AUTO CONSORTIUM TARGETS MATERIAL CHALLENGES IN GLOBAL MANUFACTURING

AutoMatIC intends to help its members increase engineering productivity, lower costs, improve product performance, lower risk associated with materials supply and regulations on restricted substances, and make the most of investments in simulation and PLM. The first meeting will be on October 23, 2014 in Paris, hosted by PSA Peugeot Citroën. The consortium's founder members include General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, KSPG AG, and PSA. OEMs or suppliers in the automotive and off-highway vehicle sectors can still sign up to join the group. The consortium is modelled on two projects that have pioneered the industrial application of materials information technology: the Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC) and the Environmental Materials Information Technology (EMIT) Consortium. In a climate of aggressive deadlines, major redesigns, and reduced physical prototyping, the automotive industry is acknowledging the strategic importance of accurate, controlled materials information. This information is essential to initiatives involving virtual product development, materials substitution, supply chain qualification, certification, and risk assessment. Automotive organisations also need to keep up with a rapidly-evolving materials landscape, understanding and applying innovations in areas such as higher-strength steels and composite materials. Good materials data and effective materials decisions are essential in optimizing product designs for global manufacturing, 'lightweighting', and emissions reduction. A strong base of technology already exists to manage materials information, deploy it for use, and turn it into material intelligence that can have business impact. The AutoMatIC project will further enhance this technology for automotive applications. Competitive advantage will accrue to member organisations, as they will be able to adopt and apply these tools with maximum speed and effect as well as benefiting from sharing experiences and networking with other members at regular consortium meetings. Materials information is critical for the automotive sector because so many engineers need access to the right materials data, in the right format. They need it for applications including simulation, materials selection, design, quality assurance, substitution projects, environmental assessments, and more. Automotive organisations also need to keep up with a rapidly-evolving materials landscape, understanding and applying innovations in areas such as higher-strength steels and composite materials. Good materials data and effective materials decisions are essential in optimising product designs for the supply chain and the needs of global manufacturing organisations, and for initiatives in lightweighting and emissions reduction. A strong base of technology already exists to manage materials information, deploy it for use, and turn it into material intelligence that can have real business impact. There are many exciting possibilities for further enhancing this technology. Competitive advantage will accrue to automotive sector organisations that can adopt and apply these tools with maximum speed and effect. AutoMatIC follows a successful model established by its previous consortium projects, claims Granta. It will facilitate the optimisation of materials information technology for the automotive sector and its application, and will support member organisations in maximising the advantages gained from this technology. These advantages include increases in productivity, lower costs, improved product performance and enhanced compliance with regulation.