Extrusion International 3-2021

10 Extrusion International 3/2021 INDUSTRY NEWS „ The premiere of the webinar “AdEx Home - Advanced Pipe Extrusion Technology” organised by VM Verlag took place on 14 April. Numerous interested participants followed the pre- sentations held in English by Dr Jiri Vlcek (Compuplast), Timo Gebauer (SIGMASOFT) and Martina Bönig (Ingenieurbüro für Extrusionstechnik M. Bönig), who was also the modera- tor. Martina Bönig has been active in the extrusion industry for more than 25 years and currently works as an independent consultant and expert in all aspects of extrusion all over the world. At the beginning of the event, she emphasised the im- portance of computer simulation for the entire extrusion pro- cess, above all for savingmoney and time. This applies to all ar- eas of plastics extrusion. And so the lectures revolved around precisely this topic: computer simulation. The fi rst lecturewas given by Dr. Jiri Vlcek under the title “Sim- ulation of the in fl uence of stretching and material properties on the deformation of round products outside a die.” The conclusion of his scienti fi c presentation was that in the case of tube stretching, it could be shown that the dimensions of the product depended not only on the process conditions and shear viscosity, but also on the viscoelasticity of the material. In addition, with the help of the simulation, it can be shown First “AdEx Home” Webinar VM Verlag GmbH www.smart-extrusion.com that a more strain hardening material tends to deform less in diameter. The results of the simulation can be used for an in- verse approximation, according to Dr. Vlcek. The second lecture, “Extrusion and simulation: How big is the step from the Excel fi le to the fi nite volume simulation?” was given by Timo Gebauer. He emphasised the great bene fi ts of computer simulation, above all in terms of cost and time sav- ings, under the premise: Prevent problems – Solve problems – Understand the process better. Thebasicmessageof his presentationwas that simulationdoes not have to be complicated. According to Gebauer, processors or toolmakers often shy away from tackling the topic of simu- lation because of the fear that they will have to hire a FEM specialist with a PhD who can perform this type of calculation. SIGMASOFT offers a product which, with pure process knowl- edge and some af fi nity for CADprograms, makes it possible to sample processes virtually and not to test them hour by hour in production. Real prototyping blocks expensive machines and provides only a fraction of the information. According to Gebauer, these times are coming to an end. If you want to remain competitive in the medium term, you have to deal with the topic of simulation. Gebauer: “We live in a time when de- velopment times are getting shorter and shorter and mistakes are no longer forgiven. At the same time, demands on tolerances and the complex- ity of processes are growing. Simple estimates and design from the gut will continue to decline, especially in view of the increasing shortage of skilled workers. I think the bene fi ts of simulation on slide 12 speak for themselves.” Finally, themoderatorMartina Bönigherself gave her presentation “Requirements and possibilities for sustainable process optimisation – analysis, implementation & economic ef fi ciency.” She questioned the concept of process optimisa- tion. This means fi nding and eliminating the ac- tual cause of a process problem, not fi ghting the problem, and described which requirements are necessary for sustainable process optimisation and which possibilities are generally available at present. The organiser, VM Verlag GmbH, would like to pursue this forward-looking topic of simula- tion further and offer a follow-up event in due course. MartinaBönig Dr. Jiri Vlcek, Compuplast TimoGebauer, SIGMASOFT Simulation Bene fi ts Extrusion Process Simulation DoE – Geometry Comparison Better understanding of your process Prevent problems Solve problems Training Reduce Time to marked