The results of runner balancing can be flawed for several reasons. Listed here are some common error messages and their recommended solutions.
The initial runner system resulted in a short shot
- Explanation
- It is impossible to fill the entire cavity or cavities under the constraints set that you have selected.
- Solution
- It is a good practice to start your analysis with runners that are large enough to fill all the cavities. To do so, relax some of the constraints on your runners.
There were problems with the automatic runner balancing
- Explanation
- The optimization algorithm sometimes fails to converge on the best value within the fixed number of iterations.
- Solutions
-
- Balance the runners again, using the results of the previous balancing attempt as the starting values.
- Start the runner balancing with better initial dimensions.
- Fix some of the runner dimensions to reduce the optimization problem.
Cannot complete runner balance. Balancing is limited by:
- Explanation
- The criterion function does not take into account other factors, such as cooling time or packing problems.
- Solution
- Apply constraints on the runner dimensions for the balancing algorithm to use.
There is a runner that is thicker than the sprue or a feeding runner that has a smaller cross-section than the runners it feeds
- Explanation
- The criterion function applies solutions to individual runner sections.
- Solution
- The design probably provides a better answer to the criterion functions, resulting in a smaller overall volume of runners, a low imbalance of filling, and a limited shear rate, but you may want to add a constraint on some runners before balancing the runners. See Runner sections for more information.