2.5.1. Mould Features

Purpose

In this section, the physical and mechanical properties of the mould are defined. These data are crucial for the solver to calculate thermal inertia and the heat transfer to the material.

Mould Features Icon Access: You can access this window by clicking the Mould Features icon in the main toolbar or go to Data -> Mould Data -> Mould features.

1. Mould Material

Select the material of your mould to load its specific thermal properties (conductivity and specific heat):

  • Aluminum casting / Aluminum alloy
  • Sheet steel / Sheet stainless steel

2. Wall Thickness

Enter the nominal wall thickness of the mould in millimeters.

Note: If the mould has areas with significantly different thicknesses, these must be defined later in the Special Thicknesses section.

Thickness Constraints: The solver monitors thickness ranges. Values slightly out of range trigger a Warning in the Log, while extreme values will Abort the simulation to prevent errors.

3. Vents Configuration

Vents quantity
Total number of vent pipes installed in the mould.
Vents diameter (mm)
Internal diameter of the vent pipes. If no vent is present, enter 0.
Internal Pressure & Structural Risk: Entering a diameter of "0" will generate a critical warning.
  • Heating Stage: Internal pressure increases, putting the structural integrity of the mould at risk.
  • Cooling Stage: Negative pressure (vacuum) may occur, affecting part quality by causing excessive warpage.
Pressure fluctuations also affect the internal air temperature; both can be monitored in the XY Process Graphs.
Mould Features Window Figure 1: Mould Features configuration window.