SAMPE Journal - September/October 2012 - (Page 30)

Europe News & Views Gary Turner European Section Editor gt@ttrc.de SEMAT 12 held in Munich SAMPE Europe presented its 2nd Symposium on Automation in Composite Technology (SEMAT) on May 24-25, at the New Messe (trade fairgrounds) Munich. It took place in conjunction with AUTOMATICA, the 5th International Trade Fair for Automation and Mechatronics which had 31,000 attendees. Five spacious exhibition halls featuring the latest in automation equipment drew many of the SEMAT attendees to the trade show a day or so before the conference began. SEMAT 12 focused on requirements and progress of automation in different industrial market segments. Prof. Klaus Drechsler, head of the LCC (Lightweight Composites Center) at Munich Technical University, and a past president of SAMPE Europe, opened SEMAT 12, with an overview of both SAMPE Europe (dating from the early 1980's), as well as the brief history of the SEMAT events, begun in 2010, also in conjunction with the AUTOMATICA trade show. The topic turned to composites and – interestingly - he referred to black materials as “black gold”. Entitled “Actual Status of Automation for Advanced Composites and Outlook for Complementary Developments”, the keynote address was given by Otto Kellenberger, of KUKA Robots, Augsburg. It may have been a coincidence, following Klaus Drechsler's SAMPE details, but one of his first graphics was dedicated to the history of the SAMPE organization. He went on to note that KUKA was number one worldwide, in aerospace robots, with over 700 in operation. This includes teams of robots working together for maximum synergies and the automation of manufacturing process flows. In addition to various pick and place type material handling operations, the robots also perform inspection functions, and are beginning to be involved in composites repair activities. The keynote also described the first CNC robotic manufacturing cell. KUKA is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany and works closely with Carbon Composites, a major new German industry organization also located there. The technical conference itself comprised six session with a total of 22 interesting papers. Session themes included automation technology for the automobile industry, fiber placement and preform application, advancements in robotics, automation technology for the aerospace industry, material and modeling aspects, and novel aspects for automation (including fiberpatch preforming, vision-based sensors, and RST molding for high quality automotive panels. This year's SEMAT symposium dinner was integrated into AUTOMATICA's “Bavarian Evening”, with a casual buffet arrangement featuring regional specialties along with typical Bavarian folklore entertainment. And since it was part of the larger trade fair social evening (mainly for exhibitors), several hundred people took part. Regarding SEMAT 12, event manager Mark Erath noted the symposium's aim was to provide attendees with a depth of information on the constantly changing requirements of innovation, automation and progress in providing industry with the required advantages in composites technology. Swiss SAMPE Conference On 10 April 2012, the Swiss SAMPE Chapter held a conference on composite materials with the topic “Market Analysis of the Composite Industry in Switzerland”. About 60 representatives of industry participated. Conference presented an analysis of the composite industry in Switzerland done by the Institute of Polymer Engineering (IKT) of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) but also went beyond this analysis, to show the way for improvements of the situation for the Swiss composite industry. 30 SAMPE Journal, Volume 48, No. 5, September/October 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAMPE Journal - September/October 2012

SAMPE Journal - September/October 2012
Contents
President’s Message
SAMPE Journal Editorial Calender
Technical Director’s Corner
Prepreg Non-Autoclave Manufacturing Technology: Program Overview and Co-Cure Enablers for Disruptive, Pervasive Use
Welcome SAMPE’s Newest Members
Materials & Products
SAMPE Tech 2012|Charleston, SC
Perspectives
SAMPE Proceedings
Perspectives- Taking Material Science To The Next Frontier: Models Of Past Material Innovations And How They May Impact The 21st Century
Europe News & Views
SAMPE Europe’s SETEC 2012, Lucerne, Switzerland
SAMPE Europe’s SEICO 2013, Paris, France
SAMPE 2013|Long Beach Call for Papers
Industry News
Approach to Optimizing a Combined Out-of-Autoclave (OOA) Prepreg/Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) Process for Integrated Structures
SAMPE LinkedIn Communities
Corporate Partners
The SAMPE Foundation
Tech Tidbits
SAMPE Upcoming Events
Face-Sheet Quality Analysis and Thermo- Physical Property Characterization of OOA and Autoclave Panels
Advertiser’s Index
Resource Center
SAMPE Membership Application
SAMPE Books & CD’s Order Form
Industry Events Calendar
Chapter Meetings Dates and Contacts

SAMPE Journal - September/October 2012