Material Data Management Consortium
Executive Summary
Introduction
The Material Data Management Consortium
(MDMC) is a group of materials-oriented organizations
in the aerospace, defense and energy sectors.
It was established in 2002 by ASM International,
the Life Prediction Branch of NASA Glenn Research
Center, and Granta Design.
Making the best use of materials such as alloys,
composites, and ceramics, often under extreme conditions,
is critical to aerospace, defense, and energy enterprises.
The management and application of associated information
is vital to their projects and processes. Yet best
practice in this area is often elusive due to the
complexity and specialist nature of both the data
and the organizational and technical environments
in which it must be applied. Organizations also
suffer from partial solutions which do not address
the full needs of the whole materials
data lifecycle.
The MDMC is developing an effective, powerful,
and flexible enterprise software system for managing
this mission-critical materials information. It
maximizes productivity, while maintaining data
quality, traceability, integrity, and security.
The requirements, experience, and technical expertise
of members guide software development. Members
employ the resulting system, receiving support
from the software developer, Granta, and regular
releases to maintain and upgrade functionality.
Members also benefit from Consortium meetings and
other mechanisms for sharing ideas and experiences.
The collaborative approach achieves the materials
information objectives of member organizations
more effectively than "going it alone"-
and at a fraction of the cost.
MDMC phase two
The
first MDMC project ran from 2002-2005. Its key output was the revolutionary
new GRANTA MI software system,
which manages the life cycle of materials information,
from testing machine to design engineer’s
desktop.
The second three-year cycle is now
focusing on enhancing the capabilities of the GRANTA
MI platform with objectives including: maximization
of workflow and productivity benefits; addition
of powerful new data analysis, data management,
searching and reporting tools; and enhancement
of connectivity with input and output data sources,
CAE, PLM and analysis software systems.
Benefits
All members of the MDMC have:
- Membership in a world-leading collaborative
project, providing networking opportunities with
peers in leading engineering organizations and
access to expertise in materials information
technology
- A license for GRANTA MI — the
leading system for materials
information management in engineering enterprises
- Support from Granta in the implementation
and use of this software
- Formal input to the GRANTA MI development process
- Training and networking through in-person
Consortium meetings, telephone conferences, and
web events
Each member applies this package to generate
solutions to their own materials information problems.
At the same time, they benefit from shared ideas,
expertise, and funding in the solution of common
issues. The Consortium
delivers value to its members in many ways, including:
- Providing a comprehensive suite of tools
for managing all aspects of the materials data
life cycle (read
more on the materials
data lifecycle...)
- Increasing the quality, integrity and traceability
of materials data within each member organization
- Increasing the efficiency of materials data
management and analysis: saving considerable
time and money, and increasing competitiveness
- Data mining and data publishing: providing
corporate material information customers with
the data they need, when they need it, in
the format they need.
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 Consortium structure
The MDMC is managed by ASM International, with
a Steering Committee chaired by Dr Steven Arnold
of the Life Prediction Branch at NASA Glenn Research
Center. Each member organization is represented
on the Steering Committee, which sets the general
directions of the project, prioritizes and reviews
the development activities and sets the system
delivery milestones. Granta services the Consortium
by developing, maintaining, and supporting the GRANTA
MI system.
Software system: GRANTA MI
GRANTA MI is the leading system for materials
information management in aerospace and defense
enterprises. It helps these organizations to control,
analyze, and apply critical data. GRANTA MI creates
a single corporate information resource for internal
testing and design data and external references,
including integrated access to key references such
as MMPDS (formerly MIL-HDBK-5) and ESDU MMDH. Materials
experts use GRANTA MI to manage and analyze this
data, creating certified information such as fatigue
curves that they then publish in a secure and controlled
manner. Engineers access and apply this information,
for example in product design, assured that it
is relevant, traceable, and the best available.
GRANTA MI is developed and maintained for the
MDMC by Granta Design, Read
more on the benefits of GRANTA MI at the Granta
website...
Membership
Organizations become eligible for MDMC membership
by purchasing a qualifying software package. Members
receive all new software as it is developed during
the project, sharing in the results of a $3m software
development program. As well as receiving constant
support from Granta, they benefit from training
and networking at six-monthly Consortium meetings
and online events between these meetings.
More on MDMC members...
A unique opportunity
The MDMC is a unique opportunity for organizations and government agencies in aerospace, defense and energy to increase their leading position in materials information and set the standards for the coming decade. The Consortium will yield substantial payback to its member organizations in terms of quality, quantity, integrity and efficiency of materials R & D activities.
Further information
Contact us to receive the MDMC Phase II Invitation document, which
contains much more detail on the MDMC.
Granta services the Consortium by developing, maintaining, and supporting
the GRANTA MI system.
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