FLUENT Polyflow 3.11.0 LINUX64 can simulate all phases of various blow molding processes: Extrusion Blow Molding (EBM), Injection Blow Molding (IBM), Stretch Blow Molding (SBM) and 3D extrusion blow molding. For EBM, this includes the stage of the extrusion of the parison with, if desired, moving mandrels. Similar methods are used to simulate the thermoforming process, including pre-stretching and pressure or vacuum-forming.

POLYFLOW simulations give you a window on the blow molding and thermoforming processes, allowing you to see how they evolve with time and how potential troubles might develop. The software is accessible in a user-friendly environment and provides graphical feedback and detailed information to determine the range of optimal process conditions and/or material properties and to correct potential problems.

In particular, POLYFLOW's robust numerical algorithms account for large displacements of the parison or sheet and predict the contact between the fluid and the mold and other mechanical devices during the closing of the mold and parison pinch-off and the parison inflation. Moving molds or plugs can be considered, including the effect of slip, as well as complex geometries (gas tanks, containers, bottles with handles) and multi-layer blow molding.

For the entire process, POLYFLOW provides information on:

• the effects of gravity on the sagging of the extruded parison
• the pinch-off and inflation process and possible blowability limitations and the location of flashes
• the process sensitivity to operating parameters and materials properties
• the fluid temperature distribution resulting from cooling during the shaping
• the thickness and extensions distribution, the results of which can be transferred to structural analysis software for further analysis
• the cooling phase resulting from contact with the die including the crystallization