SIMCON International

Toothbrushes with soft grips, container lids with flexible seals, reinforced bicycle handlebars, and car bumpers with integrated electronics—these are just a few examples of products created by combining materials in the injection-moulding process. This innovative approach is transforming industries, enabling manufacturers to achieve new levels of functionality, efficiency, and quality. Why are material combinations the future? ⚙️ Integrated Functionality By combining materials with distinct properties—like rigidity and flexibility—or embedding functional components such as metal threads or electronics, manufacturers can create components that deliver multiple benefits in a single part. 🚅 Efficiency Gains Multicomponent moulding reduces cycle times and eliminates assembly steps, saving time, money, and resources. 🕙 Enhanced Reliability Material combinations meet stringent mechanical requirements, ensuring durable and long-lasting products, which is also a win for sustainability. 👑 High-Quality Finishes Film insert moulding, also known as in-mould lamination, can add a premium feel to products like car dashboards, elevating their visual appeal and value. Addressing Challenges Despite these advantages, challenges such as material compatibility and insert deformation require careful planning. AI-driven tools like CADMOULD and VARIMOS make tackling these issues seamless: 🧗 Predict Risks Simulate material interactions to resolve issues before production begins. 📐 Optimise Designs Use automation to refine parameters, minimise waste, and enhance efficiency. 🛡️ Ensure Precision Achieve reliable and accurate results, even in complex or high-demand applications. Whether you’re in automotive, aerospace, or consumer goods, our solutions empower Simulation Specialists to innovate faster and achieve exceptional results. Ready to take your designs to the next level? Learn more in our whitepaper. #InjectionMoulding #CADMOULD #Simulation #Plastics

Injection moulding simulation has come a long way since its conception in the 1970s. From theoretical models at universities to 3D simulations to the incorporation of AI – travel through time with us and see how the industry grew into what it is today. And while we’ve got our time machine out already, let’s also take a peek at what SIMCON has been up to all these years. #PlasticsInnovation #plastic #SIMCON #SimulationSoftware #CADMOULD #VARIMOS #InjectionSimulation #Sustainability #AdvancedSimulation #injectionmoulding

Ready for an upgrade? CADMOULD V18.0 is here! With our latest version, you’ll experience new features that make your workflow smoother and more efficient. Dive into three of the new powerful V18.0 features and tackle your everyday challenges head-on! Simulation specialists face a constant grind: complex analyses, countless adjustments, and the demand for precision. We know the pressure, and that’s why CADMOULD V18.0 is all about making these tasks easier and faster. Here are three new features that tackle everyday challenges head-on: 1️⃣ Enhanced Gate System Visualisation – Quickly assess material flow and make optimizations right in the 3D view, simplifying decisions at every stage. 2️⃣ Expanded Report Assistant – Animated reports make it easy to communicate complex findings, so you can spend less time explaining and more time creating. 3️⃣ Direct Interface with WITTMANN BATTENFELD Deutschland GmbH – Our new machine interface cuts down setup time and reduces errors, helping you get reliable results faster.

Facing the elements: overmoulding for extreme aerospace environments Overmoulding is an injection moulding process widely used across industries to create functional, lightweight components with enhanced durability, longevity, and performance. Given such production advantages, the aerospace industry, in particular, has embraced the technology. However, overmoulding for aerospace presents engineers and manufacturers with challenges such as material compatibility, robustness, and complexity of design, to mention just a few. Meeting the industry’s stringent safety and reliability standards for such an extreme environment requires much ingenuity. We’ll examine these challenges and look at how they can be addressed. 🔍 Material compatibility The materials used for substrate and overmould must be compatible regarding chemical bonding and thermal processing to withstand the extreme temperature fluctuations of flight. Mismatched thermal expansion rates can lead to delamination or cracking. 🔍 Component robustness The design of the parts must account for rapid changes in air pressure during flight to prevent deformation or material separation. They must also withstand the stresses from vibration and cycle loading typical in aerospace. 🔍Design complexity Aerospace components often require tight tolerances. Achieving this with overmoulded parts can be challenging, especially with materials with different shrinkage rates. Additionally, the intricate designs and multi-layers in overmoulding increase the chances of misalignment or incomplete coverage. Addressing the challenges It’s necessary to focus on three areas: material science expertise, advanced design techniques, and stringent testing protocols. ✅ Material science expertise Engineers must understand how different materials behave, bond, and interact under stress to optimise properties like flame and chemical resistance. Nowadays, AI and ML also support polymer development and enhanced material analysis. ✅ Advanced design techniques Due to the complexity of aerospace parts, advanced CAD software and simulation tools like SIMCON’s CADMOULD can aid the precise design of overmoulded components. This ensures alignment and helps troubleshoot issues like flow, shrinkage, bonding strength, and thermal behaviour before production. ✅ Rigorous testing protocols Conducting pre-production tests to assess material compatibility helps identify issues early. Overmoulded components must undergo stress testing, thermal cycling, vibration analysis, and environmental tests per industry standards. These thorough protocols also provide data to improve overmoulding processes and materials for future applications. 🚀 Aerospace and beyond The future looks promising for overmoulding — while emerging technologies like 3D printing enable greater flexibility in mould design, the functional diversity of overmoulding combined with material science advances allow for unlimited creativity in component design.

Polypropylene (PP) is an easy choice for most injection moulded products. Picking the right grade however, isn’t always straight forward. Should you use Homopolymer, Random Copolymer, or Block Copolymer? Here is our brief guide to minimise your production costs, whilst maximising quality and sustainability. 1️⃣ Homopolymer PP is tough and heat-resistant. It’s ideal for products like storage boxes and bottle caps where strength and durability matter. It’s also cost-effective for high-volume runs needing rigidity. 2️⃣ Random Copolymer PP is more flexible and clear. This makes it ideal for food packaging and pharmaceutical containers where a balance of flexibility and transparency is needed. 3️⃣ Block Copolymer PP provides superior impact resistance, even in cold conditions. It’s a reliable choice for automotive parts and other high-impact applications. Our injection moulding simulation solutions, CADMOULD and VARIMOS are built to help your team to make data-driven choices. Automated simulations for each of these materials, along with hundreds of other polymers, can help them to reach the optimal mould design in less time, with less wasted material. #Procurement #Plastics #Polypropylene #SIMCON #VARIMOS #CADMOULD

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 Micro-injection moulding has revolutionised manufacturing by enabling the production of tiny, intricate and precise components for use in industries such as healthcare, electronics, automotive, and aerospace, to name a few. While it is a cost-effective and efficient way of producing miniature parts at scale, there is nothing small about its market value. In 2023, the micro injection moulded plastic market was worth USD 1.24 billion, calculated at USD 1.38 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach around USD 3.66 billion by 2033, an expansion of 11.4%. Let’s examine some of its applications, advantages and challenges. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Healthcare benefits from micro moulding by enabling the creation of complex surgical tools and implantable devices like biocompatible stents, pacemaker tips, and micro-needle arrays for drug delivery and biopsies. Other uses include inhalers and lab-on-chip systems for diagnostics. It also innovates wearables by creating thin, discreet components for devices like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). The automotive industry uses micro injection moulding for precision parts like gears, connectors, and sensors. These parts are lightweight and reliable, enhancing fuel efficiency and performance. Miniaturisation is key for electronics, with micro moulded parts in smartphones, computers, and wearables we use daily. 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 In addition to the benefits above, other advantages are: ✅ 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 The technology supports various materials, like thermoplastics and bioabsorbable polymers, enabling manufacturers to choose materials that meet their needs. ✅ 𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 Its rapid production cycle helps meet market demands and reduces time-to-market. ✅ 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 Parts are produced with minimum excess, generally using recyclable materials, making it a cost-effective and sustainable process. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 The technology also comes with its challenges: 🔍 𝚃𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚝𝚢 High precision in mould construction is vital for producing accurate micro parts. Minor misalignments can reduce part quality. 🔍 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 Ensuring correct material flow and design parameters is critical for consistent part quality. 🔍 𝚀𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 Inspection of micro-sized components is complex and requires advanced quality assurance techniques. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 However, despite its challenges, advancements in process control systems are making micro injection moulding more appealing and viable for manufacturers. To keep up with the pace of innovation, the need for these complex and tiny parts will become ever more significant.

The automotive industry is under constant pressure to improve vehicle efficiency and sustainability. What many people don’t realise is that plastics, like polyethylene, already play a big role in revolutionising design, while contributing to greater sustainability. Plastics can reduce vehicle weight, while increasing durability and strength. This translates to improvements in fuel economy, CO₂ emissions, longevity, and safety. The numbers don’t lie: Here are some of the key statistics that show the positive impacts of plastics on vehicle efficiency. #PlasticsInnovation #plastic #SIMCON #SimulationSoftware #CADMOULD #VARIMOS #InjectionSimulation #Sustainability #AdvancedSimulation #injectionmoulding

A fantastic week for SIMCON at Fakuma 2024🚀 The SIMCON booth received excellent attendance this year despite the overall lower visitor turnout at the event, likely due to the current economic climate. We had great discussions with new and long-standing customers. Thanks to Jonas Schlachter and Simon G. from PFAFF Werkzeug- und Formenbau, who informed us that since they started using CADMOULD, their team is no longer the bottleneck — a positive testimony to how CADMOULD can improve daily operations. Our conversation with Christian Becht at Gindele GmbH was equally rewarding; one of our most loyal customers, Christian, has become a true advocate for CADMOULD.🏆 Thanks, too, to our long-standing partner, ARBURG GmbH + Co KG. Our discussions with Arburg’s Werner Faulhaber show that we have no shortage of ideas for future innovations. 💡 And hats off to the K-PROFI team, especially the editor Gabi Rzepka and editor-in-chief Markus Lüling, who probed our minds on hot topics like AI and provided excellent coverage of Fakuma Messe via their K-Profi Aktuell magazine. 📰 Here are our takeaways from the week 👉 ✅Smart innovation: the key to staying competitive in challenging times Many of our visitors emphasised that technological innovations, like SIMCON’s solutions, CADMOULD and VARIMOS AI, are vital to staying competitive during these challenging times. While major investments in hardware have slowed, cost-effective software can still improve operations. We are particularly delighted to see the growing market interest in Design of Experiments (DoE), which has boosted interest in our VARIMOS Real solution, as many producers currently lack smart alternatives and still use Excel. 🏋️Challenges facing the plastics industry We are facing some serious headwinds. The plastics industry needs more planning security, less bureaucracy, and lower energy costs. Capacity utilisation in plastics processing remains low, with companies hesitant to invest. Customers are concerned about bureaucratic obstacles, high costs, and shifting consumer behaviours due to environmental concerns. In particular, the automotive industry faces reduced model variety, falling order numbers, and uncertainty over propulsion methods. 🔮Future outlook and actions Unfortunately, uncertainty persists, and there is no clear strategy to address market challenges. The industry urges immediate, proactive action to adapt and shape the future. What is needed is a comprehensive restructuring, flexibility, and a willingness to take risks. Part of this means embracing innovation and pursuing smart technologies that provide cost-effective solutions. Thank you to everyone we met last week for your engagement, dedication, and interest in SIMCON. See you at the next one! 🙋 #fakuma #PlasticsInnovation #plastic #SIMCON #SimulationSoftware #CADMOULD #VARIMOS #InjectionSimulation #injectionmoulding

Classic German: Style Meets Safety! (Yes, there’s still that big red Fire Extinguisher) Then vs. Now – our trade fair booth may have evolved, but some things stay the same: our eye for every detail! 🤓 Huge thanks to Jörg Fischer and the team from fischer messe gmbh for the top-notch booth, to Saskia Wolff for the brilliant concept and branding of our stand and motion design, and to Peter Verheyen, Kai Lechtleitner, and the schrittweiter GmbH team for creating the amazing film. And what would a German trade fair stand be without... you guessed it, the fire extinguisher! 🔥🚒 'Safety first' – let’s just say, we’re passionate about being prepared! 😉 Oh, and did we mention? Nearly everyone at SIMCON is a first aider – being cautious is just our thing! Thank you Fakuma Messe #CADMOULD #VARIMOS #Fakuma #SIMCON #Booth

Plastics manufacturers are increasingly seeking ways to accurately calculate and reduce their carbon footprints as well as their costs. 👣 With innovative new features coming soon to SIMCON’s CADMOULD, could it be that the tools they need are already in their toolbox? In recent decades, the plastics industry has relied on injection moulding simulation to avoid errors and optimize production costs. Now, with increasing pressure to produce in an environmentally friendly way, ecological sustainability has emerged as an equally indispensable factor. Yet while injection moulding simulation has hitherto been effective in optimizing key parameters during the planning phase, it is not currently the go-to tool for predicting real-world ecological impact. SIMCON is seeking to change this. The upcoming version of CADMOULD, its plastic injection moulding simulation software, will enable users to predict and optimize the ecological footprint of their material choice during the simulation phase. VARIMOS, the AI assistant for CADMOULD, will complement these findings through the automated analysis of processes, empowering engineers to optimize production with both economic and ecological perspectives in mind. “With CADMOULD, our users will be able to visualize the connection between CO2 consumption and their process settings,” says Christopher W., SIMCON’s Chief Commercial Officer. The new functions proved their worth in a collaborative simulation project between voestalpine Additive Manufacturing and Michael Oppermann from SIMMO GmbH deploying CADMOULD in combination with VARIMOS. The project used simulation-based mould design to create the voestalpine COFFEE CUP MOLD with conformal cooling, integrating production parameters such as energy consumption and CO₂ emissions directly into the process. The result? An 8.5% reduction in CO2 from energy consumption through the use of conformal cooling alone – and, by extension, a potential saving of 135 tonnes of CO2 in a production scenario of 10 million coffee cups per year in Germany. 🌍 Sustainability is no longer just an added value – it’s a requirement. Get in touch to learn more about the game-changing possibilities of CADMOULD and VARIMOS and start optimizing the carbon footprint of your own products and processes. *Edited: Oops, looks like we got a bit carried away with our enthusiasm! It should be g CO2 eq/part instead of kgCO2 eq/part on the graphic. We’re not lifting those heavyweights just yet, but we’re getting there! 😉 #Fakuma2024 #voestalpine #SimmoGmbH #Simcon #PlasticProcessing