Farmington Hills, Michigan – Moldex3D has introduced a computer-aided simulation system for polyurethane foaming. The aim is to enable users to understand polyurethane's dynamic behaviour during the mould filling process, and thus optimise product design.
Although PU foam has many advantages such as mouldability, long lifetime and light weight, there are processing challenges involved in the manufacture of automotive parts, Moldex3D said. The location of the foam within the part is not easy to access, the company claims, and a large amount of wasted PU material is generated at overflow during the foaming process. Excess material needs to be reduced or recycled.
Moldex3D has extended its microcellular injection moulding analysis from thermoplastic to thermosetting materials in the latest release of its computer-aided engineering (CAE) simulation package. The system can also simulate the kinetics of the foaming process in the manufacture of PU foam products.
