SOLIDWORKS Plastics

SOLIDWORKS Plastics offers Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) simulation tools that predict how melted plastic flows during the injection moulding process—the manufacturing method used to produce more than 80% of all plastics products.

The ability to predict how the plastic will flow allows the prediction of manufacturing-related defects.

By being able to predict these defects, users can change mould geometry, processing conditions, or the plastic material used to minimize potential defects, thus saving energy, natural resources, time, and money.

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SOLIDWORKS Plastics is right for you.

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More Information about SOLIDWORKS Plastics

Benefits of SOLIDWORKS Plastics

Benefits of SOLIDWORKS Plastics

Avoid Hidden Costs

SOLIDWORKS Plastics products can be used to optimise part wall thickness, gate locations, runner
system size, and layout to ensure the mold works right the
first time, reducing or eliminating the need for rework.

Reduce Manufacturing Defects

SOLIDWORKS
Plastics makes it easy to analyze design iterations at the
earliest stages of product development—when the cost
of change is least and the impact on manufacturability is
greatest. This improves part quality and minimizes scrap
rates.

Reduce Time-to-Market

SOLIDWORKS Plastics helps
to predict and avoid potential manufacturing defects before
any mold tooling is cut, virtually eliminating the need
for time-consuming and costly mold rework and ensuring
project deadlines and ship dates are met on-time and within
budget.

Avoid Inefficient “Islands of Automation”

SOLIDWORKS
Plastics provides automated report generation tools that
facilitate the sharing and interpretation of simulation results,
allowing increased collaboration among development teams
at different sites.

Which version of Solidworks Plastics is right for me?

Product Comparison

Features

SOLIDWORKS Plastics Standard SOLIDWORKS Plastics
Professional
SOLIDWORKS Plastics Premium
Ease of Use

SOLIDWORKS Plastics is fully embedded in
SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD for ease of use and data integrity. Using the same
user interface (UI) as SOLIDWORKS in toolbars, menus, and
context-sensitive right-click menus ensures rapid familiarization.
Built-in tutorials and searchable online help aid learning and
troubleshooting.

Design Data Reuse

SOLIDWORKS Plastics supports SOLIDWORKS materials and configurations for easy analysis of multiple loads and product configurations.

Materials Database

With 4,000+ commercial thermoplastic grades, you can browse and select the desired from the customizable built-in material library.

Meshing

SOLIDWORKS Plastics includes these meshing features:

  • Wizard for mesh generation and analysis setup
  • Automatic Mesh
  • Local Mesh Refinement
  • Global Mesh Refinement
  • Boundary Mesh (Shell)
  • Solid 3D mesh
Parallel Computing (Multi-Core)

The 3D Solver benefits from a multi-core CPU (multiple threads).

Filling Phase (1st Stage Injection)

Predicts how material fills the cavity. Results include distributions of pressure and temperature within the cavity, and detection of potential short shots and weld lines.

Automatic Gate Location(s)

Defines up to 10 injection locations on the part cavity automatically. SOLIDWORKS Plastics adds injection locations onto the part based on the geometry and optimized balanced fill pattern.

Instantaneous Fill Time Plot

Predicts the plastic flow pattern through the cavity at the end of fill.

Sink Mark Analysis

Predicts the depth of sink marks after the part has been ejected and cooled to room temperature.

eDrawings Support

Results can be exported to eDrawing®

Fill Time

Time needed to fill the whole mould.

Ease of Fill

Displays the quality of the injection process with ‘confidence of fill’ legend.

Results Adviser

User assistant for interpreting results.

Nominal Wall Thickness Adviser

Analyzes the part thickness and locates the high thickness ratio.

Pressure at End of Fill

Displays the maximum pressure to fill the cavity.

Flow Front Temperature

Displays the melt front temperature history.

Temperature at End of Fill

Displays the Cavity Temperature field at the end of fill.

Shear Rate

Displays the shear rate reached at the end of fill to check the injection process quality.

Cooling Time

Estimates cooling time at fill time analysis.

Weld Lines

Displays weld lines formed at locations of the part where two (or multiple) melt fronts meet.

Air Traps

Shows the location where high pressure air may be trapped inside the cavity.

Sink Marks

Displays the location of sink marks.

Frozen Layer Fraction at End of Fill

Displays the fraction of frozen material into the part at end of fill.

Clamp Force

Displays the minimum clamp force for the current injection process.

Cycle Time

Displays the cycle time for the current injection process.

 
Symmetry Analysis

Avoid simulating both cavities in a symmetrical mould layout, saving computer time for the simulation.

 
Packing Phase (2nd Stage Injection)

Evaluates the material freezing process in the cavity. Predicts the temperature to evaluate hot spots, gate freeze, and cycle time. Distributions of pressure, stress, and shrinkage results are also available.

 
Runner Balancing

Determines the runner parameters to balance filling between parts.

 
Runner Design Wizard

Automates the process of creating common flow control devices and components such as sprues, runners, and gates.

 
Sprues and Runners

Quickly and easily simulate the impact of the sprues and runners layout.

 
Hot & Cold Runners

Hot runners are initially filled with hot polymer at the start of the filling simulation.

 
Multi-Cavity Moulds

Simulates multiple cavities of the same part in the same mould.

 
Family Moulds

Simulates a set of different cavities parts in the same mould.

 
Mould Inserts

Include the impact of mould inserts on the simulation

 
Volumetric Shrinkage

Displays volumetric shrinkage distribution at the end of fill or pack.

 
Density at End of Pack

Displays density distribution at post-filling end to check the pack phase quality.

 
Exports STL, NASTRAN

Enables you to export part geometry in STL or NASTRAN formats

 
Export with Mechanical Properties ABAQUS®, ANSYS, DigiMat®

Exports mesh, residual stress, fiber orientation and material data to run non-linear analysis.

 
Cooling Lines

Simulates the coolant flowing inside for the mould cooling analysis.

   
Baffles & Bubblers

Specific cooling line for narrow channel into the cavity.

   
Conformal Cooling Channels

Cooling passageway follows the shape or profile of the mould core or cavity to perform rapid uniform cooling process.

   
Runner Domain Category

Domain category assigned to the runner allows easy selection for runner’s conditions.

   
Sink Mark Profiles

Displays the location of sink marks and their depth.

   
Mould Temperature at Cooling End

Displays the mould temperature distribution at cooling end.

   
Displacement Due to Residual Stress

Displays the displacement distribution due to in-mould stress.

   
Related videos and documents

SOLIDWORKS Plastics Related Videos and Documents

VIDEO

SOLIDWORKS Plastics Fundamentals

DATA SHEET

SOLIDWORKS Plastics Datasheet

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