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The problemThe choice of material for an engineering application - or its substitution for another material with better engineering, economic, or environmental properties - is fundamental in most manufacturing industies. Yet, frequently, such vital decisions are not made systematically. Rather, they are based on suppliers' recommendations, on a survey of similar applications, or on 'using what we have used before'. These approaches can often work. But they have some inherent problems. They are not repeatable - i.e., two engineers, set the same selection task, will not necessarily produce the same answer. Similarly, decisions may not be fully auditable - i.e., it can be hard to produce quantitative validation for the decision to a regulator or customer. There may be cases where a better outcome could result if the full range of materials options was explored. It can also be hard to balance conflicting goals - for example, strength, weight, cost, and environmental impact - without a quantitative approach. Finally, organizations often invest significant resources in materials testing and acquiring authoritative reference information - they want confidence that this investment is being put to best use. Engineering organizations could benefit from rational selection methods that mitigate these problems. But those rational approaches need to support, rather than replace, individual creativity. And they need to be easy and practical to use in a real commercial engineering environment.
Granta's solutionGranta's solution is based on the rational materials selection methodology developed by Granta's founder, Professor Mike Ashby and embodied in the CES Selector software. CES Selector can be installed on any desktop PC. It allows the user to browse, search, and view databases of materials properties, and to apply the properties held in those databases to make rational materials decisions. You can build your own databases or choose from Granta's wide range of materials reference data. Granta data modules combine engineering, price, and eco property data for the full range of engineering materials - with particular strengths in aerospace and other alloys, plastics, and medical materials. Key CES Selector concepts are the 'performance index' and the materials property (or Ashby) chart. Performance indices are combinations of materials properties such that minimizing (or maximizing) the index delivers optimal performance for a given applications. Ashby charts plot such combinations against each other and provide a highly visual way to explore materials options and make trade-offs to reach materials decisions.
Materials selection charts in CES Selector - CES Selector is ideal for in-depth, graphical analysis of materials problems.An alternative web-based solution aids more routine decision-making (see "Materials decision support for enterprise" below). Related example solutions
Further informationCES Selector for rational selection of materials and processes A more detailed discussion of the Ashby selection methodology Specialist Selectors - CES Polymer Selector, CES Eco Selector, CES Aero Selector Granta's materials reference data Specific data for:
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