MaterialCenter offers interactive tools for searching, plotting, and viewing material data that enable engineers to take better, smarter, and higher quality decisions.
Key highlights of MaterialCenter 2024.1 include the following features:
CMH17 Stats Integration
CMH17 Stats is a separately available application commonly used, most often in the aerospace industry, to provide an Excel-based user experience for standard and customizable A- and B-basis allowable calculations.
Excel export configuration, allied with Work Request configuration and Excel import, has enabled the integration of this environment with MaterialCenter as an out-of-the-box solution.
Traceability and access to original results files provide complete transparency on the process and dependencies, as well as access to the full set of information used in the calculation of A- and B-basis allowable.
Plotting
3D Scatter Plot
The addition of this new plot type allows the review of data in five separate dimensions: three axes plus point size and color, to provide the ability to review a large range of data and provide a better understanding of key drivers on a display that supports rotation, pan, and zoom.
Parallel Coordinates Plot
From the display of many records, it is possible to invoke the parallel coordinates display to view and filter records based on various properties and parameters. This works similarly to the general search function, but with the added of visibility the relationship between properties for specific material records.
All records can also be grouped to easily distinguish between each record based on key characteristics.
Bar Charts
Bar charts have been extended to offer a few new improvements, including the display of an average of results, but more relevant in several cases is the addition of two new options to complement the Lowest and Highest selections that were previously available.
Now, there are options to plot the Average based on Nominal values alone, or the Average based on Nominal, Min, or Max values, depending on what data is available for each record.
Spider Plotting Improvement – management of min/max values in addition to nominal
This addresses the situation where the nominal values are absent and utilizes min/max values more consistently.
Changed operators on String Attributes
The operators in the Search panel related to String attributes are changed to:
- In
- Not in
- Matches
- Empty
- Contains
These are more relevant for String attributes than the previous operators.
Collapsible Search Panel
In addition, there is now the ability to collapse the search panel to increase the available space to review the matches for any search.
Excel Export
Export to Excel has been extended to enable two additional filters to enable users to be specific about which parameters to export data for and also to have the choice of whether to export Source data or not.
It is also now possible to set a logo in the standard Excel layout.
Data Upload
In order to increase the level of security related to file attachments, there is now an optional configuration to define a list of file extensions that are approved.
Manage Assembly
In addition to “manage layup,” which was dedicated to plies of composites with different orientations, it is now possible to manage various types of assemblies, not just composites specifically, with the possibility of associating a thickness with each layer.
MOD (Multi-Object Display) Improvements
Filtering
The filtering on column headers has been changed to be more consistent with existing desktop applications and provide users with the ability to add or remove specific entries that are used to filter data.
Scrolling
Scrolling vertically now will retain the headers in the table.
Display of Many-Ref entries in MOD
The display of referenced records within the MOD has been improved to enable the display of referenced content in the original record when there are three or fewer references. If more, there is a single reference to ‘Materials’ that will show the referenced records when the link is clicked.
Document preview in SOD (Single Object Display)
A standard mechanism to preview a document associated with a record within the SOD (Single Object Display) is now available in the 2024.1 release.
Autocomplete
When creating a Material record in the browser, autocomplete has been added to ensure the consistency of the entry of values when creating a record and simplify the user experience.
Additional Improvements and Resolved Bugs:
Bug Fix
- Error message for WR template default inputs – spelling correction
- Data Analytics: Clicking on the Save button multiple times creates multiple Analysis Results.
- Standard Export to Excel does not export all the properties.
- InitializeKnowledgeBase.dtd has a typo
- Remove Attribute or Properties – works when Revise, not when Edit At RL0.
- Import XML: importing both Assembly and Test fails to link the test to the material.
- generatedFromModel attributes disappear in the new revision of Material after design data has been published with the test template.
- Data Analytics: The Add Attribute dialog should display attribute labels, not names.
- Scatter Plot: Point visibility improvements
- Edit Material does not execute if only property links to parameters are changed
- Min/Max values are shown in the CAE mapping UI, but only nominal value is used.
- Missing scroll bar in the “User History Statistics” window
- SSL Certificate Keystore type of PKCS12 for MC Explorer.
- Unintended precision change and parameter revision upon Export to XML and re-import
- Unable to delete the Matrix attribute from the Edit Material UI in Classification.
- [Export in XML] Export in the original units doesn’t show the same value shown in the web UI
- Not possible to remove an attribute of the type document associated with a material by importing XML
- Don’t Delete the Parameter Set Associated with the Property
- Double approving (Approver & Delegate) on the final approval step can hang an approval request
- “uniqueness check” doesn’t work with one long attribute only
- [CAE] If the property exists and has no nominal value, the CAE model doesn’t ignore the property
- Curve Data Output with Mismatched Units and Values
- MaterialCenter documentation links referencing the new documentation system
- Remove an unused helplink property in portal.properties
- The Search filter on boolean doesn’t work with ‘=’
- PublishWorkRequest – Completion Date fix required when user locale different from the server
- Project-specific DataOwner Cannot Delete 0-In-Work Design Data
- Explorer Client with SSO takes additional User license and won’t release when client is closed
- MOD Left filters – Range selector doesn’t work on the search for measure attributes
- Special Characters in View Names should not be allowed at the time of creation
- [SSO] The userId is not affected by the “authentication.casesensitive.enabled” property value
- “Select All” Label for the MOD search filter
- The UserSession Log is saving the IP of the MaterialCenter Server
- Remove duplicate entries from the AddCondition button on the Search workspace
Improvements
- [SSO] Improve error messages
- Bar Chart improvement – display average value
- Spider plot improvement – manage min and max values
- 3D Scatter plot
- [Data Analytics] – Add an option to specify the number of points for the “small strain” part of the curve
- Allow file uploads only from a whitelist of file extensions
- [File upload] MC stalls if a file larger than 1GB is loaded
- [Excel mapping] If an Excel worksheet has no property value, it should be removed from the workbook
- [ExportToExcel] Add the possibility of exporting the data filtered by Parameters
- [ExportToExcel] Add the possibility to export Source or not
- [Export] Add the possibility to set a logo in the standard Excel layout
- Export with original precision
- Library: Enhancements in the Change Log Tab and Library Change Log worksheet in the Excel Report
- Ability to hide/show the left panel filters in search
- Filtering doesn’t work for values defined as ranges.
- [SOD] Include a preview for a document attribute/property in the SOD
- [ExportToXml] Add an input that specifies dumping out all properties of selected records
- Approval requests for preferred user selection cannot be backed out after hitting OK
- Assigning delegates for approvers needs to occur at a user (not just request) level
- Improved operators are available when searching for string values
- Ease of enrichment of REST APIs
- Add privilege detail description in the documentation
- Assembly management
- Creo integration – When changing the working dir the selected materials cannot be imported
- MaterialCenter Explorer NX: Unable to Retrieve multiple materials in NX
- Allow revising CAE Models even when no properties are modified in the Design Data
- Update VolumeThermalExpansion UnitsFamily OOTB
- Expand JAHM Databank CAE Mappings to include Nonlinear Analysis (Abaqus/Marc), making use of the existing True Stress vs True Strain schema properties
- Use MatSchemaFilter to order attributes in the CreateEditMaterial UI
- [Create Material] Add autocomplete to the string attribute
- Set predefined values for String Properties
- MOD column filter: ability to change the selection
- Multi-ref attributes are not displayed in the MOD
- Menu display when scrolling on MOD
- Explorer Client Silent Installation
