The symposium to be held by SAE International will focus on all aspects pertaining to composites. Titled, "SAE 2013 Design, Manufacturing and Economics of Composites Symposium,” the event is scheduled to be held at Torino Incontra Conference Centre at Torino in Italy from January 29 to 30, 2013.
The major topics of discussion at the conference will revolve around the design, equipment and manufacturing techniques of composites across a host of industries. The conference will also involve discussion on numerous economic issues that commonly surface in the implementation of composites.
Owing to the superior performance of composites, they have the potential to replace metals in numerous applications. However, they do not score very high on cost competitiveness vis-à-vis metals. The primary reasons for this factor are the labor intensive manufacturing techniques that are employed for composites manufacture and the high cost of raw materials used in preparing composites. Thanks to automated manufacturing techniques that can be adapted for composites manufacture, the total cost has reduced sufficiently to compensate for the high cost of raw materials. Composites have thus become a material with viable applications in wind energy, automotive and aerospace industries. At the conference, industry experts will highlight the economic viability of composites to advocate their use as an alternative to many other materials. The conference will facilitate peer-to-peer networking for discussion of ideas and formulation of solutions to challenges. An interactive panels hosted by experts will provide participants to seek clarifications for critical issues plaguing the auto, aero and wind energy industries. An exhibition showcasing novel technologies from new and established organizations will be held.
Source: http://www.sae.org/