SOLIDWORKS Plastics is a powerful injection moulding simulation software fully integrated within the SOLIDWORKS CAD environment. It enables engineers and designers to predict how melted plastic will flow during the injection moulding process, allowing for the identification and mitigation of potential manufacturing defects such as weld lines, air traps, short shots, and sink marks. By simulating the filling, packing, and cooling phases, users can optimise part and mould designs, reducing the need for costly physical prototypes and minimising time-to-market.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics offers a range of analysis capabilities, including:

• Fill Analysis: Simulates the flow of molten plastic into the mould cavity to predict potential issues like short shots and weld lines.
• Pack Analysis: Evaluates the packing phase to ensure uniform pressure distribution, reducing the likelihood of sink marks and voids.
• Cooling Analysis: Assesses the efficiency of cooling systems, helping to minimise cycle times and prevent warpage.
• Warp Analysis: Predicts part deformation due to residual stresses, enabling design adjustments to maintain dimensional accuracy.

These analyses provide comprehensive insights into the moulding process, facilitating the production of high-quality plastic parts.

By identifying potential defects and optimisation opportunities early in the design phase, SOLIDWORKS Plastics allows for:

• Reduction in Physical Prototypes: Virtual simulations decrease the need for multiple physical prototypes, saving material and labour costs.
• Optimised Cycle Times: Efficient cooling and packing analyses lead to shorter production cycles, increasing throughput.
• Material Savings: Accurate simulations help in determining the optimal amount of material required, reducing waste.

These factors contribute to a more cost-effective and streamlined manufacturing process.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics is beneficial for:

• Product Designers: To ensure that plastic parts are designed for manufacturability and meet quality standards.
• Mould Designers: To optimise mould designs, ensuring efficient filling and cooling, and reducing the risk of defects.
• Manufacturing Engineers: To validate and improve the injection moulding process, leading to higher productivity and reduced costs.

By providing actionable insights throughout the design and manufacturing stages, SOLIDWORKS Plastics enhances collaboration and product quality.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics is available in three packages:

• Plastics Standard: Geared towards part designers, it allows for analysis of plastic part manufacturability and identification of potential defects during the design phase.
• Plastics Professional: Includes all Standard features and adds tools for mould designers to analyse and optimise single and multi-cavity mould layouts, including sprues, runners, and gates.
• Plastics Premium: Builds upon Professional by incorporating advanced cooling and warp analysis capabilities, enabling comprehensive simulation of the entire moulding process.

Each package is tailored to meet the specific needs of different roles within the product development and manufacturing process.