SIGMASOFT® MIM and CIM
Simulation is establishing itself as one of the most innovative technologies in Powder Injection Molding, as it has proved to drastically reduce the development time for new parts and the costs associated with iterations in the production of new molds. With unique features developed specifically for the PIM industry and its highly developed thermal solver, SIGMASOFT® is the market leader for PIM simulation and nowadays the only software available to describe the particular rheological behavior of powder filled materials and the complex thermal interactions between mold components and feedstock.
The unique capabilities of SIGMASOFT for the PIM market include (click to expand):
- Comparison of different thermal concepts over part quality and productivity
- Prediction of the filling behavior
- Prediction of flow front propagation, fountain flow, plug flow behavior and jetting effects
- Identification of possible particle segregation during filling
- Simulation of the increase of viscosity at low shear rates
- Core and insert deformation during filling
- Clamping force calculation
- Holding (packing) simulation
- FEM Interface to MARC, Ansys, Abaqus, etc.
Virtual molding instead of injection molding simulation: PIMs are no thermoplastics!
As a part for powder injection molding is developed, several decisions about the mold configuration must be made:
- How should the tempering layout look like?
- Which cycle time can be achieved with different cooling concepts?
- Is there potential to make the mold more energy-efficient?
- Which mold concept will lead to a part with the requested dimensions and quality?
- What is the impact of the material insert over cycle time?
Particularly when molding MIM parts, it is important to accurately simulate the thermal phenomenon inside the mold. MIM feedstocks have a completely different thermal behavior than thermoplastics: their thermal conductivity is about one order of magnitude higher and their heat capacity about three times lower. Processing becomes very temperature sensitive. The complete mold configuration has a significant impact on the processability, the cycle times and the green part quality.
SIGMASOFT® is a comprehensive and easy-to-use software to answer those questions. Not only the behavior of the part but also the energy balance of the mold can be analyzed and optimized. In order to speed up the development process, to ensure an adequate part quality in the first shot and to optimize the manufacturing costs, SIGMASOFT® predicts the behavior of the mold before it is even built.
SIGMASOFT® uses an intuitive graphical user interface to guide the user through the setup step by step. An intelligent meshing algorithm generates a 3D mesh for a complete mold within less than 5 minutes. No mesh stitching or triangle moving is necessary, not even for an entire system. The possibility to load in complete mold geometries allows SIGMASOFT® to truly look into the process.
Outstanding engineering at your service
Success in plastic injection molding simulation calls for direct contact between users and a competent engineering team, with a solid technical background in plastics. Our strong and effective support network, a committed after-sales service and an application-oriented group of developers work closely with you to increase your profit.
Virtual Molding
For a good prediction of what happens on the machine it is important to take into account not only the part, but also the full mold and process. We call this approach SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding.