Product category:
Simulation, modelling and validation software
News Release from: ESI Group | Subject: PAM-RTM for Catia V5
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 14 June 2007
Software simulates composite parts
manufacturing
Three-dimensional modelling now makes the study of thick parts possible and thermal management can be optimised.
ESI group has released PAM-RTM for Catia V5, used predominately in aeronautics, automotive, and shipbuilding industries ESI group developed PAM-RTM for Catia V5 as an application to simulate composite parts manufacturing based on liquid composite moulding processes like resin transfer moulding (RTM) or vacuum-assisted RTM (VARTM)
Three-dimensional modelling now makes the study of thick parts possible and thermal management can be optimised.
Modern materials and processes allow weight to be decreased, a common objective in aeronautics, automotive and shipbuilding industries.
However, making thicker, larger, and more elaborate composite parts generates new technological challenges.
With these new materials and processes, it is no longer possible to rely only on traditional methodologies to design and manufacture these components.
Due to the size of the parts, the traditional trial-and-error approach of tooling manufacturing would lead to unacceptable tooling costs as well as long development lead times and expensive material waste.
Simulation-based design is seen as a way to address these challenges in an economical way.
RTM simulation has been used for more than 10 years for simulating the injection of parts with resin fibrous re-inforcements.
ESI group has adapted PAM-RTM's capabilities to the emerging needs of new aircraft programs.
PAM-RTM for Catia V5 can be used to design and develop new tooling and processes for composite materials.
It fine tunes the mould design and the process parameters in order to make sure that the parts are injected correctly the first time.
PAM-RTM for Catia V5 is the result of the full implementation of PAM-RTM capabilities in Catia V5 and a long-term collaboration with industry leaders.
The software takes full benefit of the seamless integration of simulation algorithms within Catia V5 performed on the native geometry.
This totally integrated application dramatically reduces the simulation cycle time by directly linking mould design and simulation results.
It also allows the user to perform injection analysis directly on the CAD model, which ensures a consistent geometric dataflow in an iterative continuous improvement process, resulting in significant time and costs savings.
In the past, such analysis could only be done in an external simulation environment, forcing the user to export the geometric data and leave the CAD environment.
Using CAA V5 architecture and components, the simulation process has now been fully integrated.
PAM-RTM for Catia V5 now offers a common user interface to the designer with key advantages such as the dynamic communication between design and simulation results and no loss of information due to geometry conversion and transfer.
"With this application, ESI group is introducing a direct link between the digital simulation of manufacturing liquid composite moulding processes and Catia V5 composites part design (CPD)".
"It is seen as a major breakthrough that will help the engineers to re-use all the information generated during the design to create quickly injection/infusion models", says Patrick de Luca, Composites Solutions Manager at ESI group.
PAM-RTM for Catia V5 will be available for customer shipment by July 2007.
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