Software optimizes design and manufacture of plastic products.
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Press Release Summary:
Moldflow Plastics Insight(TM) v4.1 includes MPI/Flow3D solver, which predicts fiber orientation and resulting mechanical properties as well as contribution to part warpage. Meshing tools, increases in cooling analysis solver speed, and post-processing enhancements help decrease model preparation and analysis times. API functionality allows users to extract scalar, vector or tensor result data and create custom result plots. Simulation of Dynamic Feed® and Trexel MuCell® molding methods is included.
Original Press Release:
Moldflow Announces Moldflow Plastics Insight 4.1
Customer Driven Enhancements Significantly Expand Industry-Best Software Solution
PITTSBURGH--April 1, 2003--At the 2003 International Moldflow User Conference, Moldflow Corporation (NASDAQ: MFLO), the world's leading provider of software products and services for optimizing the design and manufacture of injection-molded plastic products, today announced Moldflow Plastics Insight(TM) (MPI(TM)) 4.1. Expected to ship to customers in June 2003, MPI 4.1 follows the recently released, and widely praised, MPI 4.0 release and demonstrates Moldflow's ability to accelerate its product development to rapidly meet customer requests. With a focus on 3-D enhancements, pre- and post-processing productivity improvements, new simulation capabilities, collaboration with partners, and new hardware support, MPI 4.1 is the most feature-packed MPI "dot" release in the company's history.
Murali Annareddy, Moldflow's MPI product line manager, says, "The overwhelming majority of enhancements in today's release of MPI 4.1 have been driven by our customers and are in direct response to their requests. The new meshing enhancements, solver speed improvements, hardware support, and application programming interface capabilities will not only make our users more productive, but will also allow them to extract more value from their investment in Moldflow technology."
Significant new features planned to be in MPI 4.1 include:
-- MPI/Flow3D Enhancements - MPI/Flow3D, the industry's most
accurate and computationally efficient 3-D solver, has expanded solution capabilities to include prediction of fiber orientation and the resulting mechanical properties as well as the prediction of their contribution to part warpage. Used for analyzing part designs that tend to be very thick and solid, MPI/Flow3D offers the broadest range of solution capabilities of any product available today.
-- Productivity Improvements - Enhanced meshing tools such as
local mesh density specification, significant increases in cooling analysis solver speed, and post-processing enhancements such as automatic AVI file creation, multiple anchor planes, cylindrical coordinate system display of warpage results, and geometry-dependent XY plots make it easier than ever to decrease model preparation and analysis times and communicate results to colleagues and customers, thereby increasing user productivity.
-- New Simulation Capabilities - MPI 4.1 introduces simulation of new molding methods including Synventive(TM) Molding Solutions Dynamic Feed(R) system and Trexel MuCell(R) injection molding process:
-- Synventive's Dynamic Feed is a hot runner system which provides independent melt pressure-based process control for up to 32 nozzles in a single mold, and the new analysis capabilities will allow users to simulate all 32 independent melt pressure profiles. This is the key to accurately predicting flow and pack profiles within a Dynamic Feed system so that productivity and quality improvements can be realized for family, precision, and large part molds.
-- Trexel's MuCell microcellular foam injection molding process uses supercritical fluids of inert gases to create evenly distributed and uniformly sized microscopic cells throughout a polymer, resulting in parts that tend to be lighter, flatter and straighter than conventionally molded parts. The MuCell simulation results available in MPI 4.1 include the filling pattern, injection pressure and cell size, all critical factors in optimizing a given part for the process as well as optimizing the MuCell process itself.
-- New Hardware Support - New in MPI 4.1 is support for the Intel(R) Itanium(R) 64-Bit processor on HP UX platforms and 3D Connexion's 3D motion controllers, including the Spaceball(TM) and Spacemouse(R).
-- Application Programming Interface (API) Enhancements - New API functionality allows users to extract scalar, vector or tensor result data from MPI and create custom result plots with that data, create static plots from custom data or animations from a sequence of custom data, create custom XY plots and extract diagnostic data.
Mark Moss, senior vice president marketing and engineering for Synventive Molding Solutions, commented "There is no question that the new Dynamic Feed (DF) simulation functionality in MPI 4.1 software will enable our customers to optimize their part and mold designs for the Dynamic Feed process and better realize the benefits. The new simulation functionality being announced today is the next step in commercializing the Dynamic Feed technology based on the collaborative joint development effort that we announced with Moldflow in 2002. We are eagerly looking forward to the future initiatives regarding interfaces between DF and Moldflow's Manufacturing Solutions products."
Levi Kishbaugh, Trexel's vice president of MuCell molding, noted "We are very excited about the new MuCell simulation capabilities in the MPI 4.1 software. These capabilities will allow our customers to optimize their part and mold designs specifically for the MuCell microcellular foam process before they ever have to invest any capital in tooling, machine modifications or molding trials."
Niraj Swarup, vice president of worldwide marketing for 3Dconnexion, a Logitech Company, says "We are very happy that the powerful combination of MPI 4.1's enhanced pre- and post-processing capabilities and our unique 3D motion controllers is now available to the Moldflow user community. Using a two handed work style, with a 3Dconnexion device in one hand and the standard mouse in the other, MPI design and analysis can be completed in less time with less discomfort."
About Moldflow Corporation
Moldflow (NASDAQ: MFLO) is the world's leading provider of software products and services that increase the speed, efficiency, quality and drive down the cost of the design and manufacture of injection molded plastic products. Companies use Moldflow's complete suite of products to address plastic part design issues at the earliest possible stage as well as to maximize productivity and profitability on the manufacturing floor. Its collaboration with academia, industry, and customers around the world has led to a reputation for constant innovation in the complete design-to-manufacture process. Headquartered in Wayland, Massachusetts, Moldflow has offices and research and development centers in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia. For more information, visit www.moldflow.com or call 508-358-5848; fax: 508-358-5868.
Moldflow, Moldflow Plastics Insight and MPI are trademarks or registered trademarks of Moldflow Corporation or its subsidiaries worldwide. All other trademarks are properties of their respective holders.
Moldflow corporate contact:
Dawn Soucier, 508/358-5848
dawn_soucier@moldflow.com
or
Public relations contact:
Laura Carrabine, 440/247-8653
lcarrabine@earthlink.net
