PTC has announced that a database of realistic sample materials will be available in Creo 4.0 thanks to a collaboration with Granta Design.
Granta's material database is comprised of 117 sample materials that make up many of the most commonly used plastics, metals, composites and ceramics. Included in each material definition are realistic attributes that make it possible for components fitted with Granta's materials to be interrogated accurately with a number of simulation techniques.
Underpinning Granta's material technology is a data library it refers to as the MaterialUniverse. Essentially, the MaterialUniverse is a database of 3,800 types of engineering materials, each of which has more than 80 material attributes, including mechanical, thermal, electrical, physical, environmental and economic properties.
The advantage of having the MaterialUniverse at a Creo user's fingertips is that it allows designers to begin exploring critical material options for a project in the early stage of a design. With a list of material properties, simulation data sets and reliable vendors on hand, designers can begin making important decision about the manufacturing of a design even before CAD work commences.
“This collaboration with a market leader helps PTC to meet the demands of our customers for high-quality, standard materials data,” said Mark Fischer, director of Creo product management at PTC. “Customers can have confidence in their designs and analyses. The collaboration enables customers to apply the sample materials data, provides a route for them to access more data and enables companies who wish to work directly with Granta to develop and deploy their own materials data.”