The HPDC Gating Design Wizard simplifies gating design by allowing users to input casting details like weight, projected area, material, shot machine, and biscuit size. It generates a PQ graph to verify the shot machine's capability, and provides key results like filling time, ingate velocity, required ingate area, and phase velocities and shift times. The wizard also calculates casting pressure, clamping force margins, and runner cross-sections for use in Smart Runner Design. This streamlined process ensures an efficient, accurate, and quick gating design, reducing the time and effort required for setup.

Gating Wizard Main UI

Runners and Shot Sleeve Design

Phase Parameters and Vacuum Design

PQ Graph Analysis

To create an ingate, simply define:

• A point location
• A direction
• A weight factor

You can define as many ingates as needed. This is sufficient for flow simulation in QuickCast. Once set, users can easily visualize the flow pattern through these ingates.

3 Ingates created (in Red Color)

Ingate User Interface

It delivers key results, including:

• Flow from each ingate in different colours
• Flow length in different colours
• Filling time
• Gas entrapment
• Last filling region

Simulations for a 1-million mesh model take less than 5 minutes, saving engineers valuable time.

The fast and insightful results enable engineers to experiment with different gating methods and ingate locations, optimizing the filling process without the need for numerous full-scale flow simulations. This reduces the number of iterations required, ultimately saving time and costs.

Flow Length Visualization

Gate Color Differentiation

Trapped Gas (Front View)

Trapped Gas (Back View)

The QuickCAST Optimization Tool allows casting designers to fine-tune ingate locations and sizes to achieve optimal results, such as balancing the flow of liquid metal within the casting.

Two methods are available: DOE (Design of Experiments) manual, or automatic. The tool runs multiple iterations of QuickCAST flow simulations until the desired result is achieved.

Users can set guidelines for ingate adjustments, including minimum and maximum sizes, flow volume, and flow length as criteria for optimization.

Initial stage: all ingates in equal size

Final result: Ingate sizes adjusted based on filling requirements

SMART RUNNER TO GENERATE GATING

After completing Gating wizard page and ingate design, now it's time to create runners. Ingate locations and sizes are already defined and optimized, now just add sprue/biscuit location and connect ingates to the sprue/biscuit through smart runners. Smart runner gating design tools has intelligence about the standard definition of different runner shapes.

1 Auto Runner – Mid Line

Place Sprue. To create runner, select an ingate (created in previous step) and pick a point towards sprue, runner automatically created as per width of the ingate size.

2 Auto Runner – More Line

Select other ingates and points of the desired location of the runner on screen, runner automatically created with correct width, draft, height as required for the ingate.

3 Auto Runner in 3D

View runners in 3D, runner section width and height gradually reduced with proper draft angle. Each runner width is as per the width required for the ingate.

4 Auto Merge Runners

Select 1st runner as master and select 2nd to merge, runner section of the 1st runner automatically adjusted where 2nd runner is merging. Similarly in the other side runners.

Sample Gating Designs

1 3D die face design (ParaCAD)

2 Design gating system in a workspace (SmartRunner)

3 Designed runner system in a workspace (plan)

4 Final: Projected CAD base 3D runner

3D Inner Gate Features

Features like inner gates also modified to match the parting line surface

The generated 3D inner gate

The generated 3D inner gate

User Modified 3D inner gate

CAD quality fillet rounds

Sample 3D Gating Designs

Overflow placement

Overflow in 3D

Property Editor

Overflow Types

VENTING DESIGN

And the venting block design, could be done in full parametric, also to support vacuum system.

Venting Design UI

Venting Block added to casting

SHOT SLEEVE MODEL

Include Shot Sleeve into your simulation model

• Cast-Designer provides a wizard to create shot sleeve model.
• Define shot sleeve movement in the CPI setup which defines the 1st phase speed and 2nd phase speed or more

SHOT SLEEVE MODEL EXAMPLES

Shot sleeve UI

Casting with Shot sleeve

ShotSleeve Flow 1

ShotSleeve Flow 2

OPTIMIZE COOLING SYSTEM DESIGN WITH CAST-DESIGNER

1 Find Mass Distribution 5 min

EMDI: Extracts the Mass Distribution Index of the part

EMDI thickness is mapped on the 3D part surface and displayed in a color contour.

The system will generate a smooth background mesh automatically.

A smaller cell size can get more accurate result but need more CPU time and resources for display.

2 Fast Cooling % 3 min

Cooling Affection: Select the cooling channels for analysis

Run the fast cooling analysis – takes 3 minutes

Fast Cooling analysis considers the heat affection of the channels to the SURFACE of casting part using inverse method

Displays results in color contour

The cooling affection formula could be customized

3 Cooling Affection 2 min

Fast Cooling Analysis on EMDI & Cooling Affection on the Casting part: Combine both the EMDI and fast cooling result together to get the cooling affection result.

Now, cooling affection with respect to mass of the component is displayed in color contour, which is more accurate than surface level analysis.

1 Define Cooling Regions & Material

Based on the metal flow path, the system or user assigns regions to the casting system, supporting up to six main regions and 24 sub-regions.

The casting volume and projection area are distributed across these sub-regions.

Users input the casting and mold material, production rate, and cooling channel properties to complete the setup.

2 Automatic Generation of Cooling Channels

By assigning different cooling channel properties, such as standard or jet cooling.

The system predicts the optimal cooling system and automatically generates a fully parametric cooling channel geometry and layout design.

This is the core technology behind SmartCooling intelligence.

3 Optimize Cooling Channels using FastCooling Analysis

Check the effectiveness of the cooling channel design using the FastCooling Analysis feature.

Users can make modifications to the cooling channel design, and any adjustments to location or cooling power will be immediately reflected in the FastCooling analysis, providing real-time feedback.

Smart Cooling Examples: Giga Casting Part

Cooling design for Giga is time consuming and huge numbers of cooling difficult to manage because of its large numbers, Cast-Designer provides complete tools to auto create, manual adjustment, group wise management.

Giga Casting Overview

• Challenges in Giga Casting Cooling Design
  • Manual creation of cooling channels is tedious and time-consuming
  • May take hours or even days to complete
  • Can involve 1000+ cooling channels, increasing complexity
• Cast-Designer Smart Cooling Advantage
  • Automatically generates optimized cooling channels
  • Evaluates cooling performance in minutes (vs. hours/days)
• Key Benefits
  • Saves time & cost – Reduces manual labor and design iterations
  • Faster designs – Accelerates the entire cooling system development
  • Faster delivery – Shortens production lead times

Cooling Region Division

Considering the geometry properties, the casting mould has been divided to 17 regions. The cooling channel in each region could be designed separately.

• Integrated Smart Cooling Environment
  • All functions work within Cast-Designer's unified interface
• Efficient Design Approach
• Comprehensive Management
  • Advanced tools for cooling line organization
• Region-Based Cooling Strategy
  • Six main mold regions:
    • Biscuit (required)
    • Main runner
    • Gate runner
    • Casting front (required)
    • Casting rear
    • Overflow
  • Each main region dividable into 4 sub-regions (24 max)
  • Flexible region type application

Auto-Generated Channels

Predicted cooling system based on the casting geometry and the thermal balance, the parameters of each sub-region was optimized.

• Cooling System Setup
  • Define basic parameters for auto channel generation
• Material & Process Parameters
  • Casting material properties
  • Mold material properties
  • Production rate
  • Ejection temperature
  • Pouring temperature
• Smart Calculation Tools
  • Built-in wizard for metal flow heat loss
  • Quick wizard for channel diameter and media flux
• Advanced Considerations
  • Spraying heat loss calculation
  • Flexible thermal distribution for biscuit area

Fast Cooling Verification

• Fast Cooling Affection
  • Displays the distance of cooling channels to the casting part
  • Higher value = shorter distance (strong cooling effect)
  • Blue color = farther distance (weaker cooling effect)
• User Adjustment
  • Users can adjust channel locations and recheck distances
• Cooling Affection Factor
  • Combines results from EMDI and fast cooling affection
  • Higher value = strong cooling effect
  • Blue value = poor cooling effect
• Optimization
  • Users can fine-tune cooling channel locations until optimal results are achieved

Cooling Channel List

• Smart Cooling Kernel with Innovative Technology
  • Calculates cooling system based on thermal balance (local & global)
  • Considers casting geometry for optimal channel layout
  • Optimizes cooling channel parameters:
    • Channel diameter
    • Water surface temperature
    • Distance to cavity
  • Enables flexible thermal distribution in the mould block
  • Supports slider cooling design

Cooling Channel Properties

• Water Line & Jet Line
  • Define the percentage of water line and jet line in a sub-region block
• Thermal Distribution
  • Define thermal distribution for:
    • Fixed mould
    • Movable mould
    • Slider
• Cooling Channel Details
  • Define detailed parameters of channels in the sub-region
• Flow Sequence Factor
  • Define the heat loss factor of metal flow
• Jet Line Speed-Up Ratio
  • Consider physical diameter effects (e.g., bubble & butterfly channel)

SmartCooling UI Features

Cast-Designer's advanced die-spray model enables users to simulate every aspect of die preparation. This includes considering the mold surface shape, die temperature, as well as the position and movement of spray nozzles, open and close time of different spray nozzles. It ensures optimal cooling distribution and prolongs die life while maintaining production efficiency.

The dynamic heat transfer coefficient (HTC) derived from this simulation can be used in the most accurate Full-Mould Cyclic Flow-Solidification Simulation, enhancing the overall simulation precision.

Die-Cooling Spray Design and Simulation Process

Die-Cooling Spray Interface

Nozzle Configuration

Die-Cooling Spray Interface

Nozzle Configuration

Example: Die-Cooling Spray Design

Head Plate Design

Nozzle Design & Layout

Surface Spraying

Surface style spraying is a quick and simplified method for spraying simulation. It’s useful for initial simulations to reduce the time needed for detailed spray modeling, while still providing reasonably accurate results.

Results Comparison

There are two design plans for advance spraying. One is no nozzles on the main runner region and another one was three nozzles on the main runner region. The lead time of spraying was 5 seconds only and the whole simulation was 10 seconds.

The result of 4.51 second shows the different of temperature distribution of the vertical region and this affection is continue until the end of the simulation.

Plan A: No Nozzles on Main Runner

Plan B: Three Nozzles on Main Runner

Temperature distribution on the die surface during the complete casting cycle

Entry and Exit points for cooling media

Define cooling media properties, velocity, initial temperature etc

Example: Media Flow in Cooling Channel

Dynamic HTC values over time

Dynamic velocity vs time

Example: Part Ejection Simulation

Casting with Die Set

Complete assembly view showing casting within die components

Die & Casting Temperature

Thermal profile during ejection process

Ejection Pin Locations

Strategic placement of ejection mechanism components

Distortion Analysis

Deformation caused by ejection pin forces