Have you attended our Autodesk University Factory Live Experience? Want to learn how we created some of the parts using Autodesk Fusion 360 software? In this session, the team that helped design the keypad for the Autodesk University Factory will walk through how Autodesk Simulation tools can help you along your design journey from concept to production. Learn if Fusion 360 injection molding simulation is right for you, or if you need Moldflow injection molding simulation to get your part production ready.

Selecting the correct injection molding simulation software can be challenging when designing plastic parts. This session will review the various Autodesk simulation tools available on the market today, including Fusion Injection Molding Simulation, Moldflow Adviser, and Moldflow Insight. This in-depth comparison will help you understand which injection molding simulation tool is right for your needs based on your objectives and desired outcomes.

This presentation will focus on simulation techniques used to compare traditional hurling stick material and performance against a composite redesign. We used several Autodesk tools—including Fusion 360 software, Netfabb software, Moldflow, and Autodesk Nastran software—to evaluate and optimize the performance of the composite structure.

Embark on an exciting journey into the world of creating a fully functional simulation racing steering wheel, using Autodesk Fusion capabilities: Design, electronics, simulation, and manufacturing—all within one seamless solution. Witness the collaborative efforts of global industry experts and suppliers as they bring this project to life. Join us and experience innovation in motion!

This class will describe the benefits of using PowerShape software and Moldflow Insight to model and simulate a conformal cooling tool. With 3D printing on the rise, conformal cooling is becoming a more widely available option to create cooling channels in metal in order to more evenly cool a plastic component during the molding process. Utilizing the modeling power of PowerShape to build a mold with channels following the geometry of the plastic part-and then validating the channels using Moldflow-can save time and money by eliminating the need to 'build it and hope it works."

Analysts working with Autodesk® Simulation Moldflow® software must not only run quality simulations, but also interpret the results and present them clearly. This class is about looking beyond the default plots and customizing the results to improve result clarity for yourself and your audience. Time permitting, you will have a chance to show and discuss your favorite custom plots.

Autodesk® Simulation Moldflow® Insight is a powerful tool to simulate the different stages of the injection molding process. New capabilities of this tool include a transient mold thermal analysis. This type of simulation combines the mold filling and packing simulation with a heat transfer analysis, hence providing increased accuracy in the mold thermal solution. Attendees see the variables that influence the analysis results and improvements that can be done to the model to more closely correlate with the real life. For this purpose, simulation results are compared to experimental results over a design of experiments varying coolant temperature, injection rate, barrel temperature, and cooling time. The experimental results, obtained using an instrumented mold, include temperature and pressure data. Finally, the differences between the transient cooling analysis and the conventional cycle average solution are compared as well as their correlation to experimental results.

The success of a new product launch relies heavily on the ability of molding thermoplastic parts within specified tolerances and successfully assembling them into a functional product. Building a mold with the correct mold-shrinkage values is crucial for a given plastic material. Currently, a toolmaker guesses the shrinkage value from the range published by a material supplier before cutting steel. Thus, choosing one value at the mid-point of the range results in a part with vastly different shrinkage values in the flow, cross-flow, and transverse directions. Subsequently, many compromises may have to be made in order to qualify the part and approve the tool before routine production. We have been working with Moldflow software to improve and fine-tune the material testing and plastic-part simulation in order to predict accurate shrinkage values to eliminate the guesswork and make more-educated decisions before ordering tools. This session features Moldflow Insight and Moldflow.

This class will discuss different approaches to injection molding simulations with  Moldflow Insight software. Individual users have been given a problem to solve using Moldflow software. We will present their approaches, and then we will compare and contrast the different approaches. Analyisto e analyisto— it’s a showdown you don’t want to miss. Get ready to rumble!

In this class we will introduce the basic concepts and principles behind the Application Programming Interface (API) and show how you can use it to enhance the capabilities of Moldflow Insight. The class will introduce the API functionality and conventions through a series of scripts that highlight common tasks completed with the API. Key areas covered will include creating custom plots and results, creating and examining mesh quality, exporting results, and interfacing with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. The lab will consist of a mixture of lectures and hands-on exercises to ensure that both the theoretical and practical aspects of building API scripts are covered. No previous programming knowledge is required to take this lab.

This class is about the experiments and simulations related to the microcellular injection molding. The experiments are part of the research done at the Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Toronto. We will present 3 topics related to the experiments. The first will be on the visualization studies on the bubble nucleation and growth. We will examine the effects of process conditions. The second will be on the use of mold opening (core-back) for the microcellular injection molding. The third will be on the effects of bubbles on the fiber orientation in the microcellular injection molding. We will use some of the experimental results (such as bubble nucleation/growth and the mold-opening experiment) in the simulation with  Moldflow Insight software. We will discuss the correlation between the experimental and simulation results, and we will also present some case studies related to microcellular injection molding and core-back processes.

In this class, you will learn how we used Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Insight Ultimate software to successfully design and develop active-shutter 3D glasses for LCD television. We will focus on the prediction and mitigation of stress birefringence in an optically sensitive injection-molded component. Anyone who is interested in learning more about applying the powerful and specialized modules of Moldflow Insight software in the early stages of product design will gain from this class.

In this class we will introduce MuCell molding technology and discuss advances in the simulation of this manufacturing process within Simulation Moldflow Insight software.

The formation of weld lines during the injection molding process can be practically unavoidable for most complex plastic parts. A weld line—defined by the mating of the free surfaces of 2 separate flow fronts—can reduce the aesthetic appeal of the part and often reduces the structural integrity of the part at the mating surface. In this presentation, results from a  Moldflow Insight software analysis are used to determine the weld surface locations, and Advanced Material Exchange software is used to map the results from Moldflow Insight software to the structural simulation. The strength reduction is taken into account in a nonlinear finite element analysis using Helius PFA software to accurately predict the crack initiation and growth of a mechanically loaded electrical isolating rod disconnector.

This class will show how to use Simulation Moldflow Insight software for modeling the injection molding process in order to provide more accurate predictions of injection pressures during molding. We will explore factors such as material characterization, mesh type, and process settings. We will look at how the measurement of juncture loss coefficients can influence the pressure prediction provided by Simulation Moldflow Insight software for several different materials, both semicrystalline and amorphous. We will also examine how the incorporation of these coefficients influences the results between different mesh types (Midplane versus Full 3D). Additionally, we will present examples of actual projects where Simulation Moldflow Insight software was used to predict the injection pressure.

To archive the lightweight and optimization design for Automotive component, the advance material will be used, so the fiber orientation, the residual stress, weld line location and warpage are very important for the design improve, also the Co-Simulation (Moldflow Insight + Helius PFA + ABAQUS) is used to evaluate the strength and remove the weakness in potential. This will greatly reduce the demand for the high cost of physical prototype testing.

This class has two parts. First, we will review a study on using corrected residual in-molded stress (CRIMS) data to predict warpage. In this study, we selected five parts of increasing complexity and material flow path. We simulated five different materials with various process parameters. From the simulated data, we selected high-warp scenarios for molding and warpage and compared the results with CRIMS and without CRIMS. The study showed the importance and effect of warpage. Statistically, we found that using CRIMS to predict warpage showed a 10 times better probability of being accurate and a 29% improvement in accuracy. Next, we will look at using supplemental data. CRIMS data is specifically measured/generated by Autodesk® Simulation Moldflow® software by molding trails. The test method is expensive. Therefore, for selected materials, we can supplement CRIMS with equivalent material in the existing Moldflow data base. The experiment shows the effectiveness of method.

Come and learn about runner and gate optimization using Moldflow Insight software and third-party optimization software.

Microcellular Injection Molding (MuCell) is a mechanical foaming process used to improve the performance/weight characteristics of an injection-molded part. This class focuses on the Microcellular Injection Molding module for Autodesk® Simulation Moldflow® Insight. We explore how well the module correlates with real-world molded samples, determine the best approach for using the module for a brand new mold, and discuss any limitations to the module.

In this class, you will learn about products in the Autodesk Simulation Moldflow software ecosystem that can bring fantastic and unique capabilities to Moldflow products. We will introduce you to capabilities that can help make your job easier, better, and more fun. The class will cover several products, including Autodesk® Simulation 360 cloud-based software and the Autodesk® Inventor® Fusion Technology Preview, which is a free history-free modeler that you can use to make simple changes to existing CAD geometry. We will also cover the Autodesk® Simulation® DFM add-on, which is a designer tool that helps you develop a plastic part that follows standard plastic design rules and can help you avoid time-consuming iterations between the Moldflow user and the CAD designer. You will learn about Autodesk® PLM 360 cloud-based product lifecyle management and Autodesk® Vault, Autodesk® Showcase®, and Autodesk® Inventor® Publisher software. We will also examine Autodesk® Simulation Mechanical software and the tooling capabilities of Autodesk® Inventor® software. Finally, we will introduce you to the Project Simulus Technology Preview from Autodesk Labs.