New materials and processes have made a big impact on the way engineers design composite parts for the aeronautics, automotive, and shipbuilding industries. Today’s parts are thicker, larger, and more elaborate, so while the traditional trial-and-error approach of tooling manufacturing may still have its niche, it can lead to high tooling costs, long development lead times, and expensive material waste. Many engineers are turning to simulation-based design to eliminate these issues.
Programs that simulate composite parts manufacturing have been on the market for over ten years, but their application has been limited to simulating the injection of parts with resin fibrous reinforcements (resin transfer molding (RTM)). Additionally, many of the programs are not user-friendly. They perform analyses outside of the CAD environment, forcing users to export geometric data.
PAM-RTM for CATIA V5 composite parts design (CPD) from ESI Group, a solution provider in physics-based simulation software, simulates composite parts manufacturing based on liquid composite molding processes, such as RTM or vacuum-assisted RTM (VARTM), and it is used to design and develop new tooling and processes for composite materials. The software is used primarily in the aeronautics, automotive, and shipbuilding industries. ESI has also adapted it to the emerging needs of new aircraft programs.
PAM-RTM seamlessly integrates simulation algorithms performed on native geometry. The integrated application reduces simulation cycle time by directly linking mold design and simulation results. The user can perform injection analysis directly on the CAD model, which ensures a consistent geometric dataflow in an iterative continuous improvement process. The program’s user interface ensures no information will be lost from geometry conversion and transfer.
ESI Group
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