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November 2007 Granta Material News Welcome to Granta Material News, our quarterly update for anyone who creates, uses, or manages materials information in industry. In this edition:
Seminars for aerospace, defense, energy, and similar..."Materials Information - Using it to Enhance Innovation, Increase Productivity, and Reduce Risk" Effective management and use of materials information is vital to aerospace, defense, energy, and similar enterprises. Rolls-Royce Aerospace and NASA are organizations that recognize this fact and use materials information technology to help increase productivity, enhance innovation, and reduce risk in their engineering process. They will speak at two upcoming seminars on this topic.
The Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC) is a collaboration of world-leading engineering organizations focused on implementing best practice in this important area. The Greenville, SC, seminar coincides with the Eleventh MDMC meeting and, as well as offering an opportunity to hear NASA speak, will enable attendees to network with MDMC members from enterprises such as Boeing, Honeywell, GE - Aviation, Los Alamos National Labs, and Northrop Grumman. The guest speaker at the Brooklands Museum seminar in the UK will be Dr Malcolm Thomas, Engineering Fellow, Materials at Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce is also an MDMC member. Brooklands is a historic site for British motorsports and aviation, and thus an appropriate place to gather today's pioneers in high-performance engineering! Granta will present at both seminars, with discussion and demonstration of the latest software and approaches for materials data management, analysis, and decision-support. The events are free and lunch is provided, but space is limited. Register now to secure your place. More information and registration Materials data management - new technical paperGranta has published a new technical paper, "Meeting the Materials Data Management Needs of Engineering Enterprises". The paper examines the detailed data management requirements of those, such as materials engineers, who generate and supply materials data and those, such as stress analysts and design engineers, who are 'consumers' of this data. It analyzes four specific use-case examples:
This paper complements our existing white paper, "The Business Case for Materials Information Management", which takes a business perspective of the same issues. You can download both papers using the link below. Materials strategy hits 'Motor City'The Materials Strategy Forum came to Detroit in September. The Forum is driving development of strategic materials decision-support software. A members' workshop was followed by an open seminar attended by twenty-two leading manufacturers - not just the automotive companies and suppliers that you might expect in 'Motor City', but also organizations from sectors including aerospace, defense, medical devices, and materials production. With representation from business functions including materials research, design, reliability, CAE, risk management and collaborative programs, there was a rich and diverse discussion. All of the attendees had current business problems or opportunities that required effective use of materials information. The highlight of the meeting was a presentation describing practical experience of deploying materials strategy software across a corporation by Dr Bob Rivett, Vice President of Technology at Emerson Electric. New Materials Strategy white paperMaterials strategy solutions are where the systematic Ashby methodology addresses materials selection and substitution challenges on an enterprise scale. Drawing on customer experience, conclusions from the various Materials Strategy seminars, and the capabilities of the latest technology, Granta is preparing a new white paper - "Materials Strategy - Can You Afford Not to Have One?". This paper describes requirements, and solutions, for the systematic selection and substitution of materials in the context of both complex functional requirements and business drivers such as cost or environmental impact. For manufacturers in sectors including industrial equipment and components, consumer goods, automotive, and aerospace, the paper shows how materials strategy software enables them to:
For materials producers, the paper describes how the performance of their materials, in the context of overall cost or environmental targets, can be positioned in a compelling and quantitative way against competitive offerings. The white paper will be available during December. Pre-register to receive a copy on publication. Pre-register for the white paper Medical Devices Database - new Orthopaedic module joins CardiovascularIn line with the on-going quarterly update and release cycle, ASM International and Granta Design have announced substantial enhancements to the content of the Materials for Medical Devices Database – the only materials database created specifically for medical device design, and combining engineering materials properties with comprehensive biological response information. The new ‘Materials for Medical Devices Database: Orthopaedic Module’ was first released in September 2007, initially focusing on spinal implants. This release established records for nearly 1,200 FDA-approved devices for spinal interlaminal fixation orthosis, spinal intervertebral body fixation orthosis, and pedicle screw spinal systems. The database provides information on the properties of materials, drugs, and coatings applicable to each category of device – bringing an encyclopaedia of proven information to the fingertips of designers of new device products. And already the next release, scheduled for December 2007 is near completion – and will add another entire new section covering hip implants. Meanwhile, in addition to the regular update of existing data, over 1,600 additional device records have been established in the existing Cardiovascular Module, reinforcing its status as the authoritative source of information on engineering properties, biological response, and existing device experience for the selection of materials and coatings used in cardiovascular device design. For a limited period, until the March 2008 release, it’s still possible to access both modules for the price of one! If you haven’t already looked into this remarkable database, follow the link below for more information. More on the Materials for Medical Devices Database GRANTA MI for researchMaterials and engineering research groups in universities, government labs, or industry aim to develop a deep understanding of a subject area over the years, as each research project builds on prior data, experience, and analyses. In practice, the process is rarely ideal! Results from previous projects are typically not retained in a systematic manner that enables easy re-use. How can research groups ensure that they capture all of their project data, and its full context, for future analysis and re-use? Recent work in the Transportation Research Group at the University of Cambridge answered this question. During a study of road construction materials, the research team applied GRANTA MI to capture data, analyses, and results, concluding "The GRANTA MI material data management system was found to provide all of the necessary data types and data structures needed for managing this test data. Its automated input and output facilities enabled the data importing and analysis tasks to be made fast, reliable and consistent, ensuring efficient generation of high-quality research data." Full report - "GRANTA MI Supports University Research" Tokyo seminar: IHI gives keynote presentationRepresentatives of Japanese engineering organizations joined Granta for a recent seminar on materials data management in Tokyo. The keynote speaker was the IHI Aero-Engine and Space Division, which provided a case study of its use of the GRANTA MI system. Strong interest from those present at the seminar will lead to future Granta events in Japan - contact us if you would like more information. More on the recent seminar, and contacting Granta in Japan
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