General Rules and Guidelines For IMDS Material Datasheets

International Material Data System
IMDS General Rules and Guidelines IMDS 001
General Rules and Guidelines for IMDS Material Datasheets
Contents
1 Purpose ................................................................................................................................... 2
2 References .............................................................................................................................. 2
3 General IMDS Reporting and Change Management ............................................................... 3
3.1 General Reporting............................................................................................................. 3
3.2 Change Management ....................................................................................................... 3
4 Datasheets (MDSs/Modules) ................................................................................................... 5
4.1 Structure ........................................................................................................................... 5
4.2 Components ..................................................................................................................... 6
4.3 Semi-components ............................................................................................................. 7
4.4 Materials ........................................................................................................................... 8
4.5 Basic Substances ........................................................................................................... 15
5 Special Cases ....................................................................................................................... 20
5.1 (Highly) Confidential Substances in Plastics Masterbatches ........................................... 20
5.2 Flat BOM (FBOM) Reporting Method .............................................................................. 21
6 Recommendation 001 Release and Revisions ...................................................................... 22
6.1 Release .......................................................................................................................... 22
6.2 Revisions ........................................................................................................................ 22
August 2012 Originated by IMDS Steering Committee Page 1 of 22

Printed copies are uncontrolled
1 Purpose
This document describes the basic requirements for the creation of IMDS Datasheets (MDSs)
describing components, semi-finished components and materials. Following these requirements
will support the entry of high quality and consistent compositional data which is needed to fulfill
applicable legal obligations. These requirements are agreed to by all car manufacturers sub-
scribing to the IMDS and define harmonized rules valid throughout the supply chain. Following
the rules and guidelines will support an efficient transfer of material data. Nevertheless, there
may be additional customer-specific requirements that cannot be harmonized, example: re-
quirements concerning the recipient-specific information. Customer-specific IMDS requirements
are published in the respective customer specifications. Questions regarding an MDS rejection
should be directed to the customer and not the IMDS Helpdesks.
Each section of this document gives a general description of specific elements of an MDS along
with the Rules and Guidelines that are valid for that element.
Rules are mandatory requirements (either by the IMDS or by IMDS-using companies), while
Guidelines are generally accepted as best practice throughout the supply chain. A violation of a
Rule given in this document may result in an IMDS Error or Warning 1. The creator of the MDS
must be aware that
a) An MDS containing Errors cannot be sent/proposed/published/internally released in
IMDS.
b) An MDS containing Warnings can be sent/proposed/published/internally released, but
may be rejected by the recipient of the MDS. Warnings are intended to draw the atten-
tion to possible deviations from Rules or Guidelines. After investigation, should it be de-
termined that the Warning was invalid and the Rule or Guideline was followed, the MDS
must be accepted by the recipient.
c) An MDS violating any Rules given in this document may be rejected by the recipient of
the MDS even if there has been no Warning or Error in IMDS as some Rules cannot be
checked by the IMDS check procedures. Rules leading to customer rejections can be
requested from the respective customer.
2 References
The following are additional references that are mentioned in this document:
 GADSL (Global Automotive Declarable Substance List; http://www.gadsl.org )
 Renault BGO List (Renault list of declarable substances)
 all IMDS Recommendations
 ISO 1043 (Plastics – Symbols and abbreviated terms)
 ISO 1629 (Rubbers and lattices – Nomenclature)
 ISO 9000 (Quality management systems – Fundamentals and vocabulary)
 ISO 18064 (Thermoplastic elastomers – Nomenclature and abbreviated terms)
 VDA Vol. 2 (Quality management in the automotive industry – Quality assurance of sup-
plies)
1
The IMDS system performs a check procedure before the MDS can be sent/proposed to a customer, internally released, published
and when a customer is reviewing for acceptance. There are two types of messages presented – Warnings and Errors.
An Error means that there is something not acceptable in your MDS. You cannot proceed without resolving the particular issue.
Due to evolving IMDS requirements, an MDS that was acceptable in prior versions of IMDS may no longer be acceptable and might
require updating.
A Warning means that there is something that is not acceptable by all customers in your MDS. While you may ignore the warnings
and proceed, that does not mean that the MDS will be accepted by your downstream customer. Due to evolving IMDS require-
ments, an MDS that previously had no warnings may now have several on the check procedure.

 VDA 231-106 (Material classification in motor vehicle construction – structure and no-
menclature)
 other material-related international standards
 other OEM substance standards
 IMDS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (http://www.mdsystem.com  Public Pages
 FAQ)
3 General IMDS Reporting and Change Management

The following sections describe the General IMDS Reporting and Change Management Re-
quirements.
3.1 General Reporting

The flow of data through IMDS using companies must reflect the flow of materials and compo-
nents through the automotive supply chain. The flow is initiated when materials become intro-
duced for the first time into the supply chain. Material data are passed along the supply chain
(tiern, tiern-1, … to the automobile manufacturer). It is the data creator’s responsibility to ensure
that requirements are passed downstream in the supply chain to assure that compliance and
data reporting of the material formulation is accurate. In general, all components and materials
being used throughout the supply chain must be disclosed. Upon special request by the cus-
tomer, the supplier utilizing the IMDS reporting has to prove per evidence that he has collected
all material data from its sub-tier levels.
Rule/Guideline Description
Rule 3.1.A Material data must be passed along the supply chain (tiern  tiern-1  … 
automobile manufacturer).
3.2 Change Management

This section describes the conditions under which MDSs shall be revised, updated and/or re-
submitted. All valid quality assurance guidelines (example: VDA Vol. 2, QS 9000 / PPAP) are
not made invalid by the following rules.
3.2.1 Basic Rules concerning MDS Revisions

A new MDS needs to be created when the part or material described therein is introduced for
the first time. A revision of existing datasheets is caused by several circumstances described by
the Rules and Guidelines in the table below. Depending on the circumstance leading to the re-
vision, either a new MDS (new IMDS ID) or an update of an existing MDS (new version) is ne-
cessary. The following rules are valid for MDSs sent to specific customers as well as for pub-
lished MDSs (see also Figure 1).
Rule 3.2.1.A When a new part or material is introduced to a customer for the first time, a
new MDS (new IMDS ID) has to be created if the part or material is also new
on the supplier side. If the part or material already exists on the supplier side,
the supplier may add the customer as a new recipient to the latest MDS ver-
sion.
Rule 3.2.1.B The addition of any new material(s) or the elimination of any already reported
material(s) contained in a part requires the revision and resubmission of the
corresponding MDS.
Rule 3.2.1.C A change in mass of a part exceeding the allowed deviation listed on the pro-
duction part drawing or in customer requirements requires the revision and
resubmission of the corresponding MDS.
Small changes made over a period of time may accumulate to be significant,
and, in that case, a resubmission of the MDS is required. The customer may
determine the significance of the change according to Quality Management
Guidelines.
Rule 3.2.1.D When there is a change to the GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list), all
MDSs that have a joker/wildcard in their tree structure must be reviewed to
determine whether the substance that the joker/wildcard replaces is now dec-
larable or prohibited. All substances marked as confidential must undergo the
same review to identify if any confidential substance is now declarable or pro-
hibited. Should that be the case, a revised submission with a full non-
confidential disclosure of the declarable or prohibited substance is required by
the date in the legislation. If no date is given or the date is longer than 6
months, the resubmission must occur no later than 6 months from the publica-
tion date of the updated GADSL (OEMs may determine a longer timeframe).
Rule 3.2.1.E If a new revision is required, the most recent IMDS Rules & Recommenda-
tions must be adhered to in the ingredients section that is being edited. Sec-
tions of the tree structure that were previously proposed to the customer and
accepted by the customer do not necessarily have to be updated if IMDS
does not generate an error on those nodes.
3.2.2 New IMDS ID vs. New Version

The following rules define when an MDS with a new IMDS ID (either a completely new MDS or
a copy of an existing one) must be created and resubmitted, and when a new version of an ex-
isting MDS (same IMDS ID, higher version) is required. Again, the following rules are valid for
MDSs sent to specific customers as well as for published MDSs.
Rule 3.2.2.A A new customer part number requires a new MDS (new IMDS ID) unless you
are informed otherwise by your customer.
Rule 3.2.2.B The same customer part number with updated content requires a new MDS
version (same IMDS ID, higher version number).

Figure 1 – Change Management Flow
4 Datasheets (MDSs/Modules)
The following section describes the general tree structure and the rules and guidelines sur-
rounding components, semi-components, materials and basic substances.
4.1 Structure
An MDS is built up as a tree structure following a hierarchical parent/child relationship (Figure
2). Each branching point in the structure is called a node. The higher node is called the “parent”
and a node directly attached to the parent is called a “child”. The rules and guidelines for the
different node types are described in subsequent sections of this document.
For additional information on how to create an MDS, please refer to the IMDS homepage
(http://www.mdsystem.com) under Public Pages  FAQ  How to Tips  Where can I find
a walk through of creating an entry in IMDS?
Rule 4.1.A Child nodes of the same parent node must be of the same type (ex. a compo-
nent parent node may consist of all component child nodes or all material
child nodes, but not a mixture of component and material child nodes).
The following figure depicts the top parent node with 2 child nodes in the color blue and the 2nd
child node is also a parent node with 2 child nodes in the color gold.

Figure 2 – Sample MDS
4.2 Components
The following section describes the requirements of a component parent node.
4.2.1 General Information

A component is used to represent a single part, a complete assembly or a complete part within
an assembly. A complete part on a lower level is usually called a sub-component. A sub-
component is described by the same symbol as a component.
Rule 4.2.1.A A component node must have at least one sub-component, one semi-
component or one material child node.
Rule 4.2.1.B The component name must not be the default name generated by the IMDS
(example: Component_12345678)
Rule 4.2.1.C The top node component name must be descriptive and be in line with appli-
cable customer specifications. If the component is a top node and will be sent
to a customer, the recipient information controls the name the customer will
see.
Guideline The component name (in the field “Description”) should be reported in Eng-
4.2.1.a lish. MDSs in English will not be rejected by an OEM.
Guideline The component name should be consistent with the described product so
4.2.1.b that the material-related Application Code (if any) is related to the component
name (example: component name: Bush, application code: Alloying element
in bearing shells and bushes).
Guideline If applicable, the top node component name should be similar to the Bill of
4.2.1.c Material (BOM) description.


4.2.2 Weight and Tolerance
The value entered in the field Measured Weight per Item is the stated weight of the compo-
nent.
The value entered in the field Tolerance is the allowable deviation from the stated weight.
The Calculated Weight per Item is provided by the IMDS system and is the sum of the Meas-
ured Weight per Item of the direct child nodes.
Rule 4.2.2.A For any component, its real weight (measured weight; if not available, the
weight given on the drawing) must be given.
Rule 4.2.2.B It is not allowed to lower the weight of a component node and then control the
weight of the component by multiplying the quantity of the component.
Rule 4.2.2.C The value in the field “tolerance” of the measured weight of a (sub-) compo-
nent must not exceed the allowed deviation listed on the appropriate produc-
tion part drawing (if applicable), in applicable Quality Management Guidelines
(example: ISO 9000, VDA Vol. 2) or in the respective OEM standard.
Rule 4.2.2.D The Deviation between measured and calculated weight per item must not
exceed the entered tolerance.
4.3 Semi-components
The following section describes the requirements of a semi-component parent node.

A semi-component is a semi-finished product (example: steel coil, pipe, leather hide, plated
steel) that will go through further process steps (example: cutting, stamping) to make a finished
component. A semi-component does not have a stated weight as, before further processing, the
weight cannot be defined. Therefore a semi-component MDS is created without a weight at-
tached. However, it is possible to enter a usage weight type (example: kg/m², kg/m) for a semi-
component in order to make weight calculations easier once the semi-component MDS is at-
tached to or changed into a component node. A semi-component can contain several materials
or semi-components (see Figure 3).
Rule 4.3.1.A A semi-component parent node must have at least one material or one
semi-component child node.
Rule 4.3.1.B In semi-components created since release of IMDS 7.0, the usage weight
type (kg/m, kg/m² or kg/m³) of the semi-component must be entered.
Rule 4.3.1.C The semi-component must be reported in the state which it will have in the
finished component. Removal ties, wraps, liners etc. must not be reported.
Rule 4.3.1.D The semi-component name (article name) must not be the default name gen-
erated by the IMDS system (example: Semi-Component_12345678).
Rule 4.3.1.E The top node semi-component name (article name) must be descriptive and
be in line with applicable customer specifications.
Guideline The semi-component name should be reported in English. MDSs in English


4.3.1.a will not be rejected by an OEM.
The following figure depicts an acceptable structure for a semi-component.
Figure 3 – Example Structure of a Semi-Component
4.3.2 Portion (Percentage) Ranges

IMDS allows the user to define the portion (percentage) of a semi-component or a material child
node attached to the semi-component parent node. This portion may be a fixed percent value, a
range “from X to Y %”, or “Rest” (IMDS calculates the percentage from the portions of the other
child nodes of the same parent node).
Rule 4.3.2.A The portion type “range” must be used solely to reflect real variations of a
material or semi-component amount in a semi-component description.
Ranges must not be used as a means to avoid declaring the full composition.
Rule 4.3.2.B If the portion type “range” is selected, for semi-components or materials that
are attached to a semi-component, the following maximum portion range ap-
plies:
Portion: from X % to Y % Maximum M = Y % – X %
0 < X ≤ 100 M ≤ 20
Example: the Range 30% to 70% is not allowed because the M value would
be 40 in this case (70-30) and the maximum M allowed is 20%.
For semi-components and materials in MDSs published by the IMDS Steering
Committee (Supplier: IMDS-Committee, ID 423; IMDS-Committee/ILI Metals,
ID 18986 or Stahl und Eisen Liste, ID 313), this rule does not apply, and data-
sheets containing those must not be rejected on this rule.
4.4 Materials
The following section describes the requirements of a material parent node.

A material normally consists only of basic substances. For details on basic substances see
section 4.5 Basic Substances. In some cases a material can consist of other materials (exam-

ple: filled thermoplastics consisting of the materials: basic polymer, master batch colour and
master batch flame retardant that are processed into a new coloured, flame-retarding, filled
thermoplastic compound).
Rule 4.4.1.A A material parent node must have at least one substance or two material
child nodes attached to it.
Rule 4.4.1.B A material must be described in its end state. Only basic substances con-
tained in the final material are to be reported (example: cured adhesives or
paint coatings are entered without the evaporating solvents).
Rule 4.4.1.C Process chemicals used in the production of a material/part that are not con-
tained in the end material/part must not be reported.
Rule 4.4.1.D Every homogeneous material has to be described as a separate material. For
information about the definition of “homogeneous”, refer to IMDS 001 Annex I,
section 1.1. If a material parent node has material child nodes, the material
represented by the parent node must be homogeneous. Two or more mate-
rials forming layers cannot be regarded as homogeneous. Example: Zinc
coating on steel or paint layers cannot be reported as a material with sub-
materials, as the top material is not homogeneous.
Rule 4.4.1.E Material data must only be created by material-producing companies. Com-
panies not producing materials must obtain material data from their material
suppliers or (if they use materials described in a public standard supported by
IMDS) use the respective material MDS published by the IMDS Steering
Committee.
Guideline A polymer material (classification 5.x) should have at least two substances
4.4.1.a attached to it.
Guideline A material supplier SDS (safety data sheet) usually does not provide sufficient
4.4.1.b data for the creation of MDSs. MDSs must be descriptive of all substances
found in the end state material (i.e. final product), including additives, exclud-
ing process chemicals.
4.4.1.1 Material MDSs Published by the IMDS Steering Committee

The IMDS Steering Committee has published many MDSs. When applicable, these must be
used instead of creating your own. The IMDS Committee has published primarily MDSs for me-
tallic materials (Classification 1 – 4) that are defined in public standards supported by IMDS.
The IMDS Steering Committee has published MDSs under three (3) IMDS companies: IMDS-
Committee (423); IMDS-Committee/ILI Metals (18986) and Stahl und Eisen Liste (313).
The IMDS Steering Committee has also published other materials that may be used when ap-
plicable (example: passivations, metal coatings etc.).
Material MDSs issued by the IMDS Steering Committee are exempt from IMDS check proce-
dures.
If a material that is defined with its chemical composition in a public standard like ISO, EN, JIS,
ASTM etc., is not published by the IMDS Steering Committee, it is recommended to ask one of
the IMDS Helpdesks to have the material added. Public material composition standards only
exist for metal classifications. Not all material standards are publishable by the IMDS Committee
(example: certain SAE norms that only describe material properties and not composition, Ko-
rean and Chinese standards).
Rule 4.4.1.1.A If material MDSs published by the IMDS Steering Committee are used, they
must be referenced or attached to a tree structure. Making an identical copy
of these material MDSs is not allowed.
Rule 4.4.1.1.B If the materials used do not match the material descriptions given in the re-
spective IMDS Steering Committee material MDSs, these material MDSs
must not be used.
Guideline For materials manufactured according to a public standard supported by

4.4.1.1.a IMDS, material MDSs published by the IMDS Steering Committee should pre-
ferably be used.
4.4.2 Information Given in Material MDSs

There are several fields to be filled in when creating a material MDS. Each provides a certain
kind of information. Some of this information is optional, other mandatory. This section de-
scribes each field and the respective rules.
Basic substance 1
Basic substance 2
system
Basic substance 3
Basic substance 4
Mandatory
Basic substance 5
Basic substance 6
see below
Optional
see below
see below
Mandatory
see below
Optional
Optional
Optional
Figure 4 – Structure of a Material MDS

ID/Version
The IMDS ID/Version of a material MDS is automatically generated by the IMDS whenever a
new material MDS is created. With this ID, the material MDS can be clearly identified.


MDS Supplier
This entry informs about the material MDS creating company and is also automatically created
by the IMDS.
Name
The following table describes some Rules and Guidelines for the material name.
Rule 4.4.2.A The material name must be entered in English in the EN field. The added
name translation in other languages is optional.
Rule 4.4.2.B The material name must not be a trade name. Trade names can be entered in
the field “Trade name” (see below).
Rule 4.4.2.C If the material is described in a public standard, or if the nomenclature for ma-
terials of a certain type is described in a public standard (example: ISO 1043-
1 and 2 for plastics, ISO 1629 for elastomers or ISO 18064 for thermoplastic
elastomers), then the material name according to this public standard must be
entered, example:
• For steels – EN 10027, JIS norms, example: STM-C 540
• For aluminum alloys – EN 573, JIS norms, example: Al-Si12
• For copper alloys – ISO norms, example: CuAl5
• For plastics – ISO 1043-1 and ISO 1043-2, example: PE-LD
• For elastomers – ISO 1629, example: ACM
• For thermoplastic elastomers – ISO 18064, example: TPA-ES
.
Rule 4.4.2.D If no name is available which is described in a public standard, then the name
must be descriptive. Examples are:
• Aluminum alloy
• Adhesive layer
• Basecoat, clear coat
• Glass
• Propellant, airbag
• Lubricant
Guideline For a (non-standard) descriptive name, the material name should identify the
4.4.2.a category (example: metal, polymer, mineral, propellant, organic, lubricant).
Internal Mat. No.

Suppliers often use internal material numbers to identify their products. This internal material
number can be entered in this field. This entry must not be mixed up with the standard material
number (see the section Std. Mat. No.).
Guideline This entry is optional.
4.4.2.b
Trade Name
This is the trade name of the material.

4.4.2.c
Std. Mat. No.
This is the standard material number described for materials in public standards. The standard
material number must not be mixed up with the internal material number (see above). The field
is only accessible for material classifications 1-4.
Rule 4.4.2.E For materials in parts with a weight > 5 g and for which a material number is
defined in public standards, this entry is mandatory.
Symbol
This is the standard symbol for thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers and elastomers as
defined in the respective ISO standards. The field is only accessible for material classifications
5x-6x.
Rule 4.4.2.F For materials in parts with a weight > 5 g that are thermoplastics
(filled/unfilled, ISO 1043, see IMDS 001a), thermoplastic elastomers (ISO
18064, see IMDS 001a), and elastomers (ISO 1629, see IMDS 001a), this
entry is mandatory. These materials are typically found in material classifica-
tions 5.1a/b – 5.3.
Classification
This is the classification of the material according to VDA 231-106. Additional information on
how to assign correct VDA classifications can be found in IMDS 001a (Annex I of IMDS 001).
Rule 4.4.2.G This entry is mandatory. For all materials a correct classification must be as-
signed independent of the material weight in the part.
Norms/Standards
Public standards in which material compositions are defined (example: EN, DIN, JIS, ASTM,
ISO etc.).
Rule 4.4.2.H For materials described in public norms supported by IMDS, this entry is man-
datory. Classifications 6-9 may not have public norms.
Rule 4.4.2.I For materials in parts with a weight < 5 g, this entry is optional.
In-house Norms
This is not a free text field. These norms are specific to a particular car manufacturer’s material
specifications. Only users of the creating company and the car manufacturer whose norm it is
will be able to see the norm when used.

4.4.2.d
Supplier
This is a free text field where the material supplier can be entered.
4.4.2.e
Remark
This is a free text field and can be used for material-related comments. It is not searchable.
Rule 4.4.2.J This field must be used for material-related comments only.
Rule 4.4.2.K Statements which refer to contractual requirements (example: legal disclai-
mers, exclusion clauses) are not allowed in this field.

4.4.2.f
Development Sample Report
A checked box here marks this material MDS as a “preliminary” or “prototype” MDS (see section
4.4.4 Preliminary or Prototype MDS ).
Rule 4.4.2.L In final MDSs (i.e. MDSs representing production parts), this box must not be
checked.

When a material parent node has material child nodes, IMDS requires the user to define the
portion (or percentage) of the parent node that each sub-material contributes. This portion may
be a fixed percent value, a range “from X to Y %”, or “Rest” (calculated from the portions of the
other sub-nodes on the same tree level).
Rule 4.4.3.A The portion type “Range” must be used solely to reflect real variations of a
material in another material. This must not be used as a means to avoid dec-
laring the full composition.
Rule 4.4.3.B If the portion type “Range” is selected, for materials that are attached to a
material parent node the following maximum portion range applies:
0 < X ≤ 100 M ≤ 20

Example: The Range 30% to 70% is not allowed because the M value would
be 40 in this case (70-30) and the maximum M allowed is 20%.
For materials in MDSs published by the IMDS Steering Committee (Supplier:
IMDS-Committee, ID 423; IMDS-Committee/ILI Metals, ID 18986 or Stahl und
Eisen Liste, ID 313), this rule does not apply.
4.4.4 Preliminary or Prototype MDS (Details see Recommendation IMDS 023)

Preliminary or prototype material MDSs are intended for use during the development process of
a part where the exact composition of a material is not yet known.
For each material classification, the IMDS Steering Committee has published a so-called Prot-
Mat MDS (see IMDS 023, section 4.1), containing 100 % wildcards, which may be used for pre-
liminary MDSs.
Rule 4.4.4.A If the material is marked as “Preliminary” (shown by checking the box, Devel-
opment Sample Report), whatever parent node it is attached to must also be
marked “Preliminary”.
Rule 4.4.4.B The use of “Preliminary” material MDSs (including the ProtMats published by
the IMDS Steering Committee) is allowed solely in “Preliminary” MDSs, pro-
vided there are no GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list) substances con-
tained in the material.
Rule 4.4.4.C The use of “Preliminary” material MDSs in final MDSs (representing produc-
tion parts) is forbidden. In a final MDS (during PPAP/Initial Sample Report),
the material composition must be known and has to be declared in accor-
dance with this document.
Guideline To avoid duplication of work, the preliminary MDS will be updated once with
4.4.4.a the final data (once known) and submitted to the customer as a final MDS.
4.4.5 Application Codes

For some basic substances, an Application Code must be selected when the material contain-
ing one of these substances is first attached to a component type parent node. The substances
requiring an application code are generally substances whose use in automotive products is
limited to certain applications.
When an Application code is required, an additional tab “Application” appears. If there is more
than one substance in the material that requires an application code, all substances appear on
the same tab. The applicable application code for each substance can then be selected from
this tab. While the IMDS system makes a suggestion as to an application, it is the respon-
sibility of the user to verify that this is the correct application for each substance.
Application codes are not a free-text field. Acceptable options for the application code are pre-
sented by IMDS. IMDS uses the substance, material classification, and percentage of the sub-
stance in the material to determine which application codes can be used. Selection of the ap-
propriate application code is made through checking the appropriate radio button. Only one ap-
plication code per substance can be selected per material.


Application Codes are updated according to legal requirements. In accordance with section 3.2
Change Management, new MDSs may not contain outdated application codes.
Rule 4.4.5.A If a substance in a material MDS is application-relevant, the correct applica-
tion code must be assigned when the material MDS is referenced in a com-
ponent MDS.
Rule 4.4.5.B The application code must reflect the real use of the material within the com-
ponent.
Guideline If a substance becomes application-relevant for the first time, the respective
4.4.5.a MDSs should be modified and resubmitted.
4.5 Basic Substances

A basic substance is part of a material. It can be either a chemical element (example: iron,
copper) or a compound (example: acrylic resin, zinc oxide). Basic substances are defined by
either a specific Chemical Abstract Number (CAS#) or generically by function. Generally, they fit
in three distinct categories:
 CAS-numbered basic substance – This is a basic substance with a CAS# assigned to
it, meaning it is a clearly defined substance, example: Iron (CAS# 7439-89-6).
 Pseudo-Substance – A pseudo-substance gives an accurate description of the sub-
stance or the substance group but does not have a CAS# assigned to it, example:
"Acrylic resin". It is important to point out that these substances are accepted as real
substances in IMDS and are not considered as wildcards.
 Jokers or Wildcards – These substances do not define a specific substance. There is
only a very limited amount of wildcards available within IMDS, and all have “system” in
the CAS# field. Examples are "Miscellaneous" or "Not yet defined".
The list of basic substances in IMDS (Basic Substance List; BSL) is centrally administered. It is
not possible for users to add a basic substance themselves. If a basic substance is missing, its
addition can be requested by using the IMDS function "Basic Substance Request" The names
of basic substances that are declarable according to GADSL appear in blue letters. The names
of basic substances that are prohibited (forbidden) according to GADSL appear in red letters.
The names of basic substances that are SVHCs (Substances of Very High Concern) according
to the European chemical regulation REACh are underlined. Basic substances of concern for
Renault can be seen by selecting a substance list (“Renault Black” = prohibited, “Renault Grey”
= to be substituted, “Renault Orange” = declarable). Substances that are declarable, prohibited,
SVHC, require an application code or on the Renault lists cannot be marked as confidential (see
4.5.2 Confidential Substances).
Rule 4.5.1.A Basic substances must be entered in the form in which they exist in the ma-
terial. This means that an elemental breakdown (example: polymers
represented by their formulation C, H, N, O) is not allowed.
Rule 4.5.1.B All basic substances in a material must be disclosed, either explicitly or with a
Joker/Wildcard (see Sections 4.5.2 Confidential Substances and 4.5.3 Jok-
ers/Wildcards (Highly Confidential Substances).

Rule 4.5.1.C The total of all basic substances in a material must be 100 %. If ranges are
used, the system-calculated weighted averages plus other fixed percentages
must sum up to 100 %.
Rule 4.5.1.D Declarable and prohibited substances and their concentration/application

must be declared in a manner that compliance to legal requirements can be
evaluated.
Guideline If applicable, a basic substance should always be associated with its CAS
4.5.1.a number.
4.5.2 Confidential Substances

Substances that are: not declarable or prohibited according to GADSL, not an SVHC, do not
appear on a Renault list, or do not require an application code may be marked confidential.
These substances have a check box confidential in the detail section of the basic substance
on the Ingredients page. If a substance is marked confidential it may only be seen by users in
the creating company and by “trusted users” in another IMDS company. A user in another com-
pany is given “trusted user” status by the client manager of the MDS-creating company. The
MDS-creating company remains the data owner. Along the supply chain this information is only
visible to these “trusted users”. It is not possible to transfer confidential substances via data
download into in-house systems – not even by OEMs. It is not possible for users in other IMDS
companies to make a copy of the tree and retrieve the actual data.
Rule 4.5.2.A Substances may only be marked as confidential if they are not declarable or
prohibited according to GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list), are not an
SVHC, and do not require an application code.
Rule 4.5.2.B If a GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list) update changes the status of
substances that are marked as confidential in a material MDS, the respective
material MDS must be updated accordingly so that the substance is no longer
marked confidential. MDSs containing this material MDS also must be up-
dated along the supply chain (see section 3.2).
Rule 4.5.2.C The sum of confidential substances, including wildcards for highly confidential
substances (see section 4.5.3) must not exceed 10 % of a material. Excep-
tions are allowed for masterbatches in sub-materials; see 5.1 (Highly) Confi-
dential Substances in Plastics Masterbatches and IMDS 001a. If substance
ranges are used, the respective maximum values of the ranges are applied
for calculating this sum.
Guideline As IMDS is providing certain tools to simplify and automate necessary up-
4.5.2.a dates of MDS containing confidential substances, it is highly recommended to
use confidential substances instead of wildcards (cf. 4.5.3) to cover your se-
cret substance information.
4.5.3 Jokers/Wildcards (Highly Confidential Substances)

Substances that are not declarable or prohibited according to GADSL (suppliers to Renault:
BGO list), are not an SVHC, and do not require an application code may sometimes be highly
confidential to a supplier. These substances may be replaced by a joker/wildcard in the tree


structure. This means that the actual substance is not entered as such (as in the case of confi-
dential substances), but completely replaced with a wildcard. Thus, even a “trusted user” or
other users in the creating company cannot see the substance hidden by the wildcard.
In IMDS, jokers/wildcards for highly confidential substances are assigned the pseudo CAS#
“system”. Currently, there are nine different wildcards available (see Figure 5) in order to cha-
racterize the type(s) of highly confidential substance(s).
Figure 5 – Available wildcards for highly confidential substances in IMDS

The nine (9) jokers/wildcards are as follows:
 Flame retardant, not to declare: This wildcard is used for non-declarable flame retar-
dants.
 Further Additives, not to declare: This wildcard is used for non-declarable additives
(example: polymers).
 Impact modifier, not to declare: This wildcard is used for non-declarable substances
that influence the impact resistance of a material.
 Inorganic Ingredient, not to declare: This wildcard is used for non-declarable inor-
ganic substances that are pure substances in a material (example: rock powder, ash
content)
 Misc., not to declare: This wildcard is used for impurities or residues that are non-
declarable substances.
 Not yet specified, not to declare: This wildcard is used in preliminary material MDSs
during the development phase for substances in a material that are not yet de-
fined/known and are not expected to be declarable.
 Organic Ingredient, not to declare: This wildcard is used for organic substances that
are pure substances in a material (example: wood fibers).
 Pigment portion, not to declare: This wildcard is used for non-declarable pigments.
 Plasticizer, not to declare: This wildcard is used for non-declarable substances in plas-
tics that influence the deformation behavior of a material.
Rule 4.5.3.A If wildcards are used to hide a substance, the owner of the data is obliged to
archive the related data (for a minimum of 30 years) which must instantly be
available in case of legal enquiries.

Rule 4.5.3.B Wildcards must not be used to hide substances that are declarable or prohi-
bited according to GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list), an SVHC, or re-
quire an application code.
Rule 4.5.3.C In special justified cases (health care, environmental protection) the data
about the actual substance must be made accessible to the customer on their
request.
Rule 4.5.3.D When the GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list) is updated, every material-
creating supplier that uses wildcards in their structures must examine their
documentation to determine if the substances the wildcards are used in place
of are now declarable or prohibited. If so, the respective material MDS must
be updated so that this substance is no longer hidden by a wildcard. MDSs
containing this material MDS must also be updated along the supply chain
(see 3.2 Change Management). This may mean that it is no longer possible to
use an IMDS Committee material.
Rule 4.5.3.E The sum of confidential substances, including jokers/wildcards for highly con-
fidential substances, must not exceed 10 % of a material. If substance ranges
are used, the respective maximum values of the ranges are applied for calcu-
lating this sum.
Rule 4.5.3.F In “Preliminary” material MDSs, the amount of wildcards is not restricted.
Rule 4.5.3.G Wildcards must not be marked confidential.
Rule 4.5.3.H The wildcard not yet specified is only allowed in preliminary material MDSs.
It must not be used in materials for final (PPAP/Initial Sample Report) MDSs.
Guideline Due to the effort required for a periodic review of all jokers/wildcards after a
4.5.3.a change to the GADSL (see 3.2 Change Management) and the archival re-
quirement, it is highly recommended that substances be marked confidential
instead of using the joker/wildcard for highly confidential substance informa-
tion.
Guideline The wildcard Impact modifier is targeted for phase out and should be
4.5.3.b avoided in new datasheets if possible. Most duromers and plastics include the
impact modifier in the pseudo-substance (example: PA66-I, see IMDS 001a).
Guideline The wildcards Plasticizer and Flame retardant are targeted for phase out
4.5.3.c and should be avoided in new datasheets. Information on up-to-date plasti-
cizers can be found in IMDS 001a.
Guideline Do not use the portion type Rest for wildcards if portions are used for other
4.5.3.d substances as it may lead to a warning that there are more than 10 % undec-
lared substances in a material (see Figure 6).
The following depicts a case where the use of “rest” on a joker leads to a warning although at
first glance it appears acceptable.

Figure 6 – Use of Portion Type “Rest” for Wildcards Leads to Warning


IMDS requires the user to define the portion of a basic substance used in a material. This por-
tion may be a fix percentage value, a range “from X to Y %”, or rest (calculated by IMDS).
Rule 4.5.4.A The portion type “range” must be used solely to reflect real variations of a
basic substance in a material. Ranges must not be used as a means to avoid
declaring the full composition of a material.
Rule 4.5.4.B If the portion type “range” is selected, the following maximum portion ranges
apply:

0 ≤ X ≤ 7.5 M≤3
7.5 < X ≤ 20 M≤5
20 < X ≤ 100 M ≤ 10
If ranges are used (example: 2 % – 8 %), the smaller number defines the row
and M value in the table to be used. Consequently, the range 2 % – 8 % is not
allowed because for the lower limit 2 %, the maximum Y value is 5 (2 + 3 = 5).
Exemptions from this rule:
A basic substance as part of a material that is defined with a larger range in a
public norm (although in this case, the respective material MDSs published by
the IMDS Steering Committee should preferably be used when available).
A basic substance as part of a material is defined with a larger range in an in-
house specification (see 4.4.2 In-house Norms). This in-house specification
must be part of the delivery conditions.
Basic substances in MDSs published by the Steering Committee (Supplier:
IMDS-Committee, ID 423; IMDS-Committee/ILI Metals, ID 18986 or Stahl und
Eisen Liste, ID 313).
Materials containing substances with a natural range higher than those given
in the table.
5 Special Cases
5.1 (Highly) Confidential Substances in Plastics Masterbatches
Plastics masterbatches generally consist of a basic polymer and a (coloured) pigment (see Fig-
ure 7)).
Rule 5.1.A If a plastics material consists of sub-materials, any restrictions concerning the
substance ranges and sum of (highly) confidential substances do not apply to
the sub-materials, but are calculated with regard to the topmost material level
(see Fig. 7).

Figure 7 – Example for a Plastics Masterbatch
5.2 Flat BOM (FBOM) Reporting Method

In order to simplify material reporting structures, it is allowed for certain applications to combine
certain components into summarizing component groups. Within each component group, all
summarized materials, including substances, must be described within their portion or range
limits.
Rule 5.2.A FBOM reporting is allowed solely for complex wiring harnesses and printed
circuit boards.
Rule 5.2.B In a flat structured MDS, there must be at least one component level under
the topmost component level.
Rule 5.2.C Components which contain prohibited and/or declarable substances accord-
ing to GADSL (suppliers to Renault: BGO list) or requiring an application code
must be reported separately (no combining in component groups).
Rule 5.2.D Upon special request by the customer, the supplier utilizing the FBOM decla-
ration technique must prove per evidence that all data has been collected
from the sub-tier levels.

6 Recommendation 001 Release and Revisions

6.1 Release
The recommendation was first approved and released on December 13th 2002.
6.2 Revisions
Rev Date Description / Reason Originating

. Committee
1 Aug. 2003 Better definitions of the material and basic substances levels IMDS SC
2 24.09.03 Editorial changes IMDS SC
3 30.10.03 More specific definitions in points: 1, 3.5.2 and 3.5.4 IMDS SC
4 Dec 2005 3.2.2.3 definition FBOM IMDS SC

3.2.3 specification of weight ranges
3.3.2 extended description of semi-components and ex-
ample
3.3.3 portion ranges of semi-components
3.4.2 extended definition and description of materials
3.4.3 portion ranges of materials
3.5.2 extended description of basic substances
3.5.4.10 example for the use of wildcard additional editorial
changes
5 March Adapted to check procedure of release 4.0: IMDS SC
2007 3.3.3 Ranges for semi-components
3.4.2 Fields updated (Release 4.0), Std. Mat.-No / Inter-
nal Mat.-No. defined
3.5.2 Ranges for substances adjusted to the different
classifications
4.2 Example added
additional editorial changes
6 March Use of standard materials specified IMDS SC
2008 3.4.5 Link to Recommendation IMDS 023 (ProtMats)
added.
7 October Adapted to check procedures of release 6.1 (ranges for small IMDS SC
2008 parts):
3.4.2 Norms/standards and std. material number optional
for small parts
3.5.2 Ranges adjusted for small parts
8 November Changed into IMDS Rule 001 IMDS SC with
2009 General rework, inclusion of Change Management, expanded input from
detail, set Rules and Guidelines AIAG, CLEPA,
and JAPIA
9 January Change of Rule 3.2.1.A (wording changed for better under- IMDS SC
2010 standing)
Change of Figure 7, p. 23 (renamed example for rule 5.1.A)
10 April 2012 Editorial changes IMDS SC


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