Part Cavity

Use the Part Cavity tool to designate, automatically detect, and reorient the part cavities in your model geometry.

Location: Molding ribbon

Note: In Quick mode, the Auto-Configure Components satellite icon is not present.

Designate a Cavity

Define the part cavities, material type, polymer, and temperature for the molding simulation.

Note: You need to designate a part cavity before performing any other operation.
  1. On the Molding Part icon, click Designate Part Cavity.
  2. Select the part cavity in your model. If your model contains more than one part cavity, select them all.
    The selected parts are displayed in red.


  3. Use the microdialog options to define the material, polymer, and temperature.
    Option Description Note
    Click the View Materials button to examine the material's thermal, rhealogical, mechanical, PVT and fiber properties.
    • You can modify an existing material in the Materials dialog, save it with a new name, and access it from the My Materials tab.
    • You can download additional materials from the Altair Material Data Center, save them locally, and import them into My Materials.
    Select a material type.
    Select from common polymers of your chosen material type.


    		Validate the material. Generate a .pdf file with relevant data on the material, including thermomechanical properties, viscosity, temperature dependence, and equation of state.

Automatically Detect Cavities

Automatically detect and designate the mold part cavities and running system.

  1. On the Part Cavity icon, click Auto Configure Components.
  2. Click the surface of the inlet to automatically detect the mold part cavities and the runner system components.
    The mold part cavities are displayed in dark red and the runner system components in light red. The selected inlet has a green arrow.


  3. Use the microdialog options to define the material type, polymer and temperature.

Part Analysis

Set the mold's opening direction and get insights on the part's fillet radii and thickness.



Mold Opening Direction

Reorient the mold's opening direction with respect to the part.

You must first designate a part cavity.
  1. In the Part Analysis subribbon, click Mold Opening Direction.
    The Demolding window appears, along with a gray frame indicating the plane and direction of the mold opening. The mold will open along the Z-axis by default. Surfaces likely to bind with the mold, making demolding difficult, are highlighted in red:
  2. Click the Select surface button and select the face of the part that it is perpendicular to the optimal mold opening direction. In the example below, the selection is outlined in yellow.

    The frame reorients with the selected face perpendicular to the mold opening direction.
    Note: Surfaces at an angle from the mold opening direction smaller than the demolding angle are in a critical orientation to the mold, and may adhere to the mold during the demolding process. Critical surfaces appear in red.


  3. Set the demolding angle.
    Note: The Demolding angle field defaults to 4 degrees, though for most applications, a tolerance of 2 degrees or less is sufficient.

Fillet Radius Analysis

View fillet radii on the molding part.

  1. In the Part Analysis subribbon, click the Fillet Radius tool.
    The Fillet Radius window appears, and fillets within the default range are highlighted in the appropriate colors.


  2. Optional: In the Max field, you can change the size of the largest fillet radius detected.
  3. Right-click and mouse through the check mark to exit, or double-right-click.

Critical Areas Analysis

View the areas of greatest and least thickness in the molding part.

Critical Areas visualizes the part’s thickness distribution using spheres. This representation helps users quickly identify potential problem zones: regions of maximum thickness, which may lead to porosity or solidification defects, and regions of minimum thickness, which can cause filling issues or poorly defined surfaces

  1. In the Part Analysis subribbon, click the Critical Areas tool.
    The part becomes transparent, with areas of different thickness marked with different colored spheres. Yellow spheres indicate areas closer to the part's average thickness. Red spheres indicate areas closer to the part's maximum or minimum thickness.

  2. Optional: Use the microdialog to change which thicknesses are indicated.
  3. Right-click and mouse through the check mark to exit, or double-right-click.

Thickness Analysis

View part thickness as a heat map.

  1. In the Part Analysis subribbon, click the Thickness tool.
    A limited analysis explorer window opens, showing the part's thickness data as a color-coded heat map.

  2. Optional: Use the slider in the analysis explorer window to change which thicknesses are displayed.
  3. Right-click and mouse through the check mark to exit, or double-right-click.