New SAE International Composites Symposiums Slated for June in Torino, Italy

WARRENDALE, Pa., April 11, 2012 - SAE International has developed two educational symposiums focusing on the most critical issues involved in the use of composites. Industry experts from aerospace, automotive and wind energy have been brought together to address the economics of composites and composite design, tooling, and manufacturing.   With support of SAE’s Torino chapter, these symposiums will be held in Torino, Italy on June 20-22, 2012 at the Torino Incontra Conference Centre.

SAE 2012 Economics of Composites Symposium - 20 June 2012
The performance of composites makes them attractive in a variety of applications.  However, composites have historically not been a very cost competitive option to metals due to several factors - primarily very expensive materials and labor intensive manufacturing methods.   As more automated manufacturing methods for composite components are beginning to be used in the industry, manufacturing costs are being reduced and this helps offset the more expensive materials.  Other economic issues to consider when changing from metal to composites are part quantity requirements, inspection requirements, and cost of tooling.  This one-day symposium will address a variety of economic issues that are typically considered when implementing composites.  The day will conclude with a lively panel discussion featuring experts from several industries.

SAE 2012 Design, Tooling and Manufacturing of Composites Symposium - 21-22 June 2012
Successful implementation of composites depends on a combination of several factors.  Component design, tooling approach, and manufacturing process selection are all integral to building cost effective composite components.  Composite structures in all industry segments are designed for the specific function for which they are intended and they are also typically designed and tooled for the specific manufacturing process selected.  This two-day symposium will focus on design, tooling, and manufacturing topics across a wide range of industry segments.  Automated manufacturing, which is being used extensively in the aerospace industry, will be covered extensively in this two-day symposium

Along with the technical programs the symposiums will feature:

· Peer-to-Peer Networking –  Allowing attendees to connect with their peers by discussing challenges and ideas during designated networking opportunities as well as between sessions and leave with invaluable improvements and solutions.

· Interactive Panels –Attendees can use this opportunity to ask questions on critical issues they may have regarding economic considerations of using composites and designing and manufacturing with composites with experts from aero, auto and wind energy industries.

· Exhibition – Presenting attendees with the opportunity to discover new and established companies and see innovative technologies from global tier suppliers, and equipment manufacturers.

For additional information including event topics and speakers at these new symposiums as well as registration information, please visit the event websites: www.sae.org/economics (SAE 2012 Economics of Composites) and www.sae.org/dtmc (SAE 2012 Design, Tooling and Manufacturing of Composites).

SAE International is a global association of more than 134,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International’s core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International’s charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.

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