About Process Conditions
You must set the following process conditions before performing an analysis:
• Filling time—The time required to fill the cavity with the plastic melt. If you increase the filling time, the flow rate and injection pressure decreases.
• Melt temperature—The temperature of the plastic melt when it is injected from the gate. A high melt temperature increases the mobility but the melt requires more time to cool down to the ejection temperature.
• Mold temperature—The mold temperature is the temperature of the mold halves. In injection molding, the mold temperature is kept lower than the melt temperature. This helps the cavity surface to solidify when the plastic melt reaches the cavity wall.
• Maximum injection pressure—The maximum injection pressure is the maximum pressure that the machine can provide. A low maximum injection pressure would increase the chance of short shot.
If you are using a customized material, you must provide a value or use default values for the following process conditions:
• Ejection temperature—This value is crucial to estimate the cooling time. The ejection temperature should be higher than mold temperature, below which the plastic is a solid. According to the cooling mechanism, heat is transferred continuously until the temperature is equal to the ejection temperature and then the molded part is ejected. The part should be stiff enough to resist the local forces on the part from the ejection system for a successful ejection.
• Freeze temperature—The temperature at which molten plastic turns into a solid part. It is a physical property and differs for various materials.