Sigma Engineering at Fakuma

Sigma Engineering at Fakuma

At Fakuma in Friedrichshafen (October 17-21, 2023), Sigma Engineering GmbH will showcase not only a sneak peek into the upcoming Sigmasoft 6.1 version set to release by year-end, but also the latest freeware tool, Sigmainteract.

Known as a prominent simulation suite for polymer processing, Sigmasoft offers profound insights into polymer shaping. However, the results and details are typically visible only to experts at their workstations and not where discussions and implementation need to take place. This often occurs in meeting rooms, different buildings, with mold makers, or with clients. To prepare all these results for discussion, screenshots and videos are commonly created, but these are static and limited to the selected perspectives.

With Sigmainteract, the results from Virtual Molding can be directly manipulated on one's own PC, without requiring an installation or license for Sigmasoft. This enables the entire cycle to be rewound and fast-forwarded from various viewpoints. Thermal issues, flow defects, fiber orientations, and much more can be precisely tracked. The outcome of an experimental plan can be evaluated, such as for optimizing material selection or cycle time. The new version of Sigmainteract now also includes an interactive representation of shrinkage and warpage. Using the mouse, the perspective can be changed, zoomed, and elements can be toggled on and off.

The evaluation takes place independently of the simulation software license. The only requirement is that a ".iact" file must be exported from Sigmasoft with the desired result and then shared.

"Effective communication is the key to success," says Timo Gebauer, CTO of Sigma. "The more efficiently a complex situation can be visualized, the faster problems can be solved with internal and external partners, and projects become economically successful. Sigmainteract is more powerful than screenshots and videos. It brings simulation from the CAE department to your own PC, allowing you to understand the calculations from your perspective and at your own pace."

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Various simulation results presented using SIGMAinteract®. From top left to bottom right: tracer particles, complete tool, parallel coordinates chart, and warpage