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Solidworks Plastics vs. Moldflow

Question asked by D. Russell on May 2, 2019
Latest reply on May 3, 2019 by Brian Brazeau

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Im doing a technical Comparison between Moldflow & Solidworks Plastics for injection moulding and need to critically evaluate the use of Moldflow against Solidworks plastics.

however, for fill times, average temperatures, pressures, shrinkage etc. all my results are quite similar +- 10%.

therefore i need to know which has the better mathematical solver that is closer to real life production?

which software is the industry leader, and is there any sources to support the claim?

are there any limitations with either software? other than the obvious advantages SW plastics has of operating within a single environment & the import/export issues with MF

which software has more functions/features/flexibility?

obviously this is down to application, but the aim is to ensure a mould tool can be made for a part first time without issue and according to specification.

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Doug Seibel May 2, 2019 1:04 PM
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Which software is the industry leader? Moldflow
Sources to support the claim? It's been around since 1978. It was the pioneer and is the industry standard. The name of the software, Moldflow, has become the term most people use for a mold fill/pack/cool/warp analysis...like asking for a Kleenex instead of asking for a tissue.
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- D. Russell @ Doug Seibel on May 2, 2019 1:09 PM
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  Thanks for the reply Doug Seibel
  
  I'm aware of Moldflow being around considerably longer than SW plastics/simpoe, and that in most research papers MF is used. However, other than the duration on the market is there any data that supports the claim?
  
  Additionally, have you any experience using the 2 software's? I have MF exp. however, my SW plastics exp. is very limited. Are there any noteworthy limitations of SW plastics?
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  - Doug Seibel @ D. Russell on May 2, 2019 4:31 PM
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    I do not have any personal experience using either software. But one thing I have heard MANY times is that Moldflow has a much more comprehensive database of materials and material manufactures are quick to create material files for Moldflow when they create new materials. Getting a material data file for other analysis software can be more of a hassle. We have encountered this ourselves many times when having fill/pack/cool/warp analysis done...places using Moldflow have no problems but places using anything else often need to be supplied with a material file because their software's database doesn't have it. The various plastic material manufacturers are very quick to create Moldflow material database files for new materials.
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    - Brian Brazeau @ Doug Seibel on May 3, 2019 7:17 AM
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      I don't know for sure, but I believe once a MAT file has been made the data can be translated to any form for the various software manufacturers. I can say that when I was using MF we had an instance where we needed a material that wasn't in their DB. It was a recycled blow mold grade PET that the company was using so they could tout their products as "Green". It cost us $3500.00 and we had to supply a 50 lb bag of the material to MF for testing. I can't see why material manufacturers would choose one software over the other to support to a greater degree. Makes no business sense. Also, unless the material is a specialty material many times you can substitute a similar material and get comparable results. I think that the software manufacturers probably look at creating new MAT files as an added revenue source. D. Russell I would try to get the software supplier you decide to go with to commit to supporting you with material files as needed free of charge.
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Brian Brazeau May 2, 2019 1:27 PM
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I have used Moldflow (4-5 yrs.), Moldex 3D (4-5 yrs.), and Solidworks Plastics (evaluated a seat). My opinion is they are all capable in capable hands. Actually there was a product way back called Dr C-Mold that Moldflow bought out I believe because at the time mold flow only had a mid plane type of mesh and Dr c-mold had a 3d mesh interface. Just my opinion. Take it or leave it. Oh and IMHO +/-10% is quite a difference. I would suggest comparing results from any and all software's your considering with a real world instance (choose something you already mold, and make sure each software uses the same settings). Then you'll know how close they are to the actual thing instead of how close they are to each other.
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- D. Russell @ Brian Brazeau on May 2, 2019 1:32 PM
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  Thanks Brian!
  
  The 10% difference was only for shrinkage because its already very small.
  
  Are there any limitations of either 2 softwares that youre aware of? Or reasons for one being better than the other?
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  - Brian Brazeau @ D. Russell on May 2, 2019 1:43 PM
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    Most of the plastic flow simulation software's out there come in varying levels of features depending on how much you pay. My experience with moldflow software was some 14-18 yrs ago. At that time and in the level of the software we purchased I personally felt it was buggy and not that accurate. Most of the time my gut feelings on what should happen were as close or closer to what actually happened than the software. My experiences with Moldex ~4-9 yrs ago were that it was much more accurate than moldflow. Incidentally that was about the same time we evaluated a seat of Soldworks plastics and I found the result from moldex ans SW plastics comparable.
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Solidworks Plastics vs. Moldflow

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