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CES EduPack Information Resources

At the heart of CES EduPack is the CES EduPack software and at the heart of the software is a database containing materials property and process information and supporting 'science notes'.

Every student or teacher of an engineering, materials, or design-related subject can benefit from the general property and process information available in CES EduPack's Standard Edition. A range of specialist property data provides extra support for specific subject areas, including polymers, aerospace, eco properties, and architecture. Additionally, the Elements database supports engineering, materials, or physics courses with more materials depth, providing property information for all of the elements of the periodic table.

There are versions of EduPack in a number of different languages. In these versions, the contents of some of the following information resources are translated. More information: CES EduPack en français | auf Deutsch | en español.

General property and process information

CES EduPack Standard Edition includes the Materials and Processes Database - a unique, comprehensive, browsable information resource covering engineering materials (ceramics, metals and alloys, composites, polymers and elastomers...) and processes (shaping, joining, surface treatment). For each material or process, the database contains descriptive text, explanatory images, and technical, economic, and eco properties.

Viewing the level one materials database. The tree view on the left displays all of the materials. The datasheet displays the record for Aluminum alloys - see sample datasheets below.

Three different 'levels' of the database are available to support learning needs at different points in the curriculum. Higher levels contain more material and process records (3,000 at level 3) with each record containing more information than its equivalent at a lower level. Every record contains text providing background on the material or process, its applications, and guidelines for its use in design and manufacturing. Material records contain images of products that use the material, helping the student to make an instant connection to real-world applications. Process records contain images illustrating the process. The database is thus much more than a simple source of quantitative property data. It is a unique resource for learning about materials and processes.

Of course, the database is also a comprehensive source of quantitative property data. And that data has one other valuable feature - there are no 'holes'. Missing values are estimated (and this fact is noted in the datasheet). This means that the database can be used to compare, analyze, and select materials and processes without the risk that studies will be incomplete due to missing data. Such materials analysis can be performed using the tools in the CES EduPack software.

As well as explaining materials and processes, the database helps students to explore the relationships between them. Every material record is linked to the processes that can be applied to it. Conversely, every process is linked to materials to which it can be applied.

The three levels of the Materials and Processes Database

	LEVEL 1	LEVEL 2	LEVEL 3
Who for?	Introductory-level students	Intermediate-level students	Advanced/graduate students
Provides	Introduction to the ‘world’ of materials and processes	Structured methodology for more in-depth investigations	The full materials and process database, as used in industry, with added design notes
Purpose	Stimulates exploration of the world of materials and processes, explains properties and their origins	Develops understanding of the role of materials and processes in design, and skill in selecting them	Assists advanced teaching, design projects, and research
Content	67 materials and 75 processes with limited datasets	98 materials and 107 processes with increased information	3,000 materials and 200+ processes (the full professional database), plus CAMPUS plastics database

Sample database content:

Click here to see all 67 materials and 75 processes accessible at Level 1
A typical material (aluminum) at each level: Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3
A typical process (die casting) at each level: Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3

New in 2010: A series of data updates, New information on phase diagrams at Level 2.

Science notes

The database also holds Science Notes - textbook-style explanations of the science that underlies the properties stored in the database. Clicking on any property name while exploring the database brings up the relevant science note. This allows students to 'drill down' from exercises based on the property data to explore fundamental principles.

Every Science Note has a 'Further Reading' section with references to a range of standard materials texts. These identify the chapters within those texts that provide information relevant to the topic. This feature helps teachers and students to tie their use of EduPack into their course.

View a typical science note (Young's modulus) >>>

CES EduPack software displays a record for butyl rubber, showing the property data in the database, together with a science note describing one of the properties - click for larger image

Design Notes - at Level 3, the system includes design notes for all attributes. These offer practical design guidance to students involved in project work, helping to reduce common selection mistakes.

Specialist property and process information

The specialist editions of CES EduPack augment the core database with add-on data modules that provide extensive subject-specific data for areas including polymers, aerospace, eco-properties, and architecture. Many of these data modules are used in industry - where this is the case, a link is provided below to further product information in the industrial section of this website. The educational version contains the same data.

Data Module	Description	More information
MMPDS aerospace (formerly MIL-HDBK-5)	The preeminent data source for aerospace design data	MMPDS data module for industry
MIL-HDBK-17 composites	The leading source of test data for advanced composites	MIL-HDBK-17 data module for industry
Eco Selector	Extends the standard Level 3 database to include eco-properties - equivalent at to the Eco Material Universe data module for industry	Eco MaterialUniverse data module for industry
CAMPUS plastics	7,000 resin specification sheets measured to strict ISO standards	CAMPUS data module for industry
IDES plastics	50,000 plastic resin specification sheets from over 400 manufacturers	IDES data module for industry
Bio Materials	Materials in 6 categories: Basic natural building blocks, soft tissue, mineralized tissue, woods, fibers, man-made substitutes	Bio Engineering Edition
Architecture	126 materials with applications in the built environment	Architecture Edition
Nuclear Power	Enhances the standard Level 3 database with extra materials grades used in nuclear power systems and additional property data	Nuclear Power Edition
Structural Sections	1,800 structural sections	Architecture Edition
Your data	Add and maniplate your own data using CES Constructor	CES Constructor - see Software page

These data modules are available as components of CES EduPack editions that have been specially tailored for courses in Industrial and Product Design, Eco Design, Aerospace Engineering, Polymer Science, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Architecture, and Nuclear Power.

Elements database

The CES EduPack Elements database provides the fundamental crystallographic, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of elements across the Periodic Table. This is particularly helpful for materials science courses, physics courses, or engineering courses with more materials depth.

It contains 127 records for 111 elements (some have two or three allotropic forms requiring separate records). There are 56 fields listing position in the Periodic Table, crystallographic, structural, mechanical, thermal, electrical and magnetic properties, diffusion data and surface energies. The image (click for a larger version) shows one way in which this data can be used. A property – here, density at NTP – is plotted against atomic number, illustrating the periodic fluctuations across each row of the Periodic Table. Many other fundamental relationships can be explored in this way.

Links to further in-depth information

Records within the CES EduPack Materials and Processes Database contain references and direct links to further information sources. These includes links to the MatData resource, which enables searching of high quality, authorititative information sources from ASM International, The Welding Institute, the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and the National Institute of Materials (NIMS) in Japan. Such connections support the use of EduPack in advanced teaching and research - for example, you can use EduPack's selection tools to identify candidate materials for a design application and then, if your instiutution has the appropriate licenses from ASM International, link directly to ASM Handbook information that provides a detailed profile of those materials.

ASM International and Granta are close partners - ASM is a Granta shareholder - and you can purchase access to ASM online resources through Granta.

More on the Granta / ASM partnership >>>

ASM online resources order form (PDF) >>>

License options

CES EduPack licenses have been structured in response to feedback from the academic community. Contact us to discuss which option best suits your course.

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