E. JIMENEZ et al: DESIGN AND SIMULATION IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IJSSST, Vol. 10, No. 3, April 2009 ISSN: 1473-804x online, 1473-8031 print 23 Design and Simulation of Production of Injection Pieces in Automobile Industry Emilio Jiménez, Isabel Ruiz Department of Electrical Engineering Industrial Engineering Technical School University of La Rioja, Spain emilio.jimenez@unirioja.es Julio Blanco, Mercedes Pérez Department of Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering Technical School University of La Rioja, Spain {julio.blanco;mercedes.perez}@unirioja.es Abstract—This work shows a design and simulation methodology of a production process to manufacture injection pieces in automobile industry, elaborated to optimise the work in a real plant, and presented through a real example. The example consists in two inserts of an instrument panel for an automobile. The departure data are the design plane of the piece, the materials and additives used, the final specifications of the piece, and the production. The simulation methodology allows us to establish the rules to develop the mold, to specify the number of cavities, to determine the solidification and the cycle times, to locate the pieces and the tapping in the mold, to calculate the clamp force necessary in the injector machine and the dimensions of the mold, to analyse the results of the simulation (with Mold-Flow), to choose the appropriate injector machine, and to obtain the necessary information to develop the mold. Keywords-design & simulation methodology; manufacturing; injection; automobile industry; work optimisation I. INTRODUCTION This work shows a methodology that integrates design and simulation [1, 2] in a production process to manufac- ture injection pieces in automobile industry, elaborated to optimise the work in a real plant, and presented through a real example. The example consists of designing a production of 45.000 Polypropylene sets a year, each one formed by two pieces (Figure1): a co-driver side insert and a driver side insert of an instrument panel of an automobile [3, 4]. Figure 1: Position of the Pieces in the Car The departure data are the design plane of the piece, the materials and additives used, the final specifications of the piece, and the production. The simulation methodology allows us to: a) establish the rules to develop the mold, b) specify the number of cavities, c) determine the solidification and the cycle times, d) locate the pieces and the inlets in the mold, e) calculate the clamp force necessary in the injector machine and the dimensions of the mold, f) analyse the results of the simulation (with Mold-Flow ® ), g) choose the appropriate injector machine, and h) obtain the necessary information to develop the mold. In this work, not only the obtained solutions are described, but also the studied alternatives, in order to show the methodology of the process used, based on simulation. Also the part of the process related directly to the injection and the molds is the only one dealt with in the paper, without including, for reasons of article extension, the other aspects that have been kept in mind in the modelling and simulation of the global process; to be more specific: the election of the robot extractor of the piece, the system of court of inlets, the packing specifications, and the measurement of the work and performance analysis (including solidification and cycle times). Figure 2: Initial studied solution. Location of entrances of Material