CAD & CAE.NPE NPE NullPointerException (Java) NPE Network Processing Engine NPE National Policy on Education NPE National Plastics Exposition NPE Natural Penis Enlargement NPE Nutrition Program for the Elderly 2000 offered a brand-new option for processors and mold designers: the ability to "rent" flow analysis on a pay-per-use basis over the Internet. And when a perfectly balanced mold refuses to fill evenly, a new type of runner flow analysis can diagnose and solve the problem. Also introduced were quick and easy cooling-time estimators and affordable mold-design software. For flat-die extrusion, enhanced flow simulation now handles five-layer coextrusion. There's also a new rapid-prototyping system that deposits water-soluble supports. CAE (1) (Computer-Aided Engineering) Software that analyzes designs which have been created in the computer or that have been created elsewhere and entered into the computer. Move Onto the Web CAE flow simulation is now available on the Internet for a modest per-job fee. You purchase no software, and you need only a PC with a Web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. . Moldflow Corp., Lexington, Mass., offers this capability via a new website, www.plasticszone.com. It offers a number of features, including a materials calculator to help in resin selection and CostCruncher, a free mold-quotation calculator. Most important, however, is iMPA, an internet-enabled version of Moldflow's Part Advisor, which is a quick and easy, Windows-based simulation program that answers questions about moldability early in the design process. To use iMPA, you go to the plasticszone site and download the 6-MB iMPA software file (or you can install it from a CD). Then you open an STL (STereoLithography) A 3D printing file format created by 3D Systems for its stereolithography system. Also supported by many numerical control, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing machines, STL provides the surface geometry of the item in triangles. version of a CAD solid model of your part, select a material from the Moldflow database, and enter the process conditions and gate location. From this, iMPA creates a "digital fingerprint" of your model and registers it on Moldflow's website. This fingerprint is only a small identifying signature of the model, not the complete model itself. Thus, your model never leaves your computer, maintaining security and avoiding the need to transmit large files over the web. Once you pay on-line via credit card, an authorization key is sent back to your computer to allow the simulation to run on your desktop. It typically takes 20-30 mm. You can run simulations as often as you like, without time limit, for no additional fee. You can try out different materials, gate geometries, and process conditions. But you can't change the model geometry at all without paying a new fee of $49.95. After the current introductory period, it will go up to $349.95. Whereas iMPA is aimed at the occasional user, frequent users can purchase Part Advisor for $7000. New Twist on Runner Balancing In October, Beamont Runner Technologies, Inc., Erie, Pa., plans to come out with RunnerFlow 3D software. It will apply company founder John Beaumont's patented MeltFlipper concept to 3D computer-aided runner balancing. What's different from other CAE flow-simulation programs for injection molding injection molding n. A manufacturing process for forming objects, as of plastic or metal, by heating the molding material to a fluid state and injecting it into a mold. , is that the MeltFlipper is designed to fix shear-induced flow imbalances that occur frequently in geometrically balanced runner systems (see PT, Sept. '98, p. 47). According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Beaumont, the MeltFlipper disrupts the natural tendency for branched runners to distribute hotter and cooler melt of different viscosities to different cavities by introducing 90[degrees] turns in a plane different from that of the runner branches. With the MeltFlipper, you can double or quadruple the number of cavities without sacrificing product consistency, Beaumont says. He notes that using the MeltFlipper to control temperature and viscosity differences throughout the runner system also helps control gas flow in gas-assist molding. RunnerFlow 3D will be available for license and will also be accessible to registered users via Web browser. Users will be able to enter hot- or cold-runner geometry through simple menu picks (number of cavities, layout type, runner length and diam.) or by downloading CAD geometry. The software will analyze and display shear, temperature, and viscosity variations created between runner branches. For users that also license the MeltFlipper technology, the program will automatically provide the appropriate MeltFlipper design details required to optimize balanced flow In Atmospheric Science, Balanced Flow is an idealization of atmospheric motion when forces acting on a parcel are balanced. Idealized, steady state Balanced flow is often an accurate approximation, and is useful in improving qualitative understanding of atmospheric motion. . Calculate Cooling Times MoldCool Estimator for Windows is a new software program from CAE Services Corp., Batavia, Ill. It is said to be an easy-to-use method of calculating cooling times for injection molded parts. You select from a menu the type of resin and mold steel, then enter the nominal and maximum part thickness, size of cooling channel, and nominal distance of the channel from the part. Within seconds, the program calculates cooling time. MoldCool Estimator costs only $600 but is said to be accurate within 2-3%. A new feature of MCBase 4.2, the latest version of the CAMPUS merge program, is a virtually instantaneous calculation of cooling time. MCBase 4.2 was developed in Germany and is available here from The Madison Group, Madison, Wis. It permits combining into one database single-point and multi-point property data on 5700 materials from more than 50 resin companies that belong to the CAMPUS consortium. The new Cooltool calculator automatically selects CAMPUS data on thermal properties for the user's choice of resin. The user then enters the melt and mold temperatures, ejection temperature, and nominal wall thickness. In just a second or two, the program provides an overall cooling time and graphs of average part temperature vs. time and time/temperature profiles at different points through the thickness of the part. Multi-plant firms can distribute this capability over an extranet as part of the new Web MCBase option. Flow Simulation Upgraded A new release of C-Mold 2000 injection molding simulation software Simulation software is based on the process of imitating a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is, essentially, a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually running the program. from Moldflow Corp., Lexington, Mass., includes two major upgrades. One is called Fusion, the ability to work directly from a CAD 3-D solid model of the part. This eliminates the time-consuming task of creating a mid-plane model for analysis. This capability in new C-Mold 2000.7 is similar to that in Moldflow's flagship Plastics Insight product. Another enhancement in C-Mold 2000.7 is a thermoset A polymer-based liquid or powder that becomes solid when heated, placed under pressure, treated with a chemical or via radiation. The curing process creates a chemical bond that, unlike a thermoplastic, prevents the material from being remelted. See thermoplastic. underfill encapsulation (1) In object technology, the creation of self-contained modules that contain both the data and the processing. See object-oriented programming. (2) The transmission of one network protocol within another. module to simulate the increasingly popular "flipchip" microchip encapsulation process. New CAD Package for Mold Design VX Vision Mold Edition is a new, full-featured, Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. mold-design package available for only $4000 from Varimetrix Corp., Palm Bay, Fla. Designed for injection, compression, and blow molds, it lets designers use both surface and solids modeling within the same modeling task and then blend the two together. Other features include the following: * One-click conversion of a solid part model into a cavity. * Automatic application of resin-shrinkage factors for cavity/core sizing. * Automatic core and cavity separation. * Generation of parting lines, parting surfaces, shutoffs, slides, and inserts. * Automatic definition of mold-plate envelope from an open surface set. * Automatic mold-base design with D-M-E mold-base and component library. * Automatic mold assembly from a solid model. * IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) An ANSI file format that is system independent and also intended for human interpretation. Evolving out of the U.S. and STEP translators with surface healing. * NC programming and verification. Add Art to Your Molds New Release 4.5 of ArtCAM software from Delcam Inc., Windsor, Ont., helps design low-relief artwork that appears to be engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. or embossed em·boss tr.v. em·bossed, em·boss·ing, em·boss·es 1. To mold or carve in relief: emboss a design on a coin. 2. on the surface of a plastic part. ArtCAM V.4.5 helps moldmakers transfer artwork to a mold surface, translating the gray scale of an image into different levels of relief. Also new is ability to wrap the artwork around the 3-D surface of a part. ArtCAM costs $7500. Analyze Coex Die Flow Newly enhanced software can help extrusion die designers optimize flow geometry or help processors predict performance of their dies with new resins or process conditions. Compuplast Canada Inc., Mississauga, Ont., has released Version released version - release 5.0 of its Flow 2000 Windows-based software for modeling flow in extrusion dies. New features include ability to model flat-die coextrusion of up to five layers. (Future enhancements will extend this ability to pipe, tubing, and blown-film dies.) The software displays a graph of velocity profile throughout the melt stream and numerical values of velocity, shear stress shear stress n. See shear. shear stress A form of stress that subjects an object to which force is applied to skew, tending to cause shear strain. , residence time, and pressure drop. Also new is a set of templates that creates a 2-D grid (or mesh) for analysis almost instantly rather than taking several hours. Processors can now be supplied with a preset geometry template A geometry template is a piece of clear plastic with cut-out shapes for use in mathematics and other subjects in primary school through secondary school. It functions as a stencil, protractor, ruler, and straightedge. of their dies, so that all they need to do is enter the resin type and process conditions in order to predict die performance. The 2-D software costs $15,000 and templates could cost from $500 to $1500. Compuplast also offers a new 3-D flow module for very detailed analyses, but 3-D calculations can take hours to run. Wash Away Supports From Rapid Prototypes The newest enhancement of the fused-deposition modeling (FDM (1) (Fused Deposition Modeling) See 3D printing. (2) (Frequency Division Multiplexing) Transmitting multiple data signals simultaneously over a single wire by using multiple carriers, each having a unique center frequency. ) system of rapid prototyping Building a part one layer at a time using a method of additive fabrication such as 3D printing. Such parts are used for concept modeling to determine if the product design meets the customer's expectations. deposits a water-soluble support material that can be simply washed away in an ultrasonic cleaning Ultrasonic cleaners, sometimes mistakenly called supersonic cleaners, are cleaning devices that use ultrasound (usually from 15-400 kHz) to clean delicate items. device. Called WaterWorks waterworks: see water supply. , this new capability from Stratasys, Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn., even permits making models with moving parts. FDM involves extruding ultrafine layers of thermoplastic A polymer material that turns to liquid when heated and becomes solid when cooled. There are more than 40 types of thermoplastics, including acrylic, polypropylene, polycarbonate and polyethylene. to build up a model. |
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