Plastic Injection Materials

Plastic injection materials can be selected from a searchable material database or created by manually entering material property data.

This page discusses:

Plastics Material Database

The material briefcase DS-InjectionMolding.3dxml contains definitions of over 3000 polymer materials. Each material in the briefcase contains the word Plastics in its material family name, followed by the polymer family name abbreviation in parenthesis. For example, all polypropylene materials use a material family name Plastics (PP). Materials for use with coolant parts appear as Plastics (Coolant), and materials for use with the virtual mold appear as Plastics (Mold).

Requirements for New Plastic Injection Materials

If none of the materials in the material briefcase suit your needs, you can create your own material. The material you create must include a specific set of behaviors in its simulation domain, depending on how you want to use the material in the simulation.

Polymer Materials

A material representing the polymer that fills the cavity part must have the following defined in its Simulation Domain options:

  • Injection Molding: Characteristic Temperature, Plastic Viscosity, PVT
  • Thermal: Conductivity, Specific Heat

Definition of the Injection Molding Fiber Reinforcement is optional. For a simpler material behavior, you can define Density instead of PVT, and Fluid Viscosity instead of Plastic Viscosity.

Coolant Materials

A material representing the coolant flowing in a coolant part must have the following defined in its Simulation Domain options:

  • Density
  • Fluid: Viscosity
  • Thermal: Conductivity, Specific Heat

Virtual Mold Materials

A material representing the virtual mold must have the following defined in its Simulation Domain options:

  • Density
  • Thermal: Conductivity, Specific Heat

Powder Metal Materials

A material representing the powder metal in a powder metal injection molding (PIM) simulation must have the following defined in its Simulation Domain options:

  • Density
  • Injection molding: Metal Particle
  • Thermal: Conductivity, Specific Heat

Thermoset Materials

A thermoset material must have the following defined in its Simulation Domain options:

  • Density
  • Curing model
  • Macosko model of plastic viscosity