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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 III

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.

Phase II created a robust, mature enterprise system and supported implementation and roll-out in member organizations.

In Phase III further developments will: maximize workflow and productivity benefits; extend data analysis, data management, searching, and reporting tools; and enhance connectivity with input and output data sources, CAE, PLM and analysis software.

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.

 

Member Feedback

“I can say with complete confidence that the MDMC’s fatigue crack growth module will result in at least an 80% reduction in the time it takes me to do the analysis and roll up the data into a useful model” Jeffrey Sickmeier, Materials and Processes Engineering, Rolls-Royce Corporation.

“NSWCCD and CTC are both members of the MDMC and have benefited from the funding leverage of the other eleven members.” Matthew Hayden, Naval Surface Warfare Center


ASM InternationalConsortium 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 an $8m 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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