MATERIALS DATA: THE STATUS AND NEEDS OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

The sources of data on materials used in the automotive industry are reviewed and their shortcomings discussed including limited availability, obsolescence, limited coverage of materials, limited information on materials covered, and lack of information on the variability of properties. The way that data from presently available “hard copy” data sources are presently used in automotive design is outlined. Several of the small number of currently available computerized materials data bases are briefly described. Finally, anticipated benefits from the use of greatly expanded computerized systems are enumerated. These include the use of “artificial intelligence” for the selection of materials, making very extensive information on many materials available to all designers on the screens of their terminals, allowing instantaneous dissemination of warnings of materials problems, and serving as a repository of engineering know-how for transfer from one generation of engineers to the next.