Calculating results is an iterative process, performed at sequential time steps. With each iteration the results converge to a more accurate answer. The more iterations you perform, the more accurate the result, but the longer it takes to get a result.
In order to calculate a result, there are a number of factors that must be taken into account, such as the melt temperature, the flow rate, the viscosity of the material and the pressure. As the melt flows through the mold, each of these numbers will change from what they were in the previous time step. In order to simulate the flow accurately, these actual numbers, which change from one time step to the next, are be used in a series of iterative calculations.
The default settings provide an accurate result within a reasonable timeframe. It is possible to change the default settings to obtain a more accurate result at the expense of a longer analysis time. The settings that can be changed depend on the molding process and analysis sequence chosen, and will be a subset of the following:
- Pressure tolerance as a percentage change from one iteration to the next,
- Flow rate tolerance as a percentage change from one iteration to the next,
- Melt temperature tolerance as a percentage change from one iteration to the next,
- Conversion as a percentage change from one iteration to the next,
- Maximum melt temperature iterations,
- Maximum flow rate iterations,
- Maximum melt temperature and conversion iterations,
- Nodal growth mechanism,
- Viscosity treatment at high shear rates.