Materials are one of the three fundamental variables (together with shape and manufacturing processes) in design decisions for every product. And materials are typically the second highest cost for a manufacturer, after personnel. In virtual product development, it is vital that information representing the behavior and properties of materials is available efficiently and seamlessly from within enterprise CAD and PLM product development environments. Materials information technology specialists Granta Design work with several consortia of leading manufacturing enterprises, to define and develop industry best practice in this area. Granta have partnered with PTC over several years, delivering Materials Gateway applications for Creo Parametric and for Windchill – enabling direct access to vital in-house materials knowledge as well as to Granta’s comprehensive library of off-the-shelf data. Business-critical tasks thus supported include:
• Direct materials assignment in CAD and PLM, ensuring consistent, accurate descriptions of materials and calculations based on material properties
• Answering vital questions about where materials are used in the product portfolio
• Responding to questions on restricted substances that can have enormous cost, reputation, and liability implications; • Selecting the right materials, first time—cutting design cycles and improving products
• Maintaining traceability (vital if product designs are to be audited, analyzed, and optimized). This presentation reports on latest capabilities in these applications for Creo and Windchill, and illustrates the benefits provided to the design, simulation, and overall product development communities.
