The scope of process analysis and simulation has expanded to new levels enhancing the efficiency of the production cycle. The release of MAGMA5 has proved to be a vital breakthrough in industrial simulation.

We, at VR Foundries, deploy MAGMA5 software to simulate solidification, mould filling, and cooling before production. This software can help metal casters determine micro-structure formation, property distributions and both distortion as well as residual stresses in castings, thereby improving product design. It also allows foundries to perform automatic optimization and virtual experimentation on-screen.

Optimized solutions and process conditions for part production and casting layouts can be ascertained before the production of the first casting— e.g., locating gates, finding out runner dimensions, sizing and placing chills and feeders, and helping metal casters determine potential opportunities and risks.

MAGMA5 is perfect for parametric design functions such as evaluation of different casting geometries and is integrated with the latest statistical tools for the user to perform experimental analysis for optimizing casting process. Optimization and the virtual experimentation are the two biggest benefits of the software.

The new release has more features for metal casters including improved core making, simulation of core shooting, hardening and gassing for organic and inorganic cores, and added criteria for the prediction of core box wear and optimization of core box layouts. Additionally, sand and air flow in the process of core making is offered better visualization and efficiency with tracer particles.

Magma software is increasingly used in the area of new product development. It has brought out capabilities for quantitative prediction of heat-treated and as-cast properties in cast iron, steel castings and aluminium. The Magma-iron and Magma-nonferrous modules are used in calculation of micro structure and mechanical characteristics by considering inoculation, alloy composition and metallurgy. Even evaluation of heat treatment for austemepered ductile iron is possible with it.

Magmasteel module can predict re-oxidation inclusions and filling-related sand, and is excellent in the calculation of micro structures and ‘macro segregation’ due to heat treatment in steel castings.

The latest radiation model is useful in the tracking of heat tracking for investment casting processes considering various shadowing effects and radiation conditions. The MAGMA stress module determines thermally induced stresses in permanent moulds and casting for predicting distortion and crack problems in every process step including machining and heat treatment.

Metal casters can achieve a similar form of simulation distortion results as in the case of CMM, and is easily comparable with real measurements. Creep effects in the casting material during heat treatment and cooling are taken into consideration. MAGMA dielife helps in the evaluation of the die life of permanent moulds.