An attendee checks out some of the latest technology at the SAE 2005 World Congress. SAE 2006 will be held April 3-6 at Cobo Center in Detroit. |
The Congress hosts more than 700 exhibitors displaying thousands of engineering components.
New this year, the OEM/Supplier Park will bring together five OEMs and their Tier-1 suppliers. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with management and engineering staffs in the upper echelons of the global automotive supply chain, view their most advanced technology, and learn of their future strategic direction.
More than 400 technical papers are expected for the 78 technical sessions devoted to materials topics alone. Fifteen Reliability and Robust Design sessions will offer a wide range of learning opportunities — from uncertainty modeling and reliability methods to optimization, verification, validation, fatigue, military uses, and more. Magnesium and powder metallurgy are among the 60-plus remaining materials sessions.
Fundamentals of Metal Fatigue Analysis is one of 37 seminars offered. Other materials-related offerings will cover acoustical materials, sealing, and metal corrosion.
Other SAE resources are technical papers and special publications (SP). The latter includes Innovations in Steel Sheet Products and Processing and Steel Bar Products (SP-2035), Magnesium Technologies (SP-2036), and Welding and Joining and Fastening and Friction Stir Welding (SP-2034).
On Thursday morning, at the AVL Technology Theater, the panel topic will be Nano and Micro Technology, and MEMS --Redefining the Car of Tomorrow, Myth versus Reality. Elias Towe, Professor of ECE & Materials Science & Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University will moderate the discussion among panelists, Daniel Rardon, manager, Nanotechnology Initiatives, PPG Industries; Rudolf Stauber, vice president, Materials Development, BMW Group; and others.
In all, more than 1,500 SAE technical papers are expected from the 200 technical sessions. Besides materials, seminars will cover safety/test topics, emissions/environment, electronics, and powertrain/propulsion.