Modulpac AB needed to develop new and increasingly sophisticated injection molds and optimize material usage. SOLIDWORKS Plastics has enabled Modulpac to shorten time to market for new products by 10-15 percent while improving the overall quality of its production.
Shorter lead times for new products, accurate bidding and higher quality production; these are some of the important results of the introduction of SOLIDWORKS Plastics into the product development department at the Swedish plastics company Modulpac, which manufactures injection molded parts such as screw caps and other types of caps for bottles and cans.
Using SOLIDWORKS Plastics, Modulpac can accurately assess the cycle time of the injection molding process. Precise information on cycle time is critical to the company’s business, says development engineer Micael Svensson, Modulpac:
“We are developing a lot of new products. Previously, we were forced to guess cycle times, if we did not have a similar existing product. If we guessed wrong, we could lose business because we were too expensive or put the price too low, which would lead to a loss. With SOLIDWORKS Plastics we get an accurate calculation of the cycle time, so our sales department can offer our customers the right price.”
He points out that the precise assessment of cycle time has contributed directly to an increase in Modulpac’s sales and earnings. Another important benefit of using SOLIDWORKS Plastics is that via simulations Modulpac can minimize material consumption.
“In our business, the trend towards using less and less material and the creation of ever thinner parts with the same durability. The more complex parts make it increasingly difficult to fill the mold tools correctly,” says Micael Svensson.
Can test multiple design options
Svensson points out that the analysis tool is a great help to assess whether it will be easy or not to fill the mold tool and ensure an acceptable cooling time. Modulpac’s suppliers of molds do not typically use simulation and therefore it is a great advantage that the company can deliver this type of analysis to them.
“We are much more confident in the quality of the injection molds. Previously we easily risked getting caught up by old habits. Now we have the opportunity to test multiple design options. We also managed to reduce the time to develop new tools, because we can test different injection methods and detect any air traps without having to go through actual physical tests of the tools,” says Micael Svensson.
He also explains that it has been possible to minimize the possibility of the emergence of running marks on parts where the design of the product is crucial. For instance, this applies to items produced with a metallic finish. Modulpac has one license of SOLIDWORKS Premium and one of SOLIDWORKS Plastics.
Simulates to secure quality
In addition to designing new products in SOLIDWORKS, Micael Svensson is using SOLIDWORKS Simulation to calculate the forces it takes to open child-resistant caps, as well as to predict if the cap can withstand the loads it is exposed to during the opening process. For example, simulating the flexible portions of the part that needs to be bendable but not break during the process.
