Meshing a mold created using the mold surface wizard that contains inserts or cores.

All other components should all be meshed before you mesh the mold.

  1. Click (Home tab > Create panel > Mesh in Cloud to open the Mesh tab.
  2. With only the part and inserts visible, click (Mesh tab > Mesh panel > Generate Mesh), and mesh the visible components.
  3. Add the runner system curves, click Generate Mesh, and mesh the runners.
  4. Add an injection location to the runner system.
  5. Now add the cooling curves to the visible components and click Generate Mesh, to mesh the cooling channels.
  6. Add coolant inlets to the cooling channels.
  7. With all the components visible, click (Geometry tab > Create panel > Mold Surface) and check the defaults, then click Finish to close the dialog and create the mold.
  8. Hide the runner beams and cooling channel beams, leaving only their curves visible.
  9. Click (Mesh tab > Mesh panel > 3D Mold Mesh) to create the mold surface mesh.
  10. Check the external and internal mold surface edge lengths. The external length can be as much as 5 times longer than the internal lengths, to minimize computation time.
  11. Ensure that Check contact interfaces between internal bodies is checked, then click Mesh Now.
  12. Check the Mesh Log for warnings regarding contact interfaces. Regardless of warnings, if you have part inserts, mold inserts or cores, you should now run the Stitch contact interfaces tool.
  13. Click (Mesh tab > Mesh panel > Stitch Contact Interfaces), which is in the Mesh drop-down panel, and enter a merge tolerance.
  14. Click Show Contact Interfaces to see where there is contact between the various components.
  15. Hide the Mold surface (Regions) and Mold surface (Elements), and examine the contact areas carefully.
  16. If there is too much contact, shown in red, decrease the merge tolerance. If there is insufficient contact, increase the merge tolerance.
  17. When you are happy with the contact area, click Apply, then Close to exit the dialog.
  18. Make the Mold surface (Regions) layer visible, and click 3D Mold Mesh again.
  19. Check the internal and external edge lengths, then click Mesh Now to create the mold surface mesh.
  20. Hide the Mold External Triangles, and check that there is a surface mesh on all the internal components, including the runner system and channels.
  21. Show the Mold External Triangles layer again, and click 3D Mold Mesh one final time to create the 3D mold.
Parent topic: Contact stitching for inserts and cores