Altair and its solidThinking subsidiary will preview their forthcoming Click2Cast 2018 software at the EUROGUSS International Trade Fair for Die Casting Technology, Processes and Products, January 16-18, Nuremberg, Germany. The companies say the new release will “revolutionize the casting process by adding powerful geometry tools specifically for easily creating runners, risers, sleeves, chillers and cooling lines within a single environment, benefiting the entire supply chain in producing high-quality casting, quickly and economically.”
Powerful geometry creation and editing capabilities have been added to let users design and optimize the entire casting process within a single environment, the companies report. “For the first time, component designers and downstream analysts will be able to communicate within a single user environment, including a broad range of tools that will help make changes to the component, evaluate areas of porosity, create remedial risers or sleeves, or cooling lines, and re-evaluate and optimize the process for producing a high-quality part.”
“Click2Cast has seen great adoption across the globe for being fast, easy, accurate and affordable, and as such, a fine balance between usability and function had to be attained in the development of the new release,” says Altair vice president of manufacturing solutions Ravi Kunju. “We are excited that we have not compromised on any front, despite adding powerful capabilities. Our philosophy of bringing high-end simulation tools to the early stage of the design process with our solidThinking Inspire framework has had tremendous impact in the design community. Now we are doing exactly the same with casting simulation, by packaging it in the same framework as Inspire. Our development team has worked extremely hard and done a phenomenal job with both our solvers and the tool’s interface, and we are confident that users will love the experience even more now.”
The new version will contain the following key enhancements:
- Completely new user environment based on the Inspire framework with powerful geometry creation and editing capabilities.
- Ability to create runners, risers, chillers, over-flows and sleeves, and to modify them on the fly.
- Automatic generation of core geometries (ready for 3D print export).
- Single-click solidification simulation.
- Enhanced visualization capabilities including temperature evolution on flowfronts.
- Dynamic and multiple sectional cuts.
- Ability to read multiple file formats.
“I have not seen anything else like it or even close to it, and I just cannot wait to get this to my customers,” said Howard Weinberg, founder/partner of solidThinking distributor Spot Technologies. “This next-generation Click2Cast is a definite game changer. With its powerful capabilities combined with its affordability, the returns on investment are unparalleled. Even for the occasional users, the ease of use of Click2Cast helps catapult the exploration towards advanced simulation, giving more people access to the technology they never had before, helping the entire supply chain in the process.”
“Click2Cast is continuously enhancing its functionality to serve more and more complex user cases while keeping the user interface industry specific, consistent and easy to use. When adding new capabilities or releasing a new version, this can be a real challenge,” said Òscar Íñigo, consultant with die casting service provider inytialGo. “Looking at the example of gating and cooling line modeling, which are new functions in this version, solidThinking has proven that it can live up to its commitment. Both additions are simply amazing! Click2Cast 2018 is really going to catch on with die developers and casting engineers.”
Although official release is planned for March 2018, visitors to the companies’ EUROGUSS booth can sign up for a free trial and experience the software’s capabilities firsthand.
