Cambridge, June 2005

GRANTA MI: Launch of a Materials Software Revolution at AeroMat 2005

GRANTA MI greeted with enthusiasm by aero-industry leaders at official launch

Over three years in the making, GRANTA MI was officially launched at a grand reception held at the AeroMat 2005 conference in Orlando, co-hosted by Granta and ASM International. More than 50 senior representatives from leading aerospace and defense enterprises were invited to hear GRANTA MI introduced as “the software revolution to make your materials data work.” Organizations represented included GE, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls Royce.

The actors at AeroMat: Seymour, Marsden, and Cebon

Delegates at the launch were impressed by the close fit of GRANTA MI to the real commercial requirements. “Materials software has proven a tough nut to crack, but you have succeeded. The influence of industrial partners can be clearly seen in the capabilities of the system you showed us today.”

Speakers included Laura Marshall of ASM International and Dr Steve Arnold of NASA Glenn Reseach and Chair of the Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC). Granta was represented by Dr David Cebon, Managing Director, and Dr Will Marsden, Aerospace Manager.

To general amusement and nods of agreement, Cebon and Marsden got across the problem of material data management with a theatrical tour de force, acting out the attitudes of seven different individuals at the fictitious ‘ACME Aerocorp’. Each individual epitomized a different perspective on materials including R&D, materials testing, goods receiving, design engineering, and the CTO.

Arnold then described the contribution of the MDMC towards the GRANTA MI solution and spoke with passion about the importance of materials data management, referencing the requalification of the Space Shuttle for flight.

Interviewed about the launch, ASM Managing Director, Stanley Theobald, explained that his members didn't want another database that would be a 'black hole' for information. “With GRANTA MI, engineers and designers can retrieve, analyze and utilize data in ways never before possible.”

Senior representatives of leading aerospace enterprises were invited to GRANTA MI's reception		GRANTA MI comprises an integrated system of robust data tools: With capabilities for enterprise-wide materials information management, applications range from the task-specific to the comprehensive management of information throughout an organization, from test lab to designer’s desktop. Marsden explained that “it makes sense to describe GRANTA MI as the long-awaited materials engineering equivalent to the CAD and FE packages that have become integral to mechanical and analytical engineering.”

The new system was developed by Granta with strong industry and end-user participation – namely Granta’s customers and partners, including the Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC) and ASM International. MDMC members include among others: Alcan Aerospace, ASM International, Battelle Memorial Institute (liaison for MMPDS), Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Los Alamos National Laboratory (MST6), Los Alamos National Laboratory (ESA), NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Rolls Royce Corporation, Secat Inc., Westmoreland Mechanical Testing, and Williams International.

For more information about GRANTA MI, click here or contact us.

Read ASM’s press release about the launch: Aerospace Engineers Get Unprecedented Material Insights