Here at Opus Plastics, we utilise the latest plastic manufacturing techniques to create high-quality products via extrusion moulding for a range of industries. However, before the plastics are created through our efficient machines, a lot of planning goes into how we can produce such a fantastic end result for our clients. This blog will focus on mould flow analysis to look at the first stage of the production process and we go about beginning the complex journey of manufacturing your products.
What is Mould Flow Analysis?
Mould flow analysis is essentially a process that allows us to analyse the proposed design and ensure that the materials and shapes used will result in the best possible product. Using either a design provided by us or requirements from the customer, a digital model of the mould is constructed. This, along with the characteristics of each resin, can then predict how the resin will flow through the mould process and into the cavities, giving us a better of idea of how the final product will turn out. Several different attributes such as pressure, melt temperature and time-to-fill can be further examined and optimised to ensure a smooth manufacturing process from start to finish.
When is Mould Flow Analysis Used?
As you may have gathered from the explanation above, mould flow analysis is used before the physical tooling process takes place. This is so any technical faults or potential issues can be identified before materials, time and money are wasted on the actual product. The software has the ability to assess different outcomes by changing the variables such as temperature and pressure, helping to ensure the end result is of the finest quality possible and no resources are wasted during the production period. Here at Opus Plastics, we use this technique prior to making any product, ensuring we eliminate wasteful production and helping to save us time and ensure all orders are filled out as soon as required.