Fill Time:

The fill time plot displays the profile of the plastic melt as it flows through the mold part cavity during the filling stage of the injection molding process. The blue
regions indicate the start or beginning of the flow front. The red regions indicate either of the following:
The flow front position at any given time interval during an animation of the filling stage
The end of fill when the flow has stopped, even if the software detects a short shot
Two views of the same part with a centrally located injection location.
The filling pattern radiates out from the center (blue) to the end of fill (red) located at each corner of the part. Since fill time is a function of flow length (among
other things), the corners that are the furthest away from the injection location are the last to fill. The color scale located to the left of the part indicates the time it
takes for the flow front to reach a given region of the cavity.
SolidWorks Plastics software automatically calculates a recommended fill time and volumetric flow rate. The filling time can have a significant effect on most
results generated from a simulation. For example, a longer fill time may reduce injection pressures, shear rates, and shear stresses, while a shorter fill time can
increase injection pressures, shear rates, and shear stress. Note - changing the fill time and running a new simulation overwrites existing results.
To change the fill time:
1) Under INPUT, Process Parameters, double-click Fill Settings.
2) Clear Auto.
3) For Filling Time, enter a value in seconds.
4) Click OK .
5) Under RUN, double-click a fill option:
Flow
Flow + Pack (SolidWorks Plastics Premium only)
6) Click Yes, when prompted to replace the fill results.
Injection locations:
The injection location is where the melted plastic enters a mold cavity. The last area of a cavity to fill is called the end of fill, which is typically located furthest
from the injection location or in the thinnest wall sections. When a mold cavity cannot be filled by an injection location located on either end of the part because
the flow length is too long, you should move the injection location to a different location that results in shorter flow paths.
Short shot resulting from an extreme flow length.
Moving the injection location to a central location will also minimize injection pressure requirements and result in a more uniform filling pattern from the injection
location to the end of fill. In this example, even though the melt has to travel in two directions the flow length is cut in half, allowing the cavity to fill completely.
Note that a change in injection location might result in non-uniform filling of the cavity, where the melt reaches one end of the cavity before the other.
Non-uniform filling of the cavity as pictured, the bottom of the part fills before the top.
You can review the fill time plot to ensure that the extremities of the cavity fill at the same time. Use the results found from the initial change in injection location
to find the optimum injection location. The injection location located at the middle of the handles left edge fills the lower section before the head of the drill
casing. This uneven filling pattern will likely result in non-uniform packing and volumetric shrinkage and could cause post-molding problems (such as warpage)
in the part.
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A uniform filling pattern both the top and bottom of the cavity fill at the same time.
Choosing an injection location further up along the left side of the drill casing results in uniform filling patterns from the injection location to the end of fill.
To reposition an injection location:
1) Under INPUT, Boundary Conditions, double-click Injection Location.
2) To delete the existing injection location, click either:
Delete Injection Location
Delete All Injection Locations
Note: The previous injection location is highlighted in blue, indicating that you can either move or delete it.
3) Click Yes, when prompted to delete an injection location.
4) In the Command Manager, click Mesh Model to display the mesh.
5) Double-click a Node located in the mesh to select the new injection location.
6) To define the new injection location, click Add Injection Location .
Note: The highlight color of the injection location will change from blue to light purple.
7) Click OK .
8) Under RUN, double-click a fill option:
Flow
Flow + Pack (SolidWorks Plastics Premium only)
9) Click Yes, when prompted to replace the fill results.
You should examine the fill time plot and the pressure at end of fill plot to ensure uniform filling patterns and pressure distributions. A uniform filling pattern is
when both melt fronts reach their end of fill locations at the same time and at the same pressure. The blue regions from the pressure at end of fill plot should
occur at the locations where the red regions from the fill time plot occur. Doing so will reduce post molding problems with the final product.
Pressure at end of fill and fill time plots from the same simulation that display uniform filling patterns and pressure distributions.
To display a section view of fill time:
1) Under RESULTS, double-click Fill Results.
2) Click Fill Time.
3) Click Clipping Plane Mode .
The clipping plane mode of the fill time plot displays the internal flow front during the filling stage (Solid Mesh only).
Animation of Fill Time:
You can display the melt flow front position during the filling stage by animating the fill time plot.
To animate the fill time:
1) Under RESULTS, double-click Fill Results.
2) Click Play .
3) To pause the animation, click Pause .
4) To stop the animation, click either:
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Stop
clear Repeat
5) To view the filling profile as contour lines (Shell Mesh) or a wireframe cavity (Solid Mesh), click Isosurface Mode .
6) For a section view of the filling stage (Solid Mesh only), click Clipping Plane Mode .
7) To slow down or speed up the animation, click Stop , slide the Speed scale to the desired rate, and click Play .
To display the fill time manually:
1) Under RESULTS, double-click Fill Results.
2) Select + slide the Max or Min scale to move through the fill time.
3) After selecting the Max or Min scale, you can press the directional arrows on your keyboard to adjust the fill time display.
Three manual display views of the fill time.
4) If an animation is currently playing, click Stop before sliding the Max or Min scale.
5) To view a contour line plot, click Isosurface Mode and slide the Max or Min scale (Solid Mesh only).
Three manual display views of the fill time using wireframe mode.
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