Exporting model and results to ANSYS

Note: This feature is available only for Midplane or 3D models when an analysis sequence that includes Fill+Pack is selected.

There are two parts to exporting Fill+Pack results (with or without Fiber orientation results) to ANSYS. The first is running the mpi2ans.vbs script to create the necessary interface files; the second is locating these interface files and using them in ANSYS. The interface will convert any Midplane or 3D model into an ANSYS command database file. It will reject Dual Domain models because these cannot be taken into ANSYS for structural analysis.

To run the mpi2ans.vbs macro:

1. Open the Midplane or 3D study with Fill+Pack results.
2. Click View tab > Windows panel > User Interface, and select Command Line.
3. Type mpi2ans and click Go.
   Note: If unused properties exist, a warning dialog appears informing you that they will be removed. Click OK to close this dialog.
   The script will then prompt for an output filename.
   Tip: To ensure that ANSYS will not have any difficulty reading the files generated by this interface, use only alphanumeric characters and underscores in the filename. In particular, you should avoid using parentheses: "("")".
4. Accept the default output filename or type an alternate name, and click OK.
5. In the Setting units system dialog, enter SI, English or metric to specify the units system, and click OK. A dialog appears confirming the selected units to be used. Click OK.
6. Click OK in the dialog that appears to confirm the name of the output folder. The script creates a folder of this name under the project directory of the study being exported, and then launches an executable in a DOS window to generate the ANSYS input files.
   Note: If a Windows Security Alert window appears, click Unblock to allow the executable mpi2str to run.
7. Click OK to confirm the export is complete.
   Tip: If you plan to compare results from this product wth ANSYS results, note down the numbers of the three nodes to which the interface applied constraints (the anchor nodes), as reported in the DOS window.

Note: If the model comprises multiple cavities, then a set of three constraints will be reported for each individual cavity. You will also find that the interface has created separate ANSYS input files (*.ist, *.cdb) for each cavity, with the number 1, 2, etc. appended to the output file name you specified.

Locate the files that have been generated. These files are stored in the project directory where the interface files were created. Open the moldflow2ansys.db file in ANSYS and generate the required results using the ANSYS documentation for support.

Caution: When viewing results for the purpose of comparison with the results you obtained from ANSYS, be sure to set an anchor plane based on the anchor nodes selected by the interface. Note also that this product considers certain injection molding specific effects that are not simulated in ANSYS, namely corner effects and mold thermal expansion.