About the Stay and Work during the Internship at Moldex3D (CoreTech System Co., Ltd.) in cooperation with Institute of Polymer Product Engineering & Polyplastics Europe GmbH
Philipp S. Stelzer
Moldex3D Intern from Linz, Austria
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I took part in an enriching internship program at the Moldex3D headquarters (CoreTech System Co., Ltd.) in Zhubei City, Taiwan. The internship began on the 21st of September 2016 and ended on the 17th of December 2016. The company CoreTech System develops and merchandises its own successful product line Moldex3D, a CAE software for the simulation of the polymer injection molding process and other polymer processing technologies. I was working with the Technical Support department, which is responsible for handling technical customer problems and research projects in applied sciences.
The main aim of this internship program was the execution of a research project in cooperation with Professor Dr. Major of the Institute of Polymer Product Engineering (IPPE, JKU Linz, Austria) and the company Polyplastics Europe GmbH (Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany) about the modeling and simulation of the dimension stability of unfilled and discontinuous fiber reinforced injection molded polymer components by means of the simulation tool, Moldex3D. The conducted project was a comprehensive case study from the characterization of the raw material to the validation of the simulation models by means of a real injection molded component. Four different materials were investigated in this study, a neat and a short glass fiber reinforced polymer material for each a Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and a Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). The fiber reinforced PBT contained 30 w% (weight percent) and the PPS 40 w% short glass fibers.
Fig. 1 Benchmark test for the dimension stability of unfilled and discontinuous fiber reinforced
injection molded polymer components.
The viscoelastic properties of polymer materials are of special consideration concerning this topic. The anisotropic nature caused by the addition of reinforcing short fibers was of particular interest. The validation of the numerical models was accomplished by means of a benchmark test on a real injection molded component. It could be shown that the proper characterization and description of the viscoelastic behavior is vital for the simulation of the warpage behavior of unfilled and short fiber reinforced injection molded polymer components. One-of-a-kind was the extent of covered materials and experimental measurements respectively the degree of complexity and integrity of the study. Such test results are only of restricted accessibility in the industry.
Fig. 2 Qualitative and quantitative validation results for the warpage behavior of the PBT materials
(neat and short glass fiber filled).
In the beginning of the internship I received an intensive practical training on the use of the simulation software tool, Moldex3D. I discovered the different software modules and received insight on how the product is further developed. I also assisted with the development of bug reports and integrated my own ideas in cooperation with the department Technical Support and the R&D team.
Due to my experience in the field of material modeling and Finite Element (FE) software, I supported the Technical Support as well as the European Sales team with technical customer problems and elaboration of case studies. Various case studies about the coupling of injection molding simulations and FE software were developed. Furthermore, I worked on marketing documents and newsletters on the same topic. Through this work I was exposed to the various departments, their different components as well as the internal processes for task sharing and management.
While I enjoyed working on these various tasks, the cross-cultural exchange between my Taiwanese colleagues and I enhanced my internship experience. An internship abroad is not only an opportunity to engage professionally in a different country, but also to learn its history and culture and with that allow you to develop a new perspective. An excursion to Yilan on the beautiful east coast of Taiwan was organized by the co-workers for the whole company staff. I was glad to have participated in this amazing experience which allowed me to grasp the culture and history of the country and people of Taiwan. With the extensive activities planned it also offered an opportunity to engage outside of the working environment and enhanced the teambuilding between my team mates and I. Furthermore, I organized meetings for tandem language learning to facilitate the exchange of the local languages (Mandarin and Taiwanese) with my own language – German. Due to my travels around the cities of Taiwan I got to know the Taiwanese as a welcoming people, helpful and with rooted traditions.
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I graduated with a Master’s degree from Johannes Kepler University (JKU Linz, Austria) on the 17th of August of 2016 and with this internship program I was exposed to a new learning opportunity. The internship program offered a unique possibility to gain proficiency in the use of the software and to take part in its development. I received first-hand experience with the process simulation software Moldex3D during my study program of Polymer Technologies and Science, where we used the software next to the experimental exercises on the injection molding machine. The simulation tool from CoreTech provided a deeper insight and thorough understanding of the injection molding process.
There are numerous companies in the field of injection molding in Upper Austria, the region I come from. The complexity of the industrial processes is steadily increasing to obtain higher product quality at affordable prices. To master the rising performance requirements and new challenges in injection molding and to optimize the product development process, the use of simulation tools needs to be more emphasized.
I am currently working as PHD at the IPPE. The experience gained with the software Moldex3D and continued engagement with the company is crucial for future work in the field of injection molding simulation. Because of this internship a relationship was established between CoreTech System and IPPE for future projects. I look forward to future collaborations and a further development of the research projects in the field of injection molding simulation and FE-software.
I would like to thank Dr. Rong-Yeu Chang, CEO of CoreTech System Co., Ltd. (Moldex3D), Dr. Tober Sun, head of the Technical Support department, and Cedric Liu, from the European Sales team responsible for Austria, for the opportunity to undertake this internship program.
I am also indebted to Professor Dr. Zoltán Major, head of the Institute of Polymer Product Engineering, for the close and special cooperation with CoreTech System and the supervision of the conducted research project. Special thanks to Dr. Ryo Okuizumi of Polyplastics Europe GmbH for the provision of the materials and injection molded components.
The technical expertise at Moldex3D was impressive and I want to express my sincere appreciation for being a part of the great work and innovations accomplished by the team. The guidance and support received from my colleagues played a critical role to the success of the research project. I am grateful for the enthusiastic team work and comprehensive training with the software. The work environment at Moldex3D was not only professional, but also heartwarming. I felt honored to have been part of this big family with its common purpose to drive innovation in plastics processing. I am glad to have met all these interesting people and look forward to the continued friendship.
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