Modern, integrated approach to simulation-driven design for manufacturing (DFM) of injection molded components to reduce costs and delays
Altair has launched the Altair Inspire Mold, a revolutionary, end-to-end solution for simulating injection molding. For the first time, Inspire Mold brings Altair’s core philosophies of simulation-driven design and democratization of simulation to this US$ 250 billion manufacturing sector. Injection molded plastic components play a critical role in a vast array of applications from toys and consumer electronics to high-performance, load-bearing components in sectors like aerospace and automotive.
Inspire Mold offers engineers fast, highly capable tools with unrivalled solver performance and unprecedented opportunities to make better design decisions earlier, reduce costs, speed time-to-market and optimise the quality and manufacturability of finished parts.
“Inspire Mold embodies everything we believe simulation should be. It puts designers and engineers firmly in control of faster, more intelligent, and intuitive evaluation of injection molded plastic parts,” said James Dagg, chief technical officer, Altair. “Inspire Mold reduces the costs and delays traditionally found in the slow and laborious processing of design iterations, as well as the building and reworking of prototype molds.”
Manufacturability of new components can now be evaluated at the outset of the development process and the risk of defects such as warping, sink marks, and short shots are mitigated before any costly investments are made in molds. Design iterations are completed faster, and fewer are needed before an optimal solution is identified. Scrap, tooling, and rework costs are slashed, and there are no requirements for specialized, GPU-computing hardware.
Other key features of Inspire Mold include:
- Optimised user experience – product designers and engineers can easily conduct virtual testing, validation, correction and optimisation of molding designs via an intuitive, five-step workflow.
- Fast, next-generation 3D technology – experimental approximations of traditional 2.5D solvers are eliminated. Support for advanced physics empowers advanced and novice users with deeper insights and understanding.
- Access to materials data – data for 60 materials are embedded in Inspire Mold and the Altair Material Data Center (MDC) will soon be integrated, allowing MDC license holders direct, immediate access to reliable, high-quality material data.
- Comprehensive end-to-end solution – technology stretches from initial design through to material mapping of reinforced engineering polymers, analysing and optimising the structural and fatigue performance of complex parts.
Inspire Mold joins Altair’s existing Inspire manufacturing simulation offerings including casting, forming, mold-filling, extrusion, and additive manufacturing.
