COMPANY CATEGORY
SPECIAL PRIZE WINNER
Project Name: Enhancing the Part Strength of a Hammer Tacker with Carbon-Fiber Orientation Stress Analysis
Company: Stanley Black & Decker
By Neil MacDonald, William Lai, Leo Tung, You-Yi Lin
Summary
Since the effect of fiber orientation can have a significant impact on the mechanical performance of the final product, Stanley Black & Decker (Stanley) engineers were tasked with investigating the part strength of a hammer tacker made from PA with addition of 30% carbon fibers. However, it’s not easy to take into account the effect of fiber orientation on mechanical properties. Stanley engineers leveraged Moldex3D injection molding and structural analysis tools to obtain critical data required to perform accurate structural analysis to ensure overall part strength.
Challenges
- To take into account the effect of fiber orientation on part strength
- To identify stress concentration
Solutions
Stanley Black & Decker engineers used Moldex3D FEA Interface to export the fiber orientation variations along the flow path fields to Altair Multiscale Designer, and further mapped the results to Radioss for performing structural analysis. With the help of Moldex3D’s fiber orientation analysis, Stanley engineers were able to identify the stress concentration in the part, which was previously unavailable with the isotropic material analysis. By integrating injection molding and structural analysis, Stanley engineers gained insights into how the strength of the part would be influenced by the fiber orientation. This helped reduce product weight without compromising the strength.
Benefits
- Observed warpage caused by the anisotropic behavior of fibers
- Identified areas of stress concentration
- Optimized part strength
Products Used
- Moldex3D Advanced Package
– Flow
– Pack
– Cool
– Designer BLM
– Fiber
– FEA Interface
Meet the Team