Home > Industry > Example solutions > Managing test data

Routine Management of Materials Test Data

• Create a single source for all of your materials data - numbers, graphs, images, documents, text, video...
  
  
• Never lose a piece of data or its context - capture vital materials knowledge as it is developed
  
  
• Apply specialist materials analyses to process test data and generate statistically-valid design-quality data
  
  
• An integrated solution from test lab to engineers' or designers' desktops - from easy import of test data to direct integration with CAE, FEA...

The problem

Managing, controlling, and making best use of an organization's materials test data can be a major challenge. Even without the added difficulties of highly-regulated or safety-conscious sectors such as aerospace or medical devices (see separate example solution), failures in routine materials test data management can lead to significant loss of time and money and introduce risk. The most obvious inefficiency comes from data that is lost, hidden, or hard to find, resulting in wasted time or the need to repeat tests. This is a very common problem, since materials data is diverse and often dispersed across organizations, and much of it is too specialist to be handled by generic IT systems.

Even if data is captured systematically, it is often impossible to store the full range of test data (numbers, graphs, documents, spreadsheets, images, etc.) in one place. This can make it hard to keep track of the vital relationships between information. Then there is the time wasted in analyzing data - doing statistical roll-up and applying the appropriate model to compute design values. Finally, a system designed to address these and other frustrations of the materials engineer can often end up being so complex that it is never used by the designers and others who need to apply the resulting information.

Granta's solution

GRANTA MI is the leading system for materials information management. Designed in close collaboration with customers in industry, it enables you to create a single, central, authorized, controlled database for all of your materials data.

GRANTA MI can store the full range of materials information - for example, numbers, graphs, multi-dimensional property data, spreadsheets, documents, photomicrographs and other images. And it captures and retains the relationships between this information. So it is easy, for example, to look up a material property, immediately link to the test data and analyses from which the property was derived, and then instantly find data on the batch of material for which the test was conducted and the operator who conducted it. With GRANTA MI, you need never lose a piece of materials data - and you can capture vital materials knowledge as it is developed.

GRANTA MI is tailored for the materials test lab. It can instantly import data from a range of common test machines, and it is simple to configure for use with other machines. It includes specialist tools to analyze test data and derive properties such as tensile behavior, compression, fatigue, creep, and fracture.

GRANTA MI makes it easy for any user to find, search, browse, and view the data that they need via a simple web browser interface. The system can also integrate with third party software, enabling direct access to approved materials data from within CAE, FEA, and other applications. So the materials engineer has the satisfaction of using a system specified to meet his or her in-depth requirements, while the designer or stress analyst can quickly access the materials property data they need from within their familiar engineering software.

GRANTA MI, supported by Granta services, provides a unique solution for materials information management.

Related example solutions

• Managing mission-critical materials data (i.e., in highly regulated or quality-conscious industries)
  
  
• Support for engineering design and analysis (CAD, CAE/FEA...)
  
  
• Positioning materials (for materials producers)
  
  
• Support for research projects
  

Further information

Product information on GRANTA MI, the leading system for materials information management in engineering enterprises

Information on Granta services to help you specify, implement, and apply best practice materials data management

Download technical paper - "Meeting the Materials Data Management Needs of Engineering Enterprises"