Standard Manual for Moldflow

Neil Huang

1. Preface

The purpose of this manual is to establish a unified technical basis for moldflow analysis in

Kingfa, and to ensure that the mesh and results interpretation above a certain level. As a result,

we can provide a standard service for the global customers.

There are two main factors in moldflow analysis. The first is the preprocessing, which

determines the accuracy of the simulation. The second is the interpretation of the results, which

determines whether it can transfer the valuable information to customers through the report.

2. Preprocessing

Preprocessing contains model cleaning and meshing. Model clean is to simplify and repair

3D models and the meshing is the discretization of the 3D models. Both of them would affect the

accuracy and efficiency of analysis. So I would introduce the standards of these two parts

separately in the following chapters.

2.1 Model cleaning

Before moldflow analysis, we should clean the 3D model. It contains removing the small

characteristics which would reduce the meshing quality and repairing the model. The

characteristics that should be clean are as follows:

1、Fillet. For general components (household appliances, automobiles), all fillet R<0.5T (T is

the thickness of the product) should be removed.

2、Chamfer. All chamfer C<0.5T should be removed.

3、Holes. Holes D<3mm should be removed in large products (such as bumper, dashboard).
Holes D<2mm should be removed in medium products (such as panel, spoiler). Holes D<1mm

should be removed in small products.

4、Column. Columns D<3mm should be removed in large products (bumper, dashboard).

Columns D<2mm should be removed in medium products (panel, spoiler). Columns D<1mm

should be removed in small products.

5、Logo. The characters and Logo on the parts should be removed.

Table1 Standard of model simplification

Fillet angle Chamfer Holeφ Colume Logo Remarks
R angle C φ
Large 0.5T 0.5T 3 3 NA Bumper
products Door guard plate
Medium 0.5T 0.5T 2 2 NA Inner panel
product Sub instrument
panel
Spoiler
Small 0.5T 0.5T 1 1 NA Car lights
products Door wrenches
Glove box
Precision 0.5T 0.5T 0 0 NA Connectors
parts

2.2 Mesh standard in moldflow

There’re triangular and tetrahedral elements in moldflow. High-quality finite element

meshes guarantee the accuracy of analysis. There are 3 kinds of meshes in the moldflow software,
which are midplane mesh, dual domain mesh and 3D mesh. The thickness is assigned manually in
the midplane mesh. There are high requirements on matching ratio in dual domain mesh,
because the thickness of the dual domain mesh is automatically calculated from the distance
between the matching grids. The thickness of the edge mesh is set to 75% of the thickness of the
adjacent main body in dual domain mesh. If the difference of thickness is too big, it’ll get the
wrong thickness captured by the dual domain mesh. If the thickness of mesh is inconsistent with
the 3D model, we can try to remesh with smaller global edge length or manually assign the
thickness, but manually assigning thickness would get wrong results in cooling and warping
analysis. The acceptable quality of meshes is as follows:
Table2 How to choose mesh type?
Midplane mesh Dual domain 3D mesh example
mesh
Large products Recommend Applicable Not Applicable bumpers
Medium Applicable Recommend Not Applicable consoles
products
Small products Applicable Recommend Recommend Car headlights
Precious Not Applicable Not Applicable Recommend connector
products
Dual domain mesh and 3D mesh which one is better in small and precious part analysis
depends on the size and thickness. 3D mesh is best in ultra-thin, ultra-thick and parts with large
differences in wall thickness. 3D mesh is better too in the part whose width-thickness ratio
(width/thickness) is less than 4. It’s better to use dual domain mesh in the case that thickness
ratio (width/thickness) of the thickness section is greater than 10. Using different meshes for the
same part may give different results. Sometimes we would get different results in different kinds
of mesh. In this case, the result of the 3D mesh would prevail.
The initial mesh size would be 2/3 of the recommended size of the software (1.5 to 2 times
of thickness). If the length of the mesh is not suitable at the initial stage, it is better mesh again
after undoing mesh to avoid accumulated error caused by meshing. The following table shows
the requirements of the mesh in moldflow.
Table3 standard of mesh quality
Number Quality of mesh Midplane Dual Domain 3D
1 Free edge Depend on structure 0 0
2 Manifold edges N/A
3 Non-manifold Depend on structure 0 0
edges
4 Elements Consistency Top outside Base on Dual
orientation Domain Mesh
5 Connectivity 1 1 1
regions
6 Element 0 0 0
intersections
7 Fully overlapping 0 0 0
8 Duplicate beams 0 0 0
9 Maximum aspect Best: <6; Best: <6; Dual Domain Mesh:
ratio Acceptable: <20 Acceptable: <20 <30；
3D mesh best: <50;
3D mesh acceptable:
<500
10 Average aspect <3 <3 <3
ratio
11 Match ratio N/A Fill and N/A
Pack: >85% ；
Warp: >90%
12 Reciprocal match N/A Fill and N/A
ratio Pack: >85% ；
Warp: >90%
13 Beam element 2.5~3 except short 2.5~3 except short 2.5~3 except short
L/D ratio runners, short runners, short runners, short
cooling channels cooling channels cooling channels and
 and gates and gates gates
14 Mesh density When the thickness When the When the thickness
changes more than thickness changes changes more than
20%, 3 rows or more more than 20%, 3 20%, 3 rows or more
must be guaranteed rows or more must must be guaranteed
be guaranteed
15 Thickness reflecting product reflecting product reflecting product
thickness thickness thickness
16 Number of tetra Usually 6 layers.
layers 8 layers with glass
fiber enforced
polymer.
8~10 layers in
gas-assisted analysis
17 Inverted teras NA NA 0
18 Collapsed faces NA NA 0
19 Internal long NA NA <2.5:1
edge
20 Extremely large NA NA <20:1
volume
21 Angel between NA NA 2<angel<177
faces
PS
(1) Wall thickness change area. In regions where wall thickness changes (wall thicknesses
differ by 20%), there must be at least 3 layers mesh in order to characterize the induced/blocked
flow effect caused by wall thickness changes. In the thin-walled area of the product, if the mesh
density doesn’t meet the requirements, flow and trapped air couldn’t be accurately predicted.

Picture1 The effect of grid density on the flow

(2) Horn hole, grille.
1. The midplane mesh can directly specify the wall thickness section feature as the horn hole; the
dual domain mesh can input the equivalent wall thickness with the help of the midplane mesh.
 2. The 3D mesh can be used without modification or simplification of the model, but the mesh
should be refined to ensure that the hole is at least 6 polygons.
3. Due to the limitation of the midplane and the dual domain mesh, only the 3D mesh can
accurately predict the flow and warpage.

Picture2 The performance of different grids in the grid structure

(3) gas channels
Gas-assisted analysis is required to ensure the nodes density of gas channels. The mesh
density on both sides of the gas channels must be refined to 2 ~3 times the overall density. 3D
mesh of gas channels needs is at least 10 layers

3. Evaluation of results

There’re lots of results can in Moldflow. A significant difference between an experienced

CAE engineer and a newer is whether he or she can get the useful information from such a large
quantity of data. A problem that has plagued CAE engineers for a long time is how to determine
whether the models and materials meet the requirements of injection molding through the
analysis of the results. In the following, the correspondence between simulation results and
injection molding defects will be built, and the criteria will be provided as well.
Table4 defect and simulation result
Defect Moldflow result Suggestions for improvement Relevant results Criterion
Short shot Melt Increasing mold temperature Temperature at flow Temperature
temperature is and melt temperature front at flow front
low must be
greater than Tg
Pressure is low Only the maximum injection Pressure at injection Pressure
pressure needs to be set in location: XY plot and should be less
Moldflow. The maximum Logs than 70MPa
pressure required should be less without
 than 80% of the max pressure runners and
of the equipment. less than
110MPa with
runners
Air traps short shoot often appears in Air traps
deep ribs caused by air traps.
Insert is often used in deep ribs
for exhausting gas.
Weld line Weld angle is low The greater weld angle, the Weld line The weld line is
better the quality of weld line.. great when the
weld line angle
is greater than
120°. But the
weld line of
material with
pearl /metal
would result in
the obvious
black line
whatever the
angle of weld
line.
Temperature of The higher temperature, the Temperature at flow The difference
weld line is low better quality front， in temperature
Buck temperature between two
melt front
should less
than 10℃ and
each melt
should be 20℃
higher than the
injection
temperature.
Pressure is low The injection pressure is lower Pressure
when the weld line is forming,
the quality of weld line is better.
Frozen layer During fusion, the smaller the Frozen layer fraction
fraction is high frozen layer fraction, the better
the quality of the weld line.
Air traps Air traps on the weld line makes Air traps
it worse.
Silver streak Shear rate is too The shear rate should not Shear rate, bulk Shear rate near
Brittleness strong exceed the allowable limit of the gate should
the material. be less than
 the limit.

Temperature is The temperature should be Bulk temperature

too high below the degradation
temperature
Residence time is Residence time in barrel and The ratio of hot
too long hot runner system shouldn’t be runner volume to
too long. volume of part.
Stick mold and Volumetric Low shrinkage or even Volumetric shrinkage Volumetric
over packing shrinkage is too expansion of injection products at ejection shrinkage
low may appear due to the high should be
pressure or long holding time. greater than 0.
Special attention should be paid
on the volumetric shrinkage of
ribs.
Pressure It is caused by the flow Pressure at end of
distribution of unbalance. Over packing will fill& Pressure（XY
melt in the cause excessive local pressure plot）
cavity. and ejection difficulties.
Temperature of Insufficient cooling time leads Bulk Temperature Temperature of
part is too high to mold sticking. part should be
when remolding lower than Tg
Glass fiber rich su Mold Transient solidification of the Temperature, part;
rface temperature is melt boundary layer caused by temperature, mold
too low low mold temperature would
lead to the glass fiber rich on
surface.
Melt The higher the melt Bulk temperature,
temperature is temperature is, the easier it is temperature at flow
too low to improve the glass fiber rich front
on surface.
Shear rate is High shear rate will reduce the Shear rate, Bulk
strong compatibility between the fiber
and the polymer melt.
Volumetric Volumetric shrinkage is usually Volumetric shrinkage The volumetric
shrinkage about 3 times than linear shrinkage of
shrinkage. glass-reinforce
d should be
less than 9%.
Sink mark and Volumetric Volumetric shrinkage is usually Volumetric shrinkage The volumetric
void shrinkage about 3 times than linear shrinkage of
shrinkage. glass-reinforce
d polymer
 should be less
than 9% and
volumetric
shrinkage of
polymer
without glass
fiber should be
less than 7%.
Frozen time of Increase the dimension of gates. %shot weight: XY plot, Shot weight
gate is short Frozen layer fraction isn’t changed
shows that the
gate is frozen.
The frozen
layer fraction
equals 1 also
means the gate
is frozen.
The end of filling The polymer near the gate is Frozen layer fraction The frozen
is frozen early. frozen before the end of filling layer fraction at
the end of
filling should
be less than
0.2~0.25.
Density is small Low density part is equal to low Density（3D）
packing area with high risk of
sink mark or void.
Sink index Displayed in moldflow result Sink mark，index
directly (Suitable for T
section)
Shrinkage depth Displayed in moldflow result Sink mark，depth <0.03mm
directly (Suitable for T
section)
Stress mark Difference of Reducing the difference of Frozen layer fraction
frozen layer cooling time between bases and time to reach ejection
fraction time ribs would improve the stress temperature
mark.
Temperature The smaller the temperature Bulk temperature
gradient gradient, the less obvious the
stress marks.
Volumetric The smaller the volume Volumetric shrinkage
shrinkage shrinkage difference is, the less
obvious the stress marks are.
Residual stress The greater the residual stress Stress in first principal
difference is, the more obvious direction
 the stress marks are.
Uneven gloss Temperature at The temperature at flow front Temperature at flow The decrease
the flow front is should be close front of temperature
too low. at flow front
should be less
than 20℃. It’s
less than 10℃
would be
better
conservatively.
the increase of
temperature
should be less
than 2℃.
Shear rate is too The shear rate shall not exceed Shear rate ,bulk
strong that result the allowable limit of the
in lots of gas polymer.
Mold Mold temperature should be in Temperature ,mold
temperature is the recommended range
too low
Flash Injection The greater the pressure of the Pressure Pressure
pressure is too injection, the greater the risk of should be less
high the flash. than 70MPa
without runner
and less than
110MPa with
runners
Clamp force The required clamp force Clamp force
exceeds the max clamp force of
the injection machine would
cause flash.
Deformation of Deformation of injection platen Deformation of
injection platen exceeds the limit. injection platen
Cooling problem The difference Increasing the coolant circuit coolant The difference
between temperature and optimizing the temperature between
inlet/outlet of cooling channels design. inlet/outlet of
coolant cooling
temperature is channels
too big should be less
than 3℃
Circuit metal Insufficient cooling efficiency Circuit metal Circuit metal
temperature is temperature temperature
too high should be less
than coolant
 temperature at
inlet 2℃.
Warpage Temperature After cooling process, the Temperature, mold The difference
difference of temperature difference temperature, part of most part of
mold between each parts of the temperature profile mold should be
product should be less than less than ±
10℃, and the cooling water 10℃ for
temperature difference amorphous
between the inlet and outlet polymer and
should be less than 3℃. less than ±
5℃.
Difference of The difference of volume Volumetric shrinkage The difference
volumetric shrinkage rate should be at ejection of volume
shrinkage is big controlled within a certain shrinkage
range. should <3% for
Crystalline
material
For amorphous
materials and
glass fiber
reinforced
materials, the
standard can
be relaxed.
Difference of The difference of frozen layers Average fiber
orientation should be controlled within a orientation, fiber
certain range. orientation tensor
Flow unbalance Improving flow balance Filling time、pressure The difference
at V/P of filling time in
each parts
should be less
than 5%.
Connectivity of Warping The warpage of each material Warping
double-shot direction should be consistent so that the
interfaces can be bonded firmly.
Temperature The interface between the Temperature、Re-Melt
materials must reach a certain zone, overmolded
temperature in injecting to components
ensure that two materials
penetrate each other and
increase the bonding strength.
Gas-Assisted Blow break Gas injection is too early Filling time、skin
Molding defect polymer fraction、
polymer filled region
 （3D）
Fingering effect Bad design of gate or gas Skin polymer
channels, insufficient delay time fraction、 gas time
of gas injection and high gas （3D）
pressure all may cause fingering
effect.
Lack of Bad design of gate or gas Skin polymer
penetration channels, too much delay time fraction、gas time
of gas injection and low gas （3D）
pressure all may cause lack of
penetration.
Hesitation mark Long delay time of gas injection Fill time, average
and low gas pressure result in velocity, polymer
the melt velocity too low and filled region(3D)
temperature decreases very
much, would cause the
hesitation mark.
Cycle time Ejection time Without cooling analysis, Time to reach ejection Products can’t
(filling) ejection time can be estimated temperature(filling) be ejected
by ejection temperature. The unless over
exact result should be based on 50% of the
the analysis of cooling. melt has been
solidified.(For
thicker part,
the
solidification
fraction should
over 80% )
Ejection time On the basis of cooling analysis, Time to reach ejection Products can’t
(Cooling) the max cycle time can be get temperature(cooling) be ejected
from cooling analysis and would unless over
be considered as ejection time. 50% of the
melt has been
solidified.(For
thicker part,
the
solidification
fraction should
over 80% )