Databases are essential in organizing and reporting technical information such as product data and test results. The first step in developing a database for industrial coating material is to identify the parameters that are essential for characterizing coating material identifiers and properties. The Society for Protective Coatings/Computer-Integrated Knowledge System Network (SSPC/
CIKS) Joint Coating Working Group has prepared this guide for formatting data on coating material for use in preparing product data sheets in hardcopy format and computerized databases. Significant benefits will be realized due to the increased emphasis on the electronic representation and exchange of information. The guide will provide a consistent format that will simplify data transfer among coating industry manufacturers, coating suppliers, and coating users. The benefits will include an increased awareness of the properties of coating material through consistent terminology and the identification of data elements, and the ability to exchange product data represented in computerized systems such as databases. The development of this guide is consistent with the principles laid down by ASTM Committee E-49 on “Computerization of Material and Chemical Property Data.” The organization of the guide was strongly influenced by ASTM E 1309 (Guide for Identification of Composite Materials in Computerized Material Property Databases) and ASTM E 1338 (Guide for Identification of Metals and Alloys in Computerized Material Property Databases).
The objective of this document is to provide a general structure for coating product data. Product data includes manufacturer identifiers, physical properties, performance parameters, and recommendations on use. This guide is intended to simplify the exchange of similarly complete sets of data between different computerized databases and to promote a consistent representation for the exchange of coating product data in paper form. It suggests the subject matter to be included in a coating material product database. It is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of data to be stored and it is not a database. Implementation of this guide does not have to include all the data elements listed within, and there are no constraints on how data should be displayed in specific databases. The guide presents parameters needed to characterize industrial coating product data. It includes data elements (fields) needed to uniquely identify a coating material, to describe its properties, and to report manufacturer’s recommendations on its use.
