"To make the benefits that can be realized from effective utilization of modern CAE tools accessible to everyone involved in the design, toolmaking, and/or  manufacturing of plastic products, regardless of company size "

History

In the early 90's, while working as the Regional Manager for the top flow analysis software providers, I realized some of the primary reasons that flow analysis was not being used by a majority of companies in the plastic business.

The most glaring of these was the lack of personnel with the combination of skills that are required to use these programs and derive meaningful conclusions from the results that they generate.

While computer savvy and an engineering/ chemistry degree are extremely helpful,  hands-on experience producing plastic parts is essential.  Most operations have this person on their staff. He's usually easy to spot because of the many hats he wears during the course of the workday. This is usually the one that 'gets it done' when others fail. Unfortunately, because he's already doing several jobs, taking on the Analysis Specialist title is normally asking for  compromise.

What this results in is either inadequate training and/or not enough time to dedicate to becoming truly proficient using the tools. The net result of this is that any analysis work gets put on the back burner. When they do get done, the results are erroneous or inconclusive. Ultimately this experience creates a negative organizational mindset regarding flow analysis.

The final conclusion is that while all plastics companies could be helped by  flow analysis, few that bring the software in-house see consistent benefits. 

FloWest was started as an attempt to provide every company, regardless of personnel or financial resources, access to these programs on an as needed basis.