M3
* Former members
MacroModelMat (M3)
Manufacturers in the transportation, wind energy and machinery sector are increasingly using lightweight materials to reduce the eco foot print of their products. This is especially true for the transportation sector, where substantial deployment of lightweight design and materials such as composites is the only viable path to meeting the ever more stringent CO2 emission norms. However, the widespread use of lightweight materials in industrial design and development is limited by the lack of predictive modeling tools to predict the macro level behavior of lightweight materials structures.
The MacroModelMat (M3) program addresses this gap in efficient macro-level predictive modeling tools for new lightweight material systems.

The key objective of the program is the development of an integrated numerical simulation methodology for the multi-attribute mechanical behavior of new lightweight materials such as fiber-reinforced composites and 3D printed materials. The MacroModelMat program covers predictive CAE modeling for multiple functional performance attributes such as: static strength and stiffness, dynamic strength (fatigue), crash worthiness & crush and NVH/Acoustics.
The industrial consortium consists of industrial players representing different positions in the value chain:
- Solution and Services Providers:
- Simulation and Test Solutions
- Additive Manufacturing Solutions
- High precision measurement equipment
- Product Manufacturers from various industrial sectors: automotive, aerospace, energy, industrial equipment, sports ...
The consortium is further completed with academia and research institutes that are leading R&D players in the field of modeling, characterization and manufacturing of lightweight structures (composites, additive manufacturing materials …).