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moldmakingtechnology.com 29 CONTRIBUTOR Dan Branch is a customer support manager for Cimatron Technologies as well as a mold design instructor at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. 6 feet or even longer, a cooling system made of long winding circuits will not be effective in pulling the heat out of so much plastic. Instead, molds of this type are usually designed with straight-through channels. Each channel is a circuit unto itself and can be drilled to a depth that comes very close to the part, often with baffles that serve to direct the water up into the higher portion of the mold. Ease the design of baffles and bubblers. To increase cool- ing efficiency, baffles and bubblers should be custom-fit to each area. Yet, custom-fitting hundreds of baffles and bub- blers can drain a lot of design time. A system that allows for automated selection of baffle and bubbler length and adds these directly to the bill of materials can cut the time spent on this task from hours to minutes. Use built-in analysis. Even the best designer can occasion- ally make a mistake. Look for a system that can analyze the completeness of a water circuit. Simulating the water flow provides an added measure of assurance that your cooling sys- tem will work as intended. Simulate plastic fill. Take it a step further by simulating the plastic fill with molding analysis. This is a sophisticated process that will animate the plastic flow through the part and highlight problem areas such as air traps and weld lines. On top of that, it can analyze the cooling channel design and predict the temperature of the plastic part throughout the molding process. Running a simulation can identify numerous potential cooling issues, such as hot spots on the part, long cooling times or even warping. Use CAD software built for moldmaking with specific cooling functions. A smart CAD system can automate many of the tasks involved in the creation of the cooling circuits, greatly reducing the time spent and the potential for human error. Recognizing that the lines are designed for water, the software will automatically attach intelligent rules to cata- log parts. For example, it recognizes that a 1/4-NPT plug is appropriate for a 7/16-drilled line, so these components auto- matically fall into place for any channel selected. In addition, software that automatically cuts any required pocket or thread when a catalog component is added to the design will significantly minimize repetitive tasks. Consider conformal cooling. Many injection molders have already discovered the advantages of conformal cooling. Transcending the limitations of straight-line designs, confor- mal cooling channels closely follow the shape of the cavity and core to better reach hot spots and promote temperature uniformity. To make conformal cooling part of your shop's repertoire, you need access to 3D printing, as well as a CAD system that can design and analyze circuits that are more than a series of straight lines. VIDEO: Cooling Analysis and Cooling Design short.moldmakingtechnology.com/cooleasy Here, CAD performs a safety distance check on a conformal cooling channel. The red marks depict where the channel comes closer than 0.050 inch to the part. CAD identifes the water line and issues a warning if it gets too close to core (or other mold components) outer surfaces. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Cimatron Technologies Inc. / 877-596-9700 / cimatron.com