Why simulate a thermoforming process?

• Reduce the design time for your products.
• No need to perform expensive trial-and-error procedures.
• Select an optimum design from many possible alternatives.
• Get optimum thickness distribution on final product via temperature setup on the sheet.
• Design pre-distorted images for in-mold decoration process.

• WLF temperature dependency.
• Simulates positive / negative forming with / without plug assistance.
• Time dependent deformation is described by viscoelastic K-BKZ model.
• Three different damping functions for a better material data fit (strain hardening).
• Material database containing PE, PP, PET, PC, PMMA, etc.
• Imports general 3D molds from IGES, VDA-FS via stereolithographic STL file, DXF or Patran Neutral file.
• All molds movable (up to 10 tools can be used in one simulation project)
• Time dependent sheet sagging included.
• Friction between stretched plastic material and tools.
• Heat transfer between material / tools and material / air.
• User-friendly setup of technological parameters with graphic.
• Windows context sensitive help, tutorials and hands-on examples.
• OpenGL included, allowing dynamic image rotation, zooming and panning. This enables fast shading or wireframes and contact visualization options.
• Easy, completely editable setup of T-SIM project for solver. Tight connection between initial project and result files.
• Many typical thermoforming problems solved and distributed on installation CD.

Material

• T-SIM uses time dependent, viscoelastic K-BKZ model.
• Data of frequently used polymers are available in the T-SIM material database.
• Any material can be tested (cooperation with IKP Stuttgart, Germany, or DatapointLabs, USA) and its data imported into T-SIM.

Solver

• Very fast iterative multithreaded solver gets use of parallel processing on PC with more than one processor.
• Upper limit of sheet elements or mold elements is limited only by PC memory available.
• Fast contact analysis.
• Solving a set of thermoforming problems in a batch mode. This enables automatic case study solution.

Results

• 3D cuts.
• 3D color maps of thickness, temperature, stress, extension.
• Investigate contact between plastic material and molds.
• Easy refinement of the grid in 3D areas of interest from the post-processing window.
• Export results for structural analysis to Ansys, IGES, DXF, Cosmos/M or Patran files.
• Output to Patran format enables structural analysis and calculation of cooling.
• Interactive thickness / temperature / position information with a simple mouse click.
• Export animation file to Microsoft Video Player format.
• Cooling calculation.

Pre-distortion of images (option)

• Prediction of printed image deformation.
• T-SIM is able to pre-distort images for printing them on the flat sheet, so that once thermoformed, the images appear true.
• Image projection manager enables projection of multiple images using various projection methods (planar, cylindrical and spherical projection).
• IGES polylines can be projected, distorted / pre-distorted and exported back to IGES.
• 3D VRML models can be also used for image pre-distortion.
• For more information about image pre-distortion, go to the reference manual.

Customer support

• Support through Accuform representatives worldwide.
• Export of internal T-SIM files for easy data exchange via Internet. This facilitates fast customer support worldwide.

Recommended hardware

• T-SIM delivers peak performance on a multicore Intel or AMD based PC with 2 GB RAM.
• T-SIM runs on Microsoft Windows 7/8/10 - 32/64 bit.

T-SIM users

• T-SIM is used by industry leaders worldwide at Boeing, DOW, Eastman, GE, Mitsubishi, MIT, BMW, Delphi Automotive, Riley Medical, Marconi Communications, PCM, Fabri-Kal, American Standard, IPS Polymer, Illig, Kiefel, Gabler and many other thermoformers.

T-SIM tutorial online

• Click here to open the T-SIM online tutorial with more information about T-SIM and with simulation examples.