• 1. Mold parts.
  2. Let them settle one or two days.
  3. Measure the warpage in critical areas.
  4. Reverse-bias the mold in those critical areas.
  5. Repeat Step 1 until critical dimensions are within tolerances.

This is where warpage simulation comes into play.

Warpage analysis allows you to make windage adjustments to the shape of the mold without actually cutting steel. Determining how much windage to use is very tricky—whether you are doing it with or without the help of simulation—because the temptation is to reverse-bias the mold by the same amount the part warped in the first place. 

Applying windage to a mold is not for the faint of heart.

However, if a warpage problem cannot be solved through simulation to improve the mold design or process, then windage may be the last resort. If warpage simulation is conducted properly by experienced simulation engineers, it can be leveraged to take the guesswork out of windage, and reduce or even eliminate the tuning loops needed to bring parts into tolerance. Indeed, the sun shines bright on my Old Kentucky Windage.