WAYLAND, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003--Moldflow
Corporation (NASDAQ:
MFLO), the world leader in process wide solutions
for optimizing the design and manufacture of plastic products, today
announced its Moldflow Plastics Advisers(R) and Moldflow Plastics
Insight(R) software products played a critical role in enabling DW
Product Development to successfully redesign the Black & Decker(R)
Workmate 375 by incorporating plastic injection molded components.
This was a critical element in Black & Decker's ability to not only
compete, but also to regain market share lost to smaller, lighter
clones being produced by lower cost of labor countries. In order to
answer this challenge, DW created a re-designed Workmate featuring
injection-molded plastic jaws that reduced weight and increased
portability.
Aldo Balatti, DW's senior design engineer, used Moldflow Plastics
Advisers (MPA(R)) software to reduce trial and error, be more
aggressive with part design, improve quality, and slash time to market
during the product re-design. MPA was also used to determine the best
injection gate locations to assure even filling and minimal warpage
once the parts were removed from the mold. "We investigated the handle
of the jaw as an optimal gate location," says Balatti. "The analysis
proved we could eliminate knit lines and other cosmetic issues using
this approach."
Once cosmetic and gate location issues were worked out, the DW
designers faced another issue. "We needed to optimize the ribbing
inside for structural integrity because Black & Decker requires that
its products pass safety, impact, and load testing. The company
guarantees that the jaws can withstand an impact of 350 pounds," noted
Balatti. The DW designers believed that the part would warp upwards
because the interior rib pattern was thin. "Using Moldflow Plastics
Insight (MPI(R)), we performed a warpage analysis and, based on the
results, we told the manufacturer that they needed to add a fixture to
assure that the parts stay straight after molding," adds Balatti.
Further, because parts traditionally made of wood were replaced by
injection molded ones, the design team had the flexibility to add
other features into the Workmate, such as storage holes for clamping
and pocket recesses to hold building or craft materials, without
increasing the weight of the product.
Colin Dyke, Black & Decker's global vice-president of engineering,
adds, "The Black & Decker Workmate 375 is a great example of outside
suppliers working together with B&D project managers to deliver a
world class product. DW's expertise in product design and CAD, and
Moldflow's simulation software applied to high performance plastics
resulted in a longtime B&D product line moving forward to a new level
in a very short time frame."
About Moldflow Corporation
Moldflow (NASDAQ:
MFLO) is the world's leading provider of
software products and services that increase the speed, efficiency,
quality and drive down the cost of the design and manufacture of
injection molded plastic products. Companies use Moldflow's complete
suite of products to address plastic part design issues at the
earliest possible stage as well as to maximize productivity and
profitability on the manufacturing floor. Its collaboration with
academia, industry and customers around the world has led to a
reputation for constant innovation in the complete
design-to-manufacture process. Headquartered in Wayland,
Massachusetts, Moldflow has offices and research and development
centers in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific
region. For more information about Moldflow visit
www.moldflow.com or
call 508-358-5848; fax 508-358-5868.
Note to editors: Moldflow, Moldflow Plastics Advisers, Moldflow
Plastics Insight, MPI and MPA are trademarks or registered trademark
of Moldflow Corporation or its subsidiaries worldwide. All other
trademarks are properties of their respective holders.
CONTACT: Moldflow Corporation
Dawn Soucier, 508/358-5848
Email Contact
or
Public relations contact
Laura Carrabine, 440/247-8653
Email Contact