MoldDesign is a 3D solid-based mould design application for Bentley’s MechanicalSpace range of products. Seamlessly integrated into MicroStation Modeler, MoldDesign is an innovative concept for designing mould bases for the injection moulding industry, including high-pressure aluminium injection. MoldDesign was conceived as a productivity tool to free designers from the tedious work of creating mould plates and components, as well as detailing slots and holes within the mould plates.

More than just a 3D solid-based mould library, MoldDesign is an object-oriented parametric application. Its different components are defined by geometric information and relative positioning of parameters. MoldDesign's features, including embedded intelligence, are the result of many years of experience in the field of mould design. This application is designed to encompass the entire mould design process, making MoldDesign a true computer-aided mould design (CAMD) application.

The single engineering model for advanced mould base design

MoldDesign's integration with MicroStation Modeler takes advantage of Bentley's MechanicalSpace architecture. With this seamless ensemble, users can perform modelling, detailing and mould base development under the same user interface, without the need for IGES or any other external translation. The single engineering model contains all of the information needed for the mould design process and integration takes place quickly and efficiently in a tight loop.

MoldDesign functionality

The package is developed by people with extensive experience in the field of mould design. This is why users find that MoldDesign functionality follows the flow of the mould design process. Functionality included in the application provides mould designers the components and flexibility to customise and complete the mould design process:

New mould

Once the core and cavity are designed in MicroStation Modeler, the initial mould base can be defined with two parameters:

* Catalogue of standard components. Nine popular catalogues of standard components are implemented in MoldDesign including:

ï DME - English and metric.

ï HASCO - English and metric.

ï National.

ï Rabourdine.

ï Futaba.

ï EOC

ï Strack.

* Mould size.

A mould base in MoldDesign is composed of the standard nine-plate mould. Any nonstandard mould base can be designed using included functionality. Default plate thickness can be parametrically changed and selection of initial standard components can be defined using graphical input. A graphical display of the characteristics of the components shows a quick layout of the mould prior to final creation. The user can use this display to compare the mould definitions to the core and insert sizes. Creation of a 3D solid mould base, with its components, is facilitated by the click of a button.

Add components

Component parameters are retrieved from standard catalogues and can be modified for nonstandard components. The user defines the position and MoldDesign automatically detects which plates and/or inserts should be drilled to create the appropriate space for the components.

The add component functionality was designed to cover mould designers' needs during the design process:

* Add components: Commonly used mould components, such as leader pins, bushings, ejectors and so on, can be added easily to the mould. Component parameters are retrieved from the catalogue and can be modified to create nonstandard components. The user defines component position and MoldDesign detects automatically which plates and/or insert should be drilled to create the appropriate space for the components.

* Add cooling: Parametric tools for the design of the mould cooling system.

* Add user components: Add special user-designed components using MoldDesign's automatic component space creation mentioned above.

* Add insert: Creates logical connection between the mould and inserts designed using MicroStation Modeler tools. All MoldDesign functionality is applied to the inserts.

* Add plates: Enables adding user-defined plates to design moulds with more than nine standard plates.

Components can be added in two modes:

* Automatic - MoldDesign detects which plates are affected by the component and creates locating holes with standard tolerances.

* Semi-automatic - manual creation of locating holes.

* Supported components - leader pins, bushings, ejectors, sleeves, screws, spru bushings, ejector guides, support pillars, locating rings, spacers and cooling pipes.

Edit components

Because MoldDesign components are also MicroStation Modeler features, the removal, translation or modification of components or holes can be changed using standard MicroStation Modeler functionality.

Utilities

* Bill of materials: A bill of material (BOM) can be created at any stage of the design. All plates, inserts, component information, dimensions and catalogue numbers are included in the BOM. The BOM format and language can be modified by the user.

* Active: Plates and inserts are grouped according to user requirements and can be activated or deactivated in order to speed up the add and edit functionality.

* Change catalogue: The user can use components from different catalogues at any time.

* Collision checking: A special function analyses the mould components and detects collisions. A user-defined safety distance can be set to detect cooling pipes that are placed near component holes.

* Show components: Display components by picking their holes.

Steps in designing a mould base using MoldDesign

* Create the core cavity - the design of the core cavity is extracted from the part geometry created by the designer in MicroStation Modeler. The core cavity will have all of the part information, including draft and dimensionality, to produce the part using the injection moulding process.

* Create a standard mould base - the standard mould base consists of nine plates. Standard components are automatically located and placed according to specific catalogue definitions chosen by the mould designer. Plate thickness and additional component selections are applied prior to the creating of the mould base using parametrically driven graphical input. Creation of the 3D solid mould base is completed by the pick of a button. At any time during the process, changes can be made using standard MicroStation Modeler modification tools.

* Add cavity inserts to the mould - typically added between the fixed and moving plates, the cavity insert defines the injection cavity for the part geometry. The cavity inserts are integrated into the mould plates and user-defined descriptive information is added for output to the bill of materials.

* Add components - retrieved from standard catalogues, components such as screws, ejector pins, cooling lines and so on are added to complete the design of the mould base. The characteristics of the components, including dimensions and location, are defined by the mould designer and placed into the mould base. Descriptive information for each component is captured and included in the BOM.

* Output to manufacturing - the standard output expected by the mould maker is a bill of materials defining the descriptions, dimensions and catalogue information that define the construction of the mould base. This information is passed to the mould maker as an integral part of the production process.

In addition to the BOM information, detailed drawings are created using the drawing composition feature. Plate geometry, including all of its components, can be detailed and delivered to the mould maker for final mould production.

About R&B

R&B; is an engineering company providing computer-aided solutions for plastic injection mould design and manufacture.

The company was created in 1994 through the merger of Regba Kan, Israel's largest mould maker, and Bercom, Israel's leading supplier of computer-aided engineering solutions for mechanical engineering design and finite element analysis.

R&B; takes advantage of Regba's extensive experience in programming automatic processes for plastic moulds: mould bases, dies and mould maintenance, and Bercom's seasoned expertise in mechanical engineering: solid modelling, structure, heat transfer, fluid flow and plastic/rubber flow analysis.

Bentley SA

(011) 482 3262

tex.vandeventer@bentley.nl

www.bentley.com