FLOW-3D CAST 5.1 preview

The release of FLOW-3D CAST v5.1 is around the corner, and my colleague Ajit d'Brass and I will be reviewing the new features Thursday March 26, at 1pm EST - if you would like to join us, you are welcome to register at this link (note, by registering you will receive a copy of the presentation even if you cannot attend the webinar).

For those not familiar with the modeling platform, FLOW-3D CAST is a powerful, versatile, and incredibly accurate computational fluid dynamics modeling tool that has been specifically fine-tuned to address the needs of the metal casting industry. Over the last 40 years, between Flow Science's continual developments of state-of-the-art models, and the availability of increasingly powerful workstations and easy access to high performance computing, the level of sophistication and model accuracy achieved today in the field of CFD modeling is nothing short of mind boggling. And yet, of all the many free surface modeling applications that are found in the world around us (think fuel tank sloshing, inkjets, coatings, water civil infrastructure like dams, consumer products etc.), metal casting applications still present some of the toughest, most challenging modeling tasks.

Successful metal casting modeling demands paying attention to a uniquely complex set of physics and process parameters that will guide the molten metal's evolution to its final shape and properties.

The range of defects associated with fill, solidification, shrinkage, porosity, gas inclusions etc., metallurgy and mechanical properties, the rise of lightweight structural parts and many more considerations all feed into the challenge of designing processes that guarantee a successful casting, as cost-effectively as possible. This is where high-end metal casting simulation solutions like FLOW-3D CAST come into play and deliver the benefits of advanced cast modeling techniques.

Let's step back a little to the release of FLOW-3D CAST v5.0 a couple of years ago. While we had preserved the trademark user-control and versatility of modeling options (FLOW-3D CAST is not a black box modeling tool), we had also in parallel introduced the What You See Is What You Need (WYSIWYN) user interface design philosophy. WYSIWYN is a design approach to the user interface that makes the complex simple by streamlining the user experience through Process Workspaces that match the exact casting process under consideration (e.g., HPDC, LPDC, sand casting, investment, lost foam etc.)

In FLOW-3D CAST v5.1, we are building on the success of this approach: Process Workspaces are pre-tuned model setup and analysis workspaces that are available within the user interface. These workspaces streamline your model setup and analysis, reduce opportunities for mistakes, and ultimately get you faster to your design solution.

Think of a Process Workspace as an environment where all the model settings have been pre-selected and optimized for exactly the type of casting you are working on. HPDC, LPDC, investment, lost foam... you name it, FLOW-3D CAST v5.1 has it.

Modeling HPDC? No problem, you will need cooling channels, plunger motion, thermal die management modeling options, machine PQ2 data, maybe spray cooling, squeeze pins, vent modeling, and much more. HPDC is complex: what the FLOW-3D CAST HPDC Process Workspace does for you is gather and pre-select everything you are going to need for a successful simulation.

Investment casting? No problem, the shell generator and radiation models are activated for you through the investment casting Process Workspace.

We've made something that is inherently complex easy to navigate by pre-loading for you your roadmap to success.

No headaches, no do-overs, a sequential model setup workflow that covers all the bases and yet retains full control of model parameters for amazingly accurate results. It's a tall order, but this is what FLOW-3D CAST v5.1 Process Workspaces deliver for you.

Even better, Process Workspaces allow you to seamlessly iterate between fill, solidification, die thermal management, and part cooling phases of the analysis, allowing for quick design evolution as the modeling progresses towards an optimal casting solution.

FLOW-3D CAST v5.0 already includes Workspaces for High Pressure Die Casting, Low Pressure Die Casting, Low Pressure Sand Casting, Gravity Sand Casting, Gravity Die Casting, Tilt Pour Casting, and Lost Foam Casting.

FLOW-3D CAST v5.1 delivers new Process Workspaces. You now have access to Centrifugal Casting, Investment Casting, Continuous Casting, and Sand Core Making, which gives you a complete set of Process Workspaces for all current metal casting processes used in the industry.

FLOW-3D CAST 5.1 includes the complete set of Process Workspaces for all current metal casting processes used in the industry.

With this release, we will also talk about our new state-of-the-art solidification model. The model incorporates Flow Science's award winning research on solidification modeling for Aluminum Silicon- (Al-Si) and Aluminum Copper- (Al-Cu) based alloys (AFS 2019 Aluminum and Light Metals Division paper of the year award: "Modeling and simulation of microstructure and mechanical properties of AlSi and AlCu based alloys" ). Stay tuned! This is transformational work in the area of solidification that is being pioneered by Flow Science's R&D Team.

For this and much more, please join our web-presentation this Thursday March 26, 1pm EST: registration here - all registrants will receive a recording and slides of the presentation.

Regards

John Wendelbo