The educational opportunities at the University of Tennessee were the main draw for William Henken when he enrolled in graduate school. Henken knew he would be surrounded by some of the top engineering professors and have access to some of the best facilities. The experience was enhanced even more last year when Moldex3D provided students and faculty at UT with access to its industry-leading plastic flow simulation program, a donation valued at $3.65 million. As part of his graduate work in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering under Fred N. Peebles Professor Dayakar Penumadu, Henken has been using Moldex3D’s powerful simulation and analysis software that enables clients to optimize injection molding processes and improve product quality.
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William Henken (Right) attend the announcement ceremony of a new research partnership with Volkswagen |
“Having the ability to access this license is huge. This software is essentially a tool in the toolbox, and I think it’s a marketable tool in the toolbox,” said Henken, who is a Volkswagen Fellow. “For a young professional engineer who is really interested in manufacturing, this is a fascinating tool to be exposed to, because companies utilize these process models to inform product development. Being able to have exposure to this software is invaluable.” Moldex3D uses 3D computational technology to simulate the injection of molten polymer materials into molds to create parts for nearly every manufacturing industry segment. The company offers a suite of computer-aided engineering products for the plastics injection molding industry.
UT has the most advanced manufacturing and characterization infrastructure associated with fiber reinforced polymers and advanced high temperature composites due to its leadership role with the US Department of Energy’s National Composites Manufacturing Institute (IACMI). Moldex3D recently extended the length of the donation to UT to allow Penumadu and his research partners, including PhD students, to continue working on their projects.
“Our collaborations with Moldex3D to integrate modeling as a core strategy for the development of next generation composite materials provides our students an ability to optimize complex manufacturing process steps and associated properties in a virtual environment, leading to efficacies and reducing the carbon footprint,” Penumadu said. “The investment of Moldex3D in our students and faculty by providing access to their software helps us train our students, meeting the critical needs for workforce training and development in this field as we move towards onshore manufacturing.”
Henken and his fellow PhD students are grateful that Moldex3D is providing such a valuable tool for them to work with early in their careers. The donation will give them an advantage once they graduate from UT and begin applying for jobs.
“You learn a lot about theory, but this is putting theory to practice,” Henken said. “I feel like a lot of times, you don’t necessarily get that opportunity in an academic environment the way that you might expect. So this puts you closer to an actual product, which is really cool, because that makes you marketable.”
