simulation already makes it possible to investigate the influence of various process parameters on shrinkage and warpage results purely virtually.

But which fundamentals must be defined to ensure that these results can be evaluated consistently and used for further purposes?

How can the added value generated be made accessible and, above all, understandable to departments that are not familiar with simulations?

In this presentation, Kai Winter will first highlight the current state of the art on the topic of “holistic evaluation of simulation results” and show the most important fundamentals for cross-departmental collaboration.

Based on these fundamentals, automated and combined analysis or even a solution for AI-driven optimization of simulations can be used.

Alfred Angerer, ENGEL Austria GmbH

ENGEL sim link® – Connection between two worlds: Simulation and production

An everlasting issue in the product lifecycle of an injection moulding article is the data barrier between simulation and production. So far it is very difficult to impossible to transfer suitable process settings and profiles from simulation to production. The simulation engineer also rarely gets feedback from the shop floor. The solution: ENGEL sim link®. The bilateral data interface between simulation and injection moulding machine enables an easy transfer of simulation data to production. Also getting feedback from the shop floor with respect to real production settings and profiles by importing these directly into the simulation project is easily feasible.

As a best practice example a case study will be presented to show a possible workflow for the use of the ENGEL sim link® key features and also the benefits of the data interface itself.

Uwe Schilling, Brose Fahrzeugteile SE & Co. KG

Development of a 16-cavity tool for a metal-hybrid plastic spindle nut

Better understand reality through simulation and improve processes in a targeted manner

A fully automated manufacturing cell was to be developed and implemented for the hybrid spindle nut. As an additional challenge, the number of cavities was expanded from 8 to 16.

The findings from the running mold with 8 cavities were transferred to the 16 cavities and confirmed with simulations. Based on the simulation, it was possible to identify a cause for the insufficient holding pressure effect in the new mold and to eliminate it before mold maturation, so that a qualitatively better starting position for the correction on the gearing could be achieved for the 16-cavity mold.

The presentation shows the cause identification of the shortened holding pressure time and the effect on the gear quality and the more robust process control.

Dr. Robert Wesenjak, MSC Software GmbH, a Hexagon company

From material modeling to material data management – Hexagon ICME solutions

Material data is a valuable asset for companies throughout all industries. This material data may need to be accessed by different stakeholders within a company, ranging from lab engineers via design and CAE engineers, sometimes even to marketing. The difficulty is to manage this data properly and allow individuals or groups to access specific subsets of material data, communicate the existence, change of certain data, or further process existing data.

The data we are referring to here can include e.g., physical, mechanical or chemical data, process information, testing information as well as linked CAD/CAE cards generated from underlying experimentally or virtually generated data.

In this presentation we want to highlight how Hexagon ICME solutions leverages our technology to help engineers throughout all fields to create virtual material data, enhance existing data using AI/ML technologies, how to create material models for FEA applications and to store and manage all this data.