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many times we
come across parts that are a combination of an injection-molded plastic
and metal inserts just like the electrical connector you see here
the main body this is made out of plastic while the 8 connectors
are copper inserts and this part is made
by injection molding the plastic body around those inserts
so let's see how you go about setting this problem up in SolidWorks plastics
like with any sort of simulation the very first step is going to be to mesh the
model
in other words we need to break up this one large problem
into many smaller problems we're able to solve the process of breaking the model up
into pieces
is known as meshing so SolidWorks Plastic recognizes
all nine of the solid bodies but only one of them is going to be filled
with plastic
in other words only one is a cavity while the other 8 parts
are inserts
so to set this up we simply select the 8 inserts and check the option to define
these as inserts
rather than a cavity
we then continue on with the messhing process and to me what's so great about
this is how easy it's become
on the user building a finite element model is still the same
behind-the-scenes but SolidWorks takes care that for us
so we can focus on more design rather than just matrix algebra
so for this problem we're using solid elements rather than shell elements
So shell elements are great for any sort of thin walled part
but anytime you're using inserts or when things like
mold wall temperature or the gate geometry is important to you it's always
best
to use solids
and you can see a preview of this beautiful solid mesh here so although it
was an automated process
I want to point out that you as the users still has ultimate control over the
entire mesh
that is if you choose to work that way
so since this problem involves inserts there's gonna be two extra steps
compared to when we're just doing it a normal cavity fill
first we need to say what material these inserts are made out of, for this case they're made of
a copper
so choose copper from the database of metals and then second I need to define the
temperature of these inserts
the injection molding process is very complicated and there are many variables
that need to be accounted for
and SolidWorks plastics enables you to take all these things into account
so you can get a very accurate lens with which you can look
inside your mold long before you spend a single penny
on production. And everything else in the setup
is going to be the same just like any other plastic study I need to define the
polymer that's going to be injected
as well as any fill or pack settings I want to use
and when it comes to these process settings SolidWorks plastics
gives you that exact same granular control you have over the settings
out on your production floor
and with that were ready to run our study and get our answers to the
questions of
manufacturability and optimization make sure you check out our next video
as we focus on how to leverage these results to guide you in your design process