CURVES AUGMENT PROSPECTOR WEB ON-LINE DATABASE.

IDES, Inc., Laramie, Wyo., has added multipoint data for dozens of different material properties in its fee-based Prospector Web on-line database www.idesinc.com. The curves augment the database's existing single-point, tabular datasheet data on many thousands of grades of plastic materials, extending the usability of Prospector Web for plastics engineers and designers. Additional curves will be added as information becomes available from materials suppliers.

The Internet-based Prospector Web database has for many years been a source for tabular data on the physical, mechanical, and agency data on more than 35,000 thermoplastic, thermoset, elastomer, and compounded resins that provides plastics professionals with the information required to make more sound materials-selection decisions. Now, using Prospector Web's powerful search capabilities, engineers and designers can access ASTM and ISO tabular and curve-based data using more than 200 different processing and engineering properties. Data, including supplier contact information, are available from producers in North and South America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim.

ASTM and ISO 10350 Curve Types

Both ASTM and ISO 10350 curve families are available, covering rheological properties, stress vs. strain, fatigue, creep, PvT, DSC, and others. Curves are displayed on the user's screen via a Java-based Web applet. A curve display applet allows the user to manipulate curve data using a number of curve fits. The user can also choose the type of axes and zoom in to fine- tune the level of detail in the search.

Why Curve-Based Data?

Access to multipoint data (displayed as curves) helps ease the burden of choosing the right plastic for a specific application by providing engineers with a better indication of the performance of the material under varying end- use conditions, e.g. time, strain rate, temperature, pressure, or stress. Standard single-point (monotonic) properties, as given on typical tabular datasheets, can be useful for initial materials selection. However, such data are generally inadequate to predict the structural performance of a design under real-life conditions, since single-point data are usually gathered by measuring performance at a single condition, which rarely is the same condition to which a target application will be exposed. Consequently, curve data are particularly critical in the development of demanding applications that exploit the full properties of engineering plastics -- especially those that design close to the engineering limits of a given material.

For instance, conventional tensile strain data are measured at very low strain rates, at a single temperature, time, and stress level. The single- point value that results cannot be inserted into an engineering equation designed to measure the structural performance of a plastic instrument panel under head impact conditions, which represent strain levels and times that are several orders of magnitude higher and faster than those tested, and may occur at temperatures and stress levels other than those tested.

Without access to curve data, engineers are forced to guess at a value to be inserted into the equation; with curve data, engineers can either select data measured at the test conditions or interpolate or extrapolate to reach an approximate value at the desired conditions -- a value that will likely be far more accurate than the guesstimate traditionally used. Hence, designs developed using multipoint data usually proceed faster and are more accurate than those using traditional single-point data. This allows producers to take products to market faster, less expensively, and with greater chances for success.

"IDES continues to innovate ways to bring plastics information solutions to designers, engineers, and processors," said Mike Kmetz, IDES president. "The addition of curves to our Prospector Web database provides the database with a new dimension of usability that will directly impact our customers."

IDES is the world's source for plastic materials information. The combination of IDES' technology and unique database of plastics information allows the company to create customized, timesaving applications for customers involved in the plastics industry. IDES' extensive relationships with plastics suppliers and distributors also help ensure data integrity, timeliness, and usability for both its fee-based Prospector(TM) Web database, as well as its no-charge FreeMDS(TM) web-based database as well. IDES additionally designs state-of-the-art electronic catalogs for suppliers such as Dow and GE Plastics and distributors such as GE Polymerland, M.A. Hanna Resin Distribution, and Performance Plastics. The company also provides generic and custom Internet, intranet, and extranet systems that allow OEM resin suppliers to add materials, properties, and procurement information that improve the efficiency of their design teams.

For more information, call 800-788-4668 or 307-742-9227.