Process optimisation through alignment between injection moulding simulation and production

Together with Autodesk Moldflow, we close the gap between the digital twin of the mould and the real injection moulding process with sim link.

The aim of sim link is to link simulation and the real process in order to provide plastics processors with even better support throughout the entire product life cycle - from product development and mould design to ongoing production. Process optimisation in production is achieved by means of appropriate injection moulding simulation and the resulting data.

Here is an overview of the advantages of our sim link data interface:

• Increases the quality of the simulation
• Direct data transfer between simulation and production
• Creates connection without uploading risky data
• Reduces the duration of the start-up phase
• Enables automated data continuity between simulation and production

Findings from the simulation of injection moulding processes often remain unused on the machine. With ENGEL sim link, the parameters determined from the simulation can now be transferred to a setting data set and used directly on the injection moulding machine. The values transferred from the simulation are converted into setting parameters for use on the injection moulding machine and checked. This initial setting suggestion can be used immediately on the machine and makes a significant contribution to reducing the optimisation iterations on the machine. This eliminates the time-consuming conversion and error-prone manual transfer of the simulation data to the machine - and sim link delivers setting parameters that are optimally adapted for the corresponding machine.

In addition, sim link offers the option of taking into account the machine dynamics of the machine selected for production in order to achieve a more realistic result from the simulation. Conversely, thanks to sim link, process parameters and measurement results from the injection moulding machine can now also be imported into Autodesk Moldflow.

This makes it possible to compare the values calculated in the simulation with the results from the production process and significantly supports the development of know-how.