The Moldflow Structural Alliance (MSA™) is a new breakthrough capability that allows users of ABAQUS® or ANSYS® to extract critical anisotropic material properties from Moldflow Plastics Advisers® (MPA®) or Moldflow Plastics Insight® (MPI®) analyses. Through MSA, material properties can be mapped from MPA/MPI to a 3D structural mesh. MSA provides the flexibility of using different meshes for injection molding and structural simulations. This is an important consideration because it allows Moldflow and the structural analysis software to us the most appropriate mesh density and element type for the particular application.
MSA allows designers to explore the impact of the manufacturing process on the structural performance of the part. By taking into account both the grade-specific material properties and the process-induced flow characteristics, the design can be optimized for optimal structural performance. This is particularly valuable when designing plastic parts using fiber reinforced materials, and for performance-critical features such as ribs, bosses, snap fits, natural springs, that are commonly used in injection molded plastic parts.
Capabilities
- Map mechanical properties such as, Elastic modulus, Shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio from MPA/MPI to ABAQUS/ANSYS.
- Properties can be mapped even if the mesh characteristics are different in the two products.
- For users of MPI, the material properties can be mapped from a MPI/Fusion model.
