Abstract: A method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, the machine for manufacturing injection molded parts and including an injection screw and a configurable injection velocity, including the steps of: manufacturing one of more parts with the machine; determining an injection pressure profile by measuring injection pressure as a function of elapsed injection time with the machine configured with a substantially constant, desired injection velocity; measuring injection velocity as a function of elapsed injection time and determining a profile of the measured injection velocity; defining a mean pressure profile from the pressure profile in a regime of substantially constant measured injection velocity profile; adjusting the velocity profile over at least a portion of an injection velocity phase in response to the pressure profile to reduce differences between the pressure profile and the mean pressure profile, thereby tending to lessen irregularities in the pressure profile.

Abstract: A method for the automated setting-up of an injection molding machine, the machine for manufacturing injection molded parts and including an injection screw and a configurable injection velocity, including the steps of: manufacturing one of more parts with the machine; determining an injection pressure profile by measuring injection pressure as a function of elapsed injection time with the machine configured with a substantially constant, desired injection velocity; measuring injection velocity as a function of elapsed injection time and determining a profile of the measured injection velocity; defining a mean pressure profile from the pressure profile in a regime of substantially constant measured injection velocity profile; adjusting the velocity profile over at least a portion of an injection velocity phase in response to the pressure profile to reduce differences between the pressure profile and the mean pressure profile, thereby tending to lessen irregularities in the pressure profile.

Abstract: A method for the automated optimization of an injection molding machine set-up process comprising injection molding one or more parts, inspecting the parts for defects, adjusting the injection stroke and/or the injection velocity and repeating the process until the defects are reduced. There is also disclosed a method comprising injection molding one or more parts, determining a mean injection pressure profile by measuring the injection pressure with the machine configured with a constant, desired injection velocity. Then the velocity profile is adjusted to reduce differences between the measured pressure and the mean pressure profile. A further method is disclosed wherein the kickback is calculated and adjusted from screw displacement, packing/holding time and pressure. Also disclosed is a method comprising injection molding one or more parts then determining the gate freeze time by incrementing the holding time and measuring the screw displacement.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for analyzing the structural response of an object having an outer surface comprising a plurality of surface portions, the method including: forming a three dimensional model of said object, said model comprising a surface mesh representative of said outer surface and comprising a plurality of eccentric shell elements, wherein each of said elements is defined by a plurality of nodes on said surface and each of said nodes has one or more degrees of freedom; assigning to each of said elements a thickness indicative of half of the thickness of said object at said respective element; defining, for each of said elements, a reference surface that includes the nodes of said respective element and that is coincident with said surface mesh at said respective element; for a pair of opposed portions of said surface, establishing a constraining relationship between said degrees of freedom of each of said nodes on the first of said opposed portions and said degrees of

Abstract: A method is provided for simulating fluid flow within a three dimensional object having first and second generally opposed surfaces. The method includes: matching each element of the first surface with an element of the second surface between which a reasonable thickness may be defined, wherein matched elements of the first surface constitute a first set of matched elements and matched elements of the second surface constitute a second set of matched elements, specifying a fluid injection point, and performing a flow analysis using each set of the matched elements. In this way, the injection point is linked to all locations on the first and second surfaces from which flow may emanate such that resulting flow fronts along the first and second surfaces are synchronized.

Abstract: An optimizing injection moulding machine. The injection moulding machine produces articles in discrete shots. For each shot the gradient or time rate of change of an actual plastic flow characteristic is measured by a sensor mounted in the nozzle of the machine and provided to a data processing device. The gradient of a reference plastic flow characteristic is also provided to the data processing device. A comparison is made between the gradient of the reference plastic flow characteristic and the gradient of the measured plastic flow characteristic from an immediately preceding shot to derive a compensated ram displacement characteristic which is inputted to a process controller. A further shot is performed, and the process repeated with the subsequent measured plastic flow characteristic until a time that an optimized ram displacement characteristic is obtained, thereby improving article part quality and saving on materials and fabrication time.