DW Product Development Uses Moldflow Software to Help Redesign Black & Decker Workmate 375.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WAYLAND, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003

Moldflow Corporation (NASDAQ: MFLO), the world leader in process wide solutions for optimizing the design and manufacture of plastic products, today announced its Moldflow Plastics Advisers(R) and Moldflow Plastics Insight(R) software products played a critical role in enabling DW Product Development to successfully redesign the Black & Decker(R) Workmate 375 by incorporating plastic injection molded components. This was a critical element in Black & Decker's ability to not only compete, but also to regain market share lost to smaller, lighter clones being produced by lower cost of labor countries. In order to answer this challenge, DW created a re-designed Workmate featuring injection-molded plastic jaws that reduced weight and increased portability.

Aldo Balatti, DW's senior design engineer, used Moldflow Plastics Advisers (MPA(R)) software to reduce trial and error, be more aggressive with part design, improve quality, and slash time to market during the product re-design. MPA was also used to determine the best injection gate locations to assure even filling and minimal warpage once the parts were removed from the mold. "We investigated the handle of the jaw as an optimal gate location," says Balatti. "The analysis proved we could eliminate knit lines and other cosmetic issues using this approach."

Once cosmetic and gate location issues were worked out, the DW designers faced another issue. "We needed to optimize the ribbing inside for structural integrity because Black & Decker requires that its products pass safety, impact, and load testing. The company guarantees that the jaws can withstand an impact of 350 pounds," noted Balatti. The DW designers believed that the part would warp upwards because the interior rib pattern was thin. "Using Moldflow Plastics Insight (MPI(R)), we performed a warpage analysis and, based on the results, we told the manufacturer that they needed to add a fixture to assure that the parts stay straight after molding," adds Balatti.

Further, because parts traditionally made of wood were replaced by injection molded ones, the design team had the flexibility to add other features into the Workmate, such as storage holes for clamping and pocket recesses to hold building or craft materials, without increasing the weight of the product.

Colin Dyke, Black & Decker's global vice-president of engineering, adds, "The Black & Decker Workmate 375 is a great example of outside suppliers working together with B&D project managers to deliver a world class product. DW's expertise in product design and CAD, and Moldflow's simulation software applied to high performance plastics resulted in a longtime B&D product line moving forward to a new level in a very short time frame."

About Moldflow Corporation

Moldflow (NASDAQ: MFLO) is the world's leading provider of software products and services that increase the speed, efficiency, quality and drive down the cost of the design and manufacture of injection molded plastic products. Companies use Moldflow's complete suite of products to address plastic part design issues at the earliest possible stage as well as to maximize productivity and profitability on the manufacturing floor. Its collaboration with academia, industry and customers around the world has led to a reputation for constant innovation in the complete design-to-manufacture process. Headquartered in Wayland, Massachusetts, Moldflow has offices and research and development centers in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific region. For more information about Moldflow visit www.moldflow.com or call 508-358-5848; fax [phone].

Note to editors: Moldflow, Moldflow Plastics Advisers, Moldflow Plastics Insight, MPI and MPA are trademarks or registered trademark of Moldflow Corporation or its subsidiaries worldwide. All other trademarks are properties of their respective holders.