Described herein is a computer-implemented method for simulating a filling process of a mold cavity in an injection molding process using a plastic material, the method including: i) discretizing at least a part of the mold cavity into a plurality of cells; ii) defining a cavity injection point; iii) determining a surface normal direction perpendicular to the nearest cavity sur-face for each cell; iv) determining a cell coordinate system for each cell, defined by a first principal direction parallel to a flow direction, a third principal direction parallel to the normal direction, and a second principal direction perpendicular to the first and third principal directions; and v) determining the flow direction of a mold flow for each cell.

A method of detecting and compensating for a non-operational mold cavity in an injection molding apparatus having a plurality of mold cavities and an injection molding screw or ram includes injecting, via the injection molding screw or ram, a molten thermoplastic material into the plurality of mold cavities. The method includes measuring a first process parameter of the injection molding apparatus at a pre-determined time during or after the injecting. The method also includes determining, based on the first process parameter, whether one or more mold cavities of the plurality of mold cavities are non-operational. Then, when it is determined that one or more mold cavities are non-operational, the method includes automatically adjusting the first process parameter or a second process parameter of the injection molding apparatus.

A software-implemented method is described for processing results of a simulation carried out with finite element analysis software, the software being adapted to simulate a filling process of a molded piece in a mold by a molten material injected into it, wherein: results are taken from a file of simulation results, a computer Database containing technical specifications of injection molding machines is accessed and a search is performed in the Database comparing the results read from the file with technical specifications stored in the Database and associated with each press to determine whether or not one or each press of the Database is able to perform the process.

A method of detecting and compensating for a non-operational mold cavity in an injection molding apparatus having a plurality of mold cavities and an injection molding screw or ram includes injecting, via the injection molding screw or ram, a molten thermoplastic material into the plurality of mold cavities. The method includes measuring a first process parameter of the injection molding apparatus at a pre-determined time during or after the injecting. The method also includes determining, based on the first process parameter, whether one or more mold cavities of the plurality of mold cavities are non-operational. Then, when it is determined that one or more mold cavities are non-operational, the method includes automatically adjusting the first process parameter or a second process parameter of the injection molding apparatus.

Provided are molds for polar anisotropic ring-shaped bonded magnet molded articles which enable the production of bonded magnet molded articles with a high degree of roundness and only slight distortion, without the need for mold modification and preparation of a test mold, and a method of preparing such molds. The present invention relates to a method of preparing a mold for a polar anisotropic ring-shaped bonded magnet molded article, the method including: 1) determining the shrinkage length (Tc) of a desired polar anisotropic ring-shaped bonded magnet molded article using the following equation: Tc=T×(α1/100−α2/100); 2) determining the radius (Dm) of a magnetic pole portion of a mold cavity using the following equation: Dm=D/(1−α2/100); and 3) defining the outer peripheral shape of the mold cavity from the Tc, the Dm, and the number (P) of magnetic poles of the molded article.

A method for determining optimized shape data representing a shape of a molded workpiece formed from a molded material or/and a mold cavity of a molding tool, wherein the molded material hardens depending on at least one solidification parameter, the method including: a) providing shape data representing a shape of the workpiece or/and cavity, b) providing material data representing the molded material, c) providing molding process data representing the molding process, d) providing tool data representing the tool embodying the cavity, e) determining predictive shape data based on initial model data comprising the at least one solidification parameter and data provided in steps a), b), c), and d) simulating the molding process, f) generating optimized predictive shape data as the optimized shape data based on at least predictive shape data determined in step e) and based on first initial AI data comprising the at least one solidification parameter and data provided in steps a, b), c), and d), by means of an artificial neural simulation optimization network trained to optimize predictive shape data.

Systems and approaches for controlling an injection molding machine and a mold forming a mold cavity and being controlled according to an injection cycle. The systems and methods include analyzing a model of at least one of the injection molding machine, the mold, and a molten material to determine initial values for one or more control parameters of the injection molding machine, and executing a run of injection cycles at the injection molding machine; measuring operation of the injection molding machine during a particular injection cycle of the run of injection cycles; determining one or more operational parameters exceed a threshold; and upon determining that the one or more operational parameters exceed the threshold, adjusting the one or more control parameters for subsequent injection cycles of the run of injection cycles.

A measuring apparatus of bulk viscosity includes a temperature-controlling cylinder having a test chamber for holding a molding material and at least one piston configured to seal an opening of the temperature-controlling cylinder. The temperature-controlling cylinder and the at least one piston are configured for measuring pressures, specific volumes and temperatures (PVT) of the molding material by applying a plurality of cooling rates to the molding material inside the testing chamber under an isobaric environment, or applying a plurality of mechanical pressures to the molding material inside the testing chamber under an isothermal environment. The measuring apparatus further includes a process module configured for deriving a plurality of parameters in relation to the pressures, specific volumes and temperatures (PVT) of the molding material based on the measurement; deriving an equilibrium pressure based on the plurality of parameters obtained from a first slowest cooling rate among the plurality of cooling rates.

Systems and approaches for controlling an injection molding machine and a mold forming a mold cavity and being controlled according to an injection cycle. The systems and methods include analyzing a model of at least one of the injection molding machine, the mold, and a molten material to determine initial values for one or more control parameters of the injection molding machine, and executing a run of injection cycles at the injection molding machine; measuring operation of the injection molding machine during a particular injection cycle of the run of injection cycles; determining one or more operational parameters exceed a threshold; and upon determining that the one or more operational parameters exceed the threshold, adjusting the one or more control parameters for subsequent injection cycles of the run of injection cycles.

A system for setting injection-molding conditions and a method for setting actual molding conditions of an injection-molding machine are disclosed. The system includes a computer and an injection-molding equipment. The computer is configured to simulate, via computer-aided simulation software, a virtual molding using a plurality of design parameters to generate a plurality of provisional molding conditions. The injection-molding equipment is associated with the computer and configured to perform at least one trial molding using the provisional molding conditions to obtain a plurality of intermediate molding conditions. The computer optimizes the provisional molding conditions to obtain actual molding conditions in accordance with the intermediate molding conditions.