by Kristina Drake
Actionable insights you can use to improve mold performance and profitability
Cycle times and part quality drive everything in the injection molding space: brand reputation, client satisfaction, profitability…all of the business outputs that matter. The complexity of modern plastic injection molded parts introduce big risks into mold design and production because the priorities — speed and quality — tend to pull in different directions.
Front-end simulation helps mold designers and molders create high-performing and profitable molds.
Your free guide to achieving better mold designs with front-end mold simulation
This free 12-page guide lays out 3 ways you can improve performance and profitability.
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Rapid simulation in-house streamlines the design process and improves collaboration so that mold design project managers can more easily meet the exacting requirements of molders and end customers. At the same time, simulations get out in front of mistakes and save money by minimizing the need for costly design iterations.
Early predictions give molders a much better idea of actual cycle times, which are perhaps the key determinant of both production cost and quality, so cost estimates are more accurate. They’re also better able to meet short development times, even for complex molds, while remaining competitive.
Why earlier mold simulation is a high-leverage change
Every mold design team faces pressure to deliver tools that perform well in production. On the flip side, there’s pressure to avoid racking up costs with excessive rework or delays. Warpage and shrinkage deformations (the most common problem associated with PIM processes) are often only discovered after the mold has been cut. When cooling performance is not properly validated until late in the process (or not at all), those teams are left to make critical decisions based on gut feel. And mold designers relying on intuition is a common story.
Mold shops can disrupt that narrative with visibility into key performance indicators like safe ejection time and cooling uniformity at the part design stage or mold design stage. That front-end thermal simulation grounds everything in data and prevents backtracking. Everything is carefully considered before the design is even finished and before any steel has been cut. This early visibility prevents common pitfalls that lead to scrap, cycle-time misses, and costly tool modifications.
In short: mold cooling simulation at the front of the process — with a purpose-built injection molding simulation software — means fewer surprises at the back.
What mold project managers gain
Mold project managers are in a tough spot from the get-go. They’re responsible for making sure mold designs meet the exacting requirements of both the molder (manufacturability) and the end customer (speed, quality, profitability). They must also ensure that the design team works with skill and efficiency at the front end of everything to remain profitable.
The improved collaboration and streamlined design process that comes from rapid in-house mold simulations of model performance may be the best way to thread the needle. Simulations before delivering the design to the molder effectively vet designs early and minimize physical design iterations by getting it right the first time.
Front-end simulation also creates better alignment between cross-functional teams. Stakeholders used to relying on lengthy email chains or late-stage tooling trials can instead review thermal simulation results — such as heat maps, cooling time graphs, and part temperature predictions — together. That prevents miscommunication and accelerates decision-making with a shared understanding of design intent and limitations.
In the end, project managers achieve shorter timelines and see a lower volume of change orders. Everyone’s happy when there are fewer late-game compromises that put margins at risk.
What molders gain
Molders have challenges, too. They’ve got to maintain productivity and profitability amidst unreliable financial forecasts and a global network of suppliers. It’s not easy to meet ever-shorter development times and get more complex molds for more complex plastic parts in production as quickly as possible. It’s even harder to remain competitive despite challenges in the labor force as a result of increasing retirement.
Where is a molder to go from that baseline? Let’s start by essentializing the priorities: Cycle time is a key determinant of the product cost; temperature uniformity is a key determinant of product quality. Even so, molders must generally commit to a price first, without all the necessary information about thermal performance and its impact on quality.
The best way to inject much-needed confidence into the mold production process is front-end simulation for early cycle-time and product quality prediction.
Software simulations help molders avoid one of the most common pain points: quoting a part based on assumptions, only to discover post-tooling that cycle times are 15-20% longer than estimated. That variance can destroy profitability.
An early approach to simulation validates molders’ assumptions at the beginning. They can easily (and quickly) run “what if” scenarios to test the impact of cooling strategies or design changes, then feel confident that they can hit their quoted numbers. The improved communication with customers and toolmakers is welcome, too. Concrete, visual data to support design or process decisions gives their partners peace of mind.
Get the guide — and get ahead
The teams that use front-end simulator software today are already seeing measurable gains in quote accuracy, cycle-time performance, and first-shot success. Molders and project managers deliver better results and fewer delays with these intuitive tools — and win more repeat business because of it.
Don’t leave mold performance up to chance. Download the 12-page guide to see how front-end simulation can improve your next project.
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