AIM is offering some upcoming courses in collaboration with our partner The Polymers Center at their facility in Charlotte NC.
(Lunch, snacks, coffee and beverages will be provided at each course)
Plastics 101
(Classroom Instruction & Injection Molding Lab)
This course is designed for personnel that are new to the injection molding industry.
An overview of the four key disciplines of injection molding will be presented, which are: plastic materials, mold design, injection molding, and part design. In addition, attendees will be introduced to how mold filling simulation is used to help design for manufacturability.
For more, see the course description
– Common industry terms and equations
– Plastics history
– Plastic materials & classifications
– Material shrinkage
– Plastic flow
– Mold design
Lab 1: mold tear-down and build
– Injection molding processing
– Common process terminology
– Common part defects and root causes
Lab 2: process development
– Part design
– Mold filling simulation
Understanding and Applying Moldflow Simulation
(Classroom Instruction)
The goal of the course is to teach students what goes into a successful flow simulation analysis while understanding how to interpret the various results. The course is designed for the non-user, but is also valuable for those who run Autodesk® Moldflow® Insight as we teach the students both the capabilities and the limitations of the software.
For more, see the course description
– Understanding plastics and plastic flow characteristics
– Overview of the injection molding process
– Mesh types and considerations
– Common uses of simulation
– Limitations of simulation
– Material characterization levels
– Identifying a bad simulation
– Comparing simulation to the Molding Floor
– Interpreting simulation results
– Moldflow Communicator Exercise
Injection Molding
(Classroom Instruction & Injection Molding Lab)
Those working in a plastics environment should have a well-rounded view of the core pillar of the plastics industry.
Through the use of a research-backed approach to injection molding process development, attendees will gain an in-depth understanding of injection molding machines and common practices used to establish and troubleshoot a molding process.
For more, see the course description
– Lab demonstration: AIM’s process development strategies
– Machine clamping systems
– Different types of injection units
– Understanding intensification ratio
– Plastic material’s influence on process development
– Material drying and measurement of moisture
– Methods for measuring melt temperature
– Plastic variables vs. machine variables
– First & second stage process development methods
– Clamp tonnage estimations
– Use of Moldflow simulation in process development
– How to determine a safe start-up shot size
– Machine capacity versus shot size discussion
– Issues with the in-mold pressure loss study
– Mold cooling strategies
– Using Flow Groups to troubleshoot part quality variations
Mold Design
(Classroom Instruction & Injection Molding Lab)
Understanding the foundational knowledge of the five key systems and how each one affects the final part quality is imperative in the injection molding process.
This course is designed to give students an in-depth look at the second discipline of the injection molding industry. Attendees will leave with a working knowledge of mold design and manufacturing. Through a mix of lecture and hands-on labs, attendees will break a mold down into its five systems and provide discussions on design strategies for each.
For more, see the course description
Lab 1: Mold tear down and assembly
Lab 2: Reading mold prints
Lab 3: Cooling cart
– Selecting a 2-Plate versus 3-plate mold base
– Understanding in-mold pressure drop and its variables
– Series versus parallel mold cooling designs
– Strategies for optimizing mold cooling
– How to verify turbulent flow
– Baffles and bubblers
– Structural considerations in plate deflection
– Core/cavity alignment and pocketing techniques
– Ejection strategies for forming undercuts
– Types of hot and cold runner systems
– Runner sizing strategies
– Gate design and location strategies
– Venting details and strategies
The Polymers Center: University Research Park, 8900 Research Dr, Charlotte, NC 28262