MOLDEX3D
BY ARESPLUS
Industry Challenges
Plastics are a wide array of semi-synthetic or synthetic organic solids that are transformed or molded into numerous useful products in our daily life. These products can range from consumer electronic, house goods, toys, packing, personal care to automotive components. Owing to their low cost, ease of production, abundance of raw materials, plastics have replaced many conventional materials including, metal, glass, woods, and paper in the majority
Moldex3D Solutions and Benefits
Materials suppliers are always in need of developing new cutting-edge technological materials and modifying their existing ones in order to keep up the demands of fast changing markets. However, before these new materials are being sold to product manufactures, materials suppliers have to ensure that their materials do not only pass harsh processing conditions, but also possess required properties such as impact resistance, durability and chemical
Moldex3D Solves Tough Problems
Thermoplastics
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The molecular weight of polymer predominate plastics with its mechanical properties. The heavier of molecular weight will result in more chain entanglements, and hence higher mechanical properties. However, it will also affect the processiblity of plastics during molding as the viscosity will also increase, resulting in difficulty to completely fill out the mold. The mechanical properties of the plastics will level off after the molecular weight has reached certain threshold values. Therefore, it is crucial to find the right molecular weight range of polymers that will produce the desirable mechanical properties, and yet being processable. Through accurate material data, Moldex3D can help identify the filling behavior of plastics during molding so that material suppliers can contemplate on how to optimize their formulation. In addition, many additives such as plasticizers, coloring agents, flame retardants, heat stabilizers, light stabilizers, reinforcements and so on will also affect its molding properties and final product performance. For example, it is known that coloring agents can have profound effects on the molding behaviors of plastics as well as flow induced aesthetic problems such as tiger strip. With the innovative Moldex3D simulation tools, the instant simulation feedback empowers material suppliers to make critical decisions on optimizing the formulations of their materials.
Thermoset plastics
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What really differentiates thermoset from thermoplastics is hardening (curing) of materials under heat environment, and as such thermoset materials cannot be reprocessed. Since thermoset materials will harden under heat environment it will also alter the flow behavior during molding. Therefore, materials suppliers always want to optimize their design formulations to find the right balance between viscosity change and curing kinetics as this will affect the processiblity and the cycle time. For thermoset materials, Moldex3D can provide efficient and effective cost saving simulation solutions to materials suppliers by analyzing the flow behavior (viscosity change and curing time) such that formulations can be optimized. In addition, effects such as curing induced volumetric shrinkage can be quantified through material characterizations, and the knowledge can be applied by material supplies to alter chemical formulation as well as being used in simulation to improve product design and process conditions.
