Isra-Mart srl : Autodesk fires up green materials design tool

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Software company Autodesk has launched a new system that it claims will make it far easier for designers to work out the environmental impact of their products before they go into production.

The US firm has created the Eco Materials Adviser in partnership with Granta, a UK spin-off from Cambridge University that has developed a database of design and environmental information on different materials, ranging from tensile strength to carbon footprint and the amount of water needed for its production.
Users of Autodesk's Inventor software can now access a free system that draws information on over 3,000 different materials on Granta's database and tests which would be the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly substitute for the materials proposed in the initial design.

The two companies said the system will help raise the issue of sustainability earlier in the design process, so that changes can be made before any materials are 'locked in'.

"Lifecycle assessment is focused on the latest stages of the design process, materials selection is in the early stages," said Dr Jamie O'Hare of Granta at an event yesterday to mark the lauinch of the new software. "There's a slight mismatch if you're looking to make improvements in the product."

The problem is particularly prevalent in terms of buildings, while a number of supposedly clean tech products like solar panels commonly make use of materials that are either in short supply or difficult to dispose of or reuse.

Sarah Krasley, Autodesk's product manager for sustainability, added that manufacturers are increasingly pressured by customer demands and regulatory requirements to assess what goes into their products.

Krasley said that businesses had little choice but to consider the sustainability of the materials they use, citing figures from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers which suggested that over two thirds of US designers were focused on sustainable design in one way or another.

"There will be two billion new consumers in the economy by 2030," she added. "This means that materials, energy and water will get real expensive, real fast."

Krasley said that future editions of the software would inject more accuracy into the environmental data provided to designers to ensure that it is as accurate as the figures provided on physical properties. But she said the necessary data was currently not readily available from suppliers.

"We're not seeing the same level of precision within the environmental data," she said. "But I would love this to be the start of a push down the supply chain and getting specific eco-indicators."