Materials

Create or assign materials to the mold part cavity using the Materials Viewer.

Location: Microdialog when designating a part cavity.

Assign Materials

Materials are assigned from the Materials Database when the mold cavity is designated.

  1. Use the Designate Part Cavity or the Auto Configure Components tool to indentify the part cavity.
  2. Use the microdialog options to define the material type, polymer and temperature.
    Option Description Note
    Click the Materials Viewer to examine the material's thermal, rhealogical, mechanical, PVT and fiber properties. You can use the Material Viewer to modify an existing material, save it with a new name, and access it from the My Materials tab.
    Select a material type.  
    Select from common polymers of your chosen material type.  
    Enter the temperature of the material.  

Create Materials

Customize a material and add it to My Materials.

  1. Use the Designate Part Cavity or the Auto Configure Components tool to indentify the part cavity.
  2. Select the Materials Viewer icon in the microdialog.
    The Materials Viewer dialog appears.
  3. On the Materials Database tab, click Edit.
    The editing operation moves you into the My Materials tab.
  4. Edit Thermal, Rhealogical, Mechanical, PVT or Fiber properties.
  5. Enter a New Material Name at the bottom of the dialog and click Save.
    Your customized material can be accessed through the My Materials tab for future use.
  6. Click Select to apply the new material to your model.

Add Fibers to Materials

Customize a material to include fibers and fiber orientation data.

The default materials in the Materials Database do not include fiber orientation data. To produce simulation results that include fiber orientation data, you must customize a material and define the fiber properties in the My Materials tab of the Materials Viewer. The Material Viewer is accessible from the microdialog when designating a part cavity.
  1. Use the Designate Part Cavity or the Auto Configure Components tool to indentify the part cavity.
  2. Select the Materials Viewer icon in the microdialog.
  3. Select a Material Group and a Material name, then click Edit.
  4. On the My Materials tab, select Rheological > Fiber Info > Fibers.
  5. Modify the fiber properties as required, enter a name for the new material, and select Save.

Material Properties

The thermal, rheological, mechanical and PVT properties for materials are accessible from the Materials Viewer on the Materials Database tab.

Materials Database

The Materials Database tab provides the selection of materials available with Inspire Mold. The tab also provides access to the thermal, rheological, mechanical and PVT properties that you can review and modify for your model. Any modifications to materials are saved as new materials and accessed through the My Materials tab.

Select a material with these options:

Option Description
Material Group Provides of list of common materials available in the Materials Database.
Material Name Provides a list of common polymers of the chosen material.

Thermal Properties

Review the properties on the Thermal tab for the specified material:

Option Description
Specific Heat Specifies the heat energy required to increase the temperature of a unit quantity (J/Kg·K).
Conductivity Specifies the heat conductivity of the material (W/m·K).
Density Specifies the density of the material (kg/m3).

Rhealogical Properties

Review the properties on the Rhealogical tab for the specified material:

Option Description
Constitutive Model Four models are included in the Materials Database. Select the model appropriate for your material choice. Review the Exponent, Consistency and Relative Shear Stress for your chosen model.
  • Carreau-Yasuda
  • Modified Cross Model
  • Herschel-Bulkley
  • Power Law
Find more information on Rheological Properties in the PDF: Materials Example and Reference.
Temperature Dependence Review the Williams-Landel-Ferry and temperature parameters:
  • WLF Constant C1
  • WLF Constant C2
  • Glass Transition Temperature
Miscellaneous Review these parameters:
  • Reference Temperature (K)
  • No Flow Temperature: Temperature at which the material stops flowing. Generally, this is the Glass Transition temperature (Tg).
  • Minimum Strain Rate Limit: Maximum shear rate for which the data is considered valid.
  • Air Density: Assumed density of the air being displaced in the mold during filling (kg/m3).
Fiber Info Review the fiber content for the specified material including:
  • Percentage of fiber in the melt by weight.
  • Average diameter of the fiber at inlet.
  • Maximum length of the fiber at inlet.
  • Minimum length of the fiber at inlet.
Note: Some materials do not include fiber orientation data. To add this data, edit an existing material and save it as a new material in the My Materials tab.

Mechanical Properties

Review the properties on the Mechanical tab for the specified material:

Option Description
Young's Modulus Specifies the measure of the stiffness of the given material (Pa).
Poisson Ratio Specifies the ratio of the relative contraction strain or transverse strain.
Yield Stress Specifies the stress point at which the material deformation changes from elastic to plastic (Pa).
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Specifies the relative expansion divided by the change in temperature (1/K).

PVT Properties

Review the properties on the PVT tab for the specified material:

Option Description
Tait's Model Parameters Specifies the parameters to define a material's equation of state according to Tait's model (SI units).

Example Exercise and Reference

Learn about material properties and walk through the steps to modify an existing material and save it as a new material.

The following PDF shows you how fitting data and material properties can be applied to create materials in Inspire Mold. An exercise at the end provides you with the material properties with which you can modify an existing material into a new material known as Vydyne R543H BK02, a popular material made by Ascend Polymers.

Materials Example and Reference