International Material Data System


In the first quarter of 1997 the service level agreement to do a feasibility study was signed between the Verband der Automobilindustrie working group "EDI Materialdatenblatt" and Electronic Data System. The goal of the study was to present alternative methods and solutions for the processing of the material data sheet, because manual processing was seen as impossible. The exchange of information needed for this should be administered by a process based on a standardised material data sheet. EDS conducted interviews with over 30 representatives of the car industry and suppliers to analyse and assess the status quo and the requirements for the necessary information exchange process. The study showed that an exchange of material data sheets cannot be handled without IT support. IMDS was born. 10 years later: An IT-Tool with 125,523 users registered from 53,888 companies worldwide is used within the Automotive Industry. Despite all criticism a standard was created for the exchange of material data within the automobile industry. Together with the suppliers and taking the change requests seriously the IMDS has developed into a data base containing the information on ingredients in the materials used in many different vehicles. The automobile manufacturers themselves invested a large amount of money for system improvements and IT infrastructure maintenance as well as for data quality in general; Continuous efforts from all companies involved made the development of IMDS possible.


The above Information has been obtained from the IMDS web page news letter.


Contained within the A1 Plating website you will find links to PDF files for MDS Reports on the Substances of Assemblies and Materials which contain the industry material data system Identification number to the products which A1 Plating use. There is also a user’s guide to help you understand the General Structure of the Substances of Assemblies and Materials. Where metal finishing i.e. Zinc plating and the relative Passivates and sealants are concerned there is also a known weight/mass per Sq cm, you will also find a link to a PDF file with this Information, the use of CAD systems make the calculations for the total weight/mass relatively straightforward.
Calculating the weight/mass of Zinc plating and the relative Passivates and sealants on Bolts, Studs, Nuts, or Washers is somewhat more difficult, contained in the IMDS system you will find an excel programme which is easy to use whereby you can calculate the cm² of the particular component, simple math with a known mg/cm² of the Zinc plating and the relative Passivates and sealants you can calculate the total weight/mass. The link to this excel programme can also be found contained with A1 Plating website under IMDS.

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