The general process for temperature programming is to first define your thermoforming/blow molding simulation with a specified initial temperature distribution. Then you will create the temperature programming postprocessor.
Create a new sub-task.
Create a sub-task
Select Postprocessor as the sub-task type.
Postprocessor
When prompted, enter the name for the postprocessor sub-task.
In the F.E.M. Task Postprocessor menu, select Temperature Programming.
Temperature Programming
In the Temperature programming for shell menu, specify the following parameters:
Specify the initial sheet/parison position.
Modify the initial position of the sheet
If the sheet is planar:
it is assumed that the initial sheet is parallel to two axes of the system of reference. The initial sheet can be in a plane parallel to the
and 
axes, to the 
and 
axes, or to the 
and 
axes. If the initial sheet position is not
parallel to two axes, you must change the system of reference
(through rotations). If the sheet is cylindrical (parison):
it is assumed that the initial sheet has an axis parallel to one axis of the system of reference (
, 
, or 
axis). If the axis of the sheet is not parallel to
one axis of the system of reference, you must change the system of
reference (through rotations).Note: Here "sheet" is a general term referring both to flat sheets (thermoforming) and cylindrical sheets/parisons (blow molding).
Specify the under-relaxation factor
.
Modify the under-relaxation factor
As the technique of optimization is iterative, you must specify an under-relaxation factor (
) to avoid oscillations between successive
solutions. The value for 
ranges between 0 and 1 and has the default value
of 0.9. Specify the size of the rectangles/specify the width of the stripes.
Modify the size of the rectangles
(available only if the sheet is planar)
The initial sheet will be divided in rectangles. The postprocessor will evaluate a new single initial temperature per rectangle. This option allows you to specify the width and length of the rectangles. For example, if the initial sheet is oriented in the
plane, then width is along the 
axis and length along the 
axis. If the width and length are set to zero, a
new initial temperature will be evaluated at each vertex of the
initial sheet.
Modify the stripes width
(available only if the sheet is cylindrical)
The initial sheet is divided into nonoverlapping "stripes" - cross-sectional bands of constant thickness, perpendicular to the height of the cylinder. The postprocessor evaluates a new single initial temperature per stripe. This option allows you to specify the width of the stripes. For example, if the initial sheet has an axis parallel to the
axis, then width is along that 
axis. If the width is set to zero, a new initial
temperature will be evaluated at each vertex of the initial
sheet.Specify the time of activation of the postprocessor.
Modify the time of activation
The new initial temperature distribution is calculated at the end of the simulation, not in the beginning. It is recommended that you specify the time of activation as
the time of simulation. Specify the desired thickness distribution.
Modify the desired thickness distribution
This option allows you to specify the thickness distribution that you want to get at the end of the thermoforming/blow molding process. You must be careful when defining this distribution. Only limited improvements are possible by modifying the initial temperature distribution of the sheet. You can now specify a constant thickness (for all the sheet), a thickness distribution specified in a CSV file, or specify a thickness distribution by defining a set of zones (boxes or spheres, of specified dimensions, of specified law, or of thickness distribution constant or linear). In the last case, you must also specify a default thickness for vertices outside of defined zones.
Important: Note that the desired thickness distribution must be defined at a position corresponding to the end of the thermoforming process (and not in the initial configuration).
Specify the output CSV file.
Modify the output CSV filename
The new initial temperature will be saved in a CSV file. This makes it easier for the next step of optimization, where you have to reread the data file and change the initial temperature in the shell sub-task.
Specify the minimum temperature.
Modify the minimum temperature
In order to avoid a shift of the solution during optimization steps, it is necessary to prescribe a minimum temperature. The result is that at every step of optimization, at least one node will be at that minimum temperature.
Specify the maximum temperature.
Modify the maximum temperature.
You should specify the temperature that the sheet should not exceed during the thermoforming/blow molding process (to avoid degradation, for example). If the optimized initial temperature exceeds this maximum temperature, it is bounded to that value. If you observe that the new initial temperature reaches the maximum for several successive steps of optimization, you should look at the compatibility between initial thickness and desired thickness distributions. Moreover, you should also look at the under-relaxation factor, size of rectangles/stripes, and mesh refinement of the sheet.
Specify the search radius.
Modify the search radius
This option is available if the size of the rectangles/stripes is set to zero. In this case, the new initial temperature at one vertex will be the minimum of the new estimated temperature of points in the vicinity of the vertex (at a distance smaller than the search radius). The default search radius is set to the length of the largest segment existing in the initial mesh of the sheet.
Once all parameters in the Temperature programming for shell menu have been specified, select the Upper level menu option to leave the menu and go to the Restriction of layers by contact domain menu.
In the Restriction of layers by contact domain menu, you will have the opportunity to restrict the calculation to the part of the sheet that is actually in contact with a part of the mold. If you do not want to restrict the calculation in this way, simply click Upper level menu in the panel. If you want to restrict the calculation, follow these steps:
Select the contact domain to which you want to restrict the calculation. By default, it will be preceded by Ignore contact with, which indicates that the calculation will be limited to the portion that is not in contact with this domain.
Click Modify.
Select Restricting contact domain.
Repeat to restrict the calculation based on contact with other subdomains.
Click Upper level menu to complete the definition.
The calculation will now be limited so that only the initial temperature of the part of the thermoformed/blown sheet that is in contact with the specified subdomain(s) will be optimized.