About the Mold Simulation Options

The Mold simulation predicts the temperature distribution within the mold and how these temperatures change. The effects of the mold's cooling system can be investigated, and the process cycle time can be determined automatically based on the ejection temperature of your material.

See Also
Setting up the Mold Simulation
Defining a Mold Wall Temperature
Specifying the Virtual Mold Size

Temperature results from the Mold simulation are used as mold cavity wall conditions in the subsequent Fill and Pack simulations, overriding any other temperature data you have specified. If you decide to skip the Mold simulation, mold wall temperatures used in the Fill and Pack simulations are given by any mold wall temperature conditions that you have defined; otherwise, the default mold temperature is used. If you later decide to run the Mold simulation, you will need to rerun the Fill and Pack simulations to take advantage of the new Mold simulation temperature results. See About the Mold, Fill, and Pack Steps for more information on how these simulations depend on each other.

You can control the following aspects of the Mold simulation:

  • The control method, which determines the process cycle time during which the mold is closed. Temperature specifies that the mold remains closed until the ejection temperature is reached. Time specifies that the mold remains closed for the specified time.
  • The mold open time, which specifies the duration of time that the mold is open. The Mold open time represents the time needed for opening the mold, ejecting the part, performing any additional operations while the mold is open and closing the mold. During this time the temperature continues to change as the cavity is exposed to air and coolant continues to circulate through the tool. To include these cooling effects, the Mold simulation considers the entire cycle, including mold closed and mold open time.
  • The ambient air temperature.