The digital shadow is the core concept of the Cluster of Excellence “Internet of Production” at RWTH Aachen University. It represents the data trace of an asset to describe its real behavior. In the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 (PIC 4.0), digital shadows, e.g. the data trace of a sensor, are used to optimize processes taking into account real behavior and to determine simulation quality.

The construction of the PIC 4.0 proceeds and throws its shadow on the Campus Melaten.

16:9

Part 7 of the Series: How the Digital Shadow Enlightens Real Processes in the PIC 4.0

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Sensorik für Kunststoff-Verarbeitungsmaschinen

Industrie 4.0

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Spritzgießsimulation

Software

Simulation

Digitaler Zwilling

Out of the Shadow into the Light

The resource-economical determination of an optimized operating point in injection molding is still a challenge. Machine learning offers great potential for re-using knowledge from a flow simulation that has already been generated.

Significant reduction of the effort for determining the optimum operating point by machine learning

Machine Learning: Combining Simulation and Experimental Test Data

DOE-Software

Qualitätsmethoden

Quicker Evaluation of the Optimum Operating Point

Cost risks and the loss of knowledge threatened by demographic change, form a scenario for the toolmaking industry for which automated tool design could be a conceivable way out.

Partial automation of the demolding system represents an important step towards complete automation of injection mold design.

Automated Design of the Demolding Systems of Injection Molds

Werkzeugkonstruktion

Dienstleistungen

Werkzeug-, Formen- und Modellbau

Künstliche Intelligenz für die Qualitätssicherung

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Machine Learning

Datenanalyse

Analysetools, FEM

Machine Learning für die Qualitätssicherung

Anticipation of a Larger  System Landscape

The multitude of software applications often requires the handling of information in different data formats. It is not uncommon for information to be lost in the process, which is why PIC 4.0 is researching methods for implementing continuous simulation chains.

Stages of an exemplary product development process for a load-balanced saddle equipped with different tapes

Part 6 of the Series: How a Web-Based Interface Supports Data-Handling

Virtual Reality für die Qualitätssicherung

User-Friendly Data-Exchange in the Digital Engineering

Over past months, many in-house workflows and development processes have slowed down and also changed. Nevertheless, time has not stood still, also not in injection molding technology. The debate and development have been shaped by two themes: digitalization and the circular economy. Below are some examples of developments and projects that underpin this trend.

Two displays are seamlessly integrated into the continuously 3D-formed instrument panel

Innovative Injection Molding in Times of Pandemic

Schaumspritzgießen

Steuern, Regeln

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Folientechnik (IMD, IML, FIM, u.a.)

Biokunststoffe

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Nachhaltigkeit

Umweltmanagement

Schnecken und Plastifiziersysteme

Spritzgießmaschinen

Machine Learning / Künstliche Intelligenz für die spanende Fertigung

Industrie 4.0 für die spanende Fertigung

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Lasermarkieren

Oberflächentechnik

Laserbearbeitungen

Inline- / Online-Messsysteme

Qualitätssicherung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Kreislaufwirtschaft

There Is More beyond the Horizon

Guido Frohnhaus has been Managing Director Technology & Engineering at Arburg for a good two years now. The pandemic restrictions meant that he has made very few appearances outside the company so far, but, as he says himself, he spent the time getting to know the in-house processes at all levels and in great detail. In this interview with Kunststoffe, the 52-year-old talks about the course he plans to set and how crucial the high level of in-house manufacturing and programming expertise is for the company’s independence.

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

“Gestica Will Be the Fixed Star in the Customer’s Universe”

The central control unit of the injection-molding machine is used by the machine operator for control, regulation and optimization of the entire production process. In order to directly integrate external systems as well as proprietary solutions that do not have a standardized interface, Engel uses a technology that is already widespread in day-to-day routine. Via a browser, the new Webviewer can be reliably integrated into the CC300 control panel of the injection-molding machines.

The Webviewer in the machine control system integrates not only ancillary equipment  with web interfaces, but also data from internal and external systems that are accessible via browsers. 

New Webviewer Merges Web and Control Applications

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

Automatisierungstechnik

Bedienterminals

Computer Hardware

Central Control Unit Makes Use  of Web Technology

 At KraussMaffei’s booth, automotive door modules are produced from former caps of insulin pens. The system supplier is presenting not only the machine hardware necessary for this but also new digital solutions.

Digital solutions are an essential component of the material loop from the insulin pen cap to the car door module.

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

kunststoffe.de

Energieeffizienz

Medizinprodukte

Medizintechnik

From the Insulin Pen Cap to the Automotive Door Module

In the conception of functionally integrated and injection molding-appropriate designs, SimpaTec supports the company with up-to-date simulation expertise.

Flooded with water: the new generation of e-bike frames is manufactured by the WAIM process.

Holistic Product Development of a Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Bicycle Frame

Kohlenstofffasern / -matten

Verstärkungsstoffe

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Drop by Drop

The injection molding machine manufacturer Arburg and the simulation software supplier Simcon presented the first filling simulation directly on the injection molding machine three years ago.

The new tool works on any Arburg injection molding machine with Gestica control.

Exclusive Interview with Werner Faulhaber of Arburg and Paul Filz of Simcon

“We Tear down Walls”

After the focus was on individual manufacturing and model-supported process set-up in recent years, the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University is linking the two aspects of digitalization and circular economy at K 2022.

The QR code on the PCR component provides project information and process data.

Werkzeuginnendrucksensoren

Messtechnik

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Precise Process Control with Injectix

We look behind the cavity walls and along the data cable at what hot runner technology now offers in terms of mechanical, electronic and digital expertise.

The smart Control monitoring unit permits integrated monitoring of the injection molding production cell, including the mold, hot runner system and all ancillary components. The “Luer connector” application case was on show at K 2022.

State-of-the-Art Injection Molding Solutions at K 2022: Hot Runner Technology

Mikrospritzgießen

Normalien und Heißkanaltechnik

Komponenten für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Mess-, Steuer- und Regelgeräte

Temperaturregler

Heißkanalsysteme

Additive Fertigung

Everything under Control

The interplay between the physical and virtual process chain permits the fully automatic production of FRP-metal hybrid parts every minute.

Virtualization offers great potential for better understanding of complex manufacturing processes for hybrid parts and shortening development times. The digital twin, in combination with the recorded process parameters of the physical process chain, is intended as an efficient tool for virtual design and optimization for future hybrid processes.

From Simulation to Mass Production of Hybrid Parts

Inserttechnik

Leichtbau

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Organobleche (gewebeverstärkte Thermoplast-Halbzeuge)

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

With an Automated Process Chain  and a Digital Twin

Arburg has now packed numerous digital services into an app for smartphones and tablets. Among them: assistance in saving energy.

Via the customer portal, the individual apps – from the Arburg host computer system (ALS) to the ordering function – can also be operated using a smartphone.

Review of the Arburg Anniversary Days from March 8 to 11, 2023

Hydraulik-Komponenten

Maschinenelemente

Elektrische Antriebe für Spritzgießmaschinen

Antriebe

Elektrische Antriebe

A Machine Park in the Pocket

Engel is extending the service scope of its online support and remote maintenance offering to include live video transmission. Some three quarters of all urgent service cases can be resolved remotely in this way. Troubleshooting times are reduced by 70 percent, Engel says.

Online support by means of video telephony: a smartphone and an internet connection are all it takes. The machine operator can optionally use a tablet or AR glasses on site at the machine

Fernwartung / Ferndiagnose

Instandhaltung

Engel Offers Faster Support in Service Cases

Talking about the Digitalization  of Digitalization

The SimpaTec Usermeeting 2023 in Nuremberg, Germany, on February 28 and March 1 had practically oriented technical presentations from the circle of Moldex3D users as well as the introduction of product-related new developments on the agenda. Cristoph Hinse, one of the founders of the engineering and software company, had time to answer a few questions after the event.

The iSLM web-based platform takes injection molding simulation a big step forward toward sustainability and knowledge management. A discussion.

Traveling to a user meeting as a non-user presupposes a certain tolerance for digital material. Or even a joy in colors – on the “colorful path to the warpage model,” as one of the presentations was titled. However, those who expected a rather “nerdy” event faced with topics such as a data management platform for injection molded parts, the modeling of digital twins or the relationship between the creep behavior of polymers and their stress-strain curves, were pleased to discover how close to reality injection molding simulation has become and what a boost in sustainability and efficiency it gives to part development at almost all levels of complexity. What does the pro say?

Kunststoffe: Mr. Hinse, which parts can we confidently produce without a simulation?

Cristoph Hinse: None of them! It’s actually the supposedly simple parts that the simulation has a particularly positive effect on. Mostly with ulterior motive of an easy way to try out something virtually, breaking new ground, comparing different alternatives, and ultimately generating knowledge from conjectures. It is only of secondary importance here whether these assumptions were correct, since even with a supposedly negative result, they are used to decide on the direction.

Kunststoffe: At the user meeting, it was repeatedly mentioned how much the quality of the simulation results depends on the quality of the material data.

Hinse: In general, the input data are one of the main components of the simulation itself. This also includes the material characteristics, but not only.

Kunststoffe: How can a user assess this quality? Or what is SimpaTec doing to guarantee the quality of the data?

Hinse: Here, SimpaTec acts more as a messenger of the information. The data usually derives directly from the material manufacturer. For some years, they have to some extend also been determined in the in-house lab of Coretech, the developer of Moldex3D. There is a lot of information here that the user has direct access to: first, every data record is completely transparent, which means that every user is given source information for each component. On the other hand, the time that the characteristic values were determined is also stored in each data record.

Kunststoffe: What “smart” tool can be used to help select the most suitable material?

Hinse: For this purpose, we have launched the Material Hub Cloud, MHC for short. This offer is also, but not solely, targeted at the simulation. Here, people from project management or purchasing, for example, also have the option of selectively searching for materials according to the range of applications or their specific properties. Furthermore – with the aid of up to six search parameters – alternatives to a given material can also be sought. For each parameter, the agreements with the original material are visualized, as well as the corresponding mean value. It is thus possible to perform a material search with a significantly higher value than is traditionally done with the MFI, and in a very user-friendly environment.

Kunststoffe: Apart from the design of a new mold or an ideal process – what can simulation do in terms of modeling actual influences in injection molding production?

Hinse: In the computation, besides the absolute result, it is also a question of its composition. Deformation is a case in point. Where, in reality, I usually only see the deformation, in the simulation, I can also analyze how it may be influenced by orientation of the filler, thermal effects and shrinkage. This information can then be used to derive targeted countermeasures. The possibility of integrating the injection molding machine and its special properties into the simulation is another important step in taking into account aspects such as the start-up ramp or the machine reaction times.

Kunststoffe: Conversely, work is underway to integrate  simulation software into the injection molding machine controls. What is the current state of play? What are the next steps?

Hinse: The machine is one of our digital twins. We can start the injection molding simulation already in the plasticizing unit, and thus map  the history of the material from the entry into the screw. We also have well over 1000 machines in our database, which the user can choose and modify as required. For various manufacturers, we even go so far that the user can use the same input dialog as the setter at the machine. Finally, and this is also an important aspect, we offer, in a few steps only, the possibility of characterizing each individual machine in order to take relevant information into account in the simulation, since even identical machine models show differences. Furthermore, the identical input dialogs also serve for internal communication and interface coordination.

Kunststoffe: What role do digital twins still play in injection molding simulation?

Hinse: In injection molding simulation alone, we categorize a total of four of these digital twins: process, design, material and machine. That’s why we also speak of the digitalization of digitalization. The simulation itself is already a digital process, but incorporating the complete production unit provides a completely new understanding of production and consequently of the entire development chain. And the fact that we can consider these four disciplines in detail greatly enhances the entire issue.

Kunststoffe: Simulation was a one-way street for a long time – when and how will the circle be closed with genuine process data?

Hinse: With several machine manufacturers we already have the possibility to exchange information in both directions, and more well-known manufacturers will join us in the course of the year.

Kunststoffe: “Break your limits” is your corporate slogan – what are the limits of the simulation at all?

Hinse: While, ten years ago, with the effort for modeling and computational times, we often had two important components in the equation, which strongly influenced the possible number of computations, now this influence has become significantly smaller. The limits are now rather linked to the question of who has what information at their disposal, and how can I gain the greatest benefit from it within the company as a whole? But we have also addressed this issue.

Hinse: With iSLM, we have set up a platform that permanently manages and makes available cross-personal and cross-project information within a company. This is an essential and very important step towards sustainability and efficient knowledge management.

Kunststoffe: What lies behind the abbreviation iSLM?

Hinse: iSLM stands for intelligent Simulation Lifecycle Management. This is a web-based platform intended to make product development within the development teams more efficient and faster. The product solutions developed in the past are used by the system for in-house knowledge management and as a basis for new developments.

Kunststoffe: What are the benefits and disadvantages of the system?

Hinse: If the data from design, simulation and mold sampling are brought into a structured form within a database, they can be used for AI-based evaluation modules. This results in huge potential for product and mold development. Since the platform can be used both in a local network and in a cloud system, it has high scalability and can take into account exclusively internal as well as external process sequences – for example for suppliers or customers – in product development. If you like, the challenge is to remain in your own network so that you are restricted to your own part history – unless several partners grant one another access. But because the platform can be so readily adapted, SimpaTec can offer a carefree package, both for introducing the system into its own process workflows and as a tailored cloud system solution.

Kunststoffe: What customer applications with Moldex3D have particularly impressed you recently? And why?

Hinse: It is less an individual project in itself than the large number of possibilities that are available today. Thus, besides traditional injection molding of solid material, our customers also simulate a whole range of special processes, including gas-assisted injection molding, water-assisted injection molding, powder injection molding, reaction transfer molding, compression molding and much more. There is also a huge range  of materials – thermoplastics, elastomers, silicones, thermosets, polyurethanes or powders. In some cases, we ourselves, in parallel with the development of new processes, are completely integrated with the development of new simulation approaches, so that these two worlds are ideally available simultaneously.

Kunststoffe: Including interfaces to structural mechanics?

Hinse: Since day one, the integrative simulation has been one of the main drivers of SimpaTec as an engineering consultancy and system supplier. We also offer the programs used for this on the market, besides Moldex3D, for example Digimat and Marc. This option relates to the entire range  of the materials supported, not only to classically reinforced, but also foamed.

Kunststoffe: SimpaTec continually takes part in current research projects, most recently “Hybrid SMC” and “Smart Cooling.” How do you benefit from this, and what do you contribute to this?

Hinse: In the “Hybrid SMC” project, the project partners were able to show the limits in the use of the material and gain new insights into possible part complexity, material characterization and compression molding simulation. SimpaTec has thus acquired references to market the compression molding module. Additionally, we have already gained some orders from these findings during the project.

Kunststoffe: And with “Smart Cooling”?

Hinse: Thanks to the research results from this project, SimpaTec has been able to expand its already in-depth understanding of conformal cooling. By using API interfaces within the software, it is now possible to offer the design and development of such cooling methods. The project has also led to better simulation approaches, and we can now present a very user-friendly method to be able to consider complete mold structures and inserts.

Kunststoffe: Together with Dr. Vito Leo, you founded the “plasticsYou” knowledge platform two years ago. To whom is the platform addressed?

Hinse: Besides conducting in-person seminars, which we have held together for many years, the company also aims to establish and continually expand an online knowledge platform. We are currently expanding our own assortment  as well as the range of seminars with external speakers. In general, we want to reach everyone involved in the topic of plastics. In this context, we are very excited that in September we will offer  seminars in the USA for the first time, including the well-known BIMS.

Kunststoffe: How does the content differ from that which SimpaTec provides for its customers?

Hinse: SimpaTec training courses are principally based on the programs of our product portfolio, including their backgrounds. Besides the practical reference that is elementary for us, the focus is always set on the simulation. For example, all the persons trained by the SimpaTec team are related to the simulation. At plasticsYou, too, we have participants from the field of simulation, but also many others, who have little or nothing to do with it in their everyday routine – the focus here is set on the entire field of plastics processing. As a response to the change in the industries, we are currently developing a new seminar especially for career changers, which we will be offering for the first time this year.

Kunststoffe: That raises the joking question: So, with plasticsYou, there is no risk of having to purchase a software license?

Hinse: (laughing) In general, we pursue a basic principle here: “education and education only.” That means that besides knowledge transfer in the course of the seminars, there is no space for publicity but only the technical content. Our concern is not primarily to present a solution to a problem, but to make the problem understandable to the participant, and thereby make a permanent solution tangible to him. This has been an important element for over 20 years, with over 3500 people participating, and not a few even taking part multiple times in the apparently identical seminar.

Kunststoffe: Then the seminar is either really very good or they don’t understand it straightaway ...

Hinse: Don’t joke about it! For us, that is a sign of confidence. The participants usually come to the seminar with a certain expectation and often realize that the content covers significantly more than they thought. For example, other aspects will be dealt with next time with a different focus.

SimpaTec Simulation & Technology Consulting GmbH  

https://www.simpatec.com

Ausgabenartikel

The web-based platform iSLM allows systematic linking up with reference projects of the past and continually improving its own competence and efficiency in part development.

Hauptartikel

Interview with SimpaTec CEO Cristoph Hinse after the Moldex3D User Meeting 2023

Cristoph Hinse is co-founder  of SimpaTec Technology Consulting GmbH, Aachen. Germany. During his studies, he came into contact with the topic of simulation at the IKV Aachen. Today, SimpaTec offers expert advice and support in integrated virtual product development and optimization of parts, processes and molds at sites in Aachen, Reutlingen, Weimar, Hamburg (all Germany) and Guebwiller (France), Bangkok (Thailand), Schlierbach (Austria) and Charlotte (USA).

Read the German version of the article in our magazine Kunststoffe or at <a href="https://www.kunststoffe.de/a/interview/wir-sprechen-von-der-digitalisierung-der-3590717" target="_blank">www.kunststoffe.de</a>