Forum Announcements

Discuss ideas not fitting within the Best Practices or Forms & Requests forums

A forum to discuss the 2008 list of Innovations That Could Change the Way You Manufacture announced in the March 2008 issue of Manufacturign Engineering.

Discuss all aspects of SME's Lean Certification Programs.

Post all questions and requests on SME Forms, including funding requests/appeals, CPAG submission, Chapter Officer Listings, & Financial Reports

A place to share best practice ideas on planning events and fundraisers for member units

Member Unit Website Information

Share ideas & Best Practices on proper Leadership Training and how to retain members

Discuss general Best Practice Ideas here

Technical group focused on the use of disciplines, techniques, and equipment that uses light and electromagnetics to measure positions, attributes, and dimensions. Machine vision technologies including, but not limited to: Cameras Algorithms 3D Vision and Robot Guidance Lighting & Optics Vendors Education in addition to

This technical group provides a forum for electronics manufacturing professionals and educators to meet and network. The tech group also creates and disseminates information for SME members.

Advances the theory and practical application of industrial robotics and other programmable automatic machines in manufacturing.

Focuses on integration of and data sharing between manufacturing and design processes, performance monitoring, SCADA, and improvement of systems with predictive maintenance.

Manufacturing simulation technology for product design, manufacturing processes, production planning and physical test validation.

The Identification Systems & Part Traceability Tech Group focuses on systems for the marking of parts (1-D, 2-D, RFID, etc.) and then tracking them through the manufacturing process and/or supply chain.

Systems for the assembly of components and/or the testing of assembled systems.

Developing a tech group to provide a networking and learning environment for members interested in packaging automation for the food industries.

A forum to discuss issues not covered in subforum topics

The Stamping & Dies Tech Group helps the industry keep up with emerging technologies and management practices and identify ways to provide education and training to members.

The Tube & Pipe Fabricating Tech Group focuses on this niched technology to provide the channel for knowledge development.

Lean Tool & Die Making Tech Group members believe that Lean does apply to the tool and die industry today. It is their goal to develop a lean model for tool and die shops, and to demonstrate why this industry should implement it.

The Metal Forming Simulation Tech Group helps the industry keep up with emerging technologies and management practices and identify ways to provide education and training to members.

The Tooling Preventive/Predictive Maintenance Tech Group advances the implementation of preventive and predictive maintenance practices for tools and dies believing that successful implementation of Lean principles is not possible without a comprehensive tooling PM program in place. This Tech Group will discuss, explore and advance technologies, bringing members with Common interests together to share knowledge and create problem-solving resources.

Subforum of Forming & Fabricating Forum

A forum to reach members of the steering community for discussions focusing on business and activities of the community.

A forum for activities and business of the Tech Watch Committee.

A tech group focusing on engaging members in activities and resources to attract young people to a positive image of manufacturing.

This forum supports the work being done to develop the first SME meeting on manufacturing education strategies in a decade. The event is scheduled, June 26 and 27, 2008 hosted by Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA. At this event invited delegates will examine key issues for post-secondary learning in manufacturing for the 21st century. The event will assess progress and changes in manufacturing education since the landmark “Curriculum 2002” workshop held in 1994 that laid crucial groundwork for a) widespread improvement in both content and access and b) a future comprehensive conference on manufacturing education. Key objectives of the event are ... illuminating critical linkages among manufacturing education, a vibrant industrial sector and a healthy economy and ... development of guidance for vitalizing college and university manufacturing education programs. Invited keynote speakers will provide perspectives and challenges for delegates to deliberate. The principal business of the event will be conducted through a series of invited panels, discussing ... curriculum content; methods of delivery; emerging manufacturing technologies; research-to-instruction bridging; program design. The event will publish guidance for use by educators, administrators, industry planners, and public policy makers.

tools

Tech groups discuss, explore and advance technologies, bringing members with common interests together to share knowledge and create problem-solving resources. This group focuses on real world applications that will help resolve issues with burrs in industries including aerospace and automotive with quantified results

Tech groups discuss, explore and advance technologies, bringing members with common interests together to share knowledge and create problem-solving resources. This group is for professionals interested in metalworking fluids.

Tech groups discuss, explore and advance technologies, bringing members with common interests together to share knowledge and create problem-solving resources. This technical group provides a forum for abrasives machining professionals and educators to meet and network.

Tech groups discuss, explore and advance technologies, bringing members with common interests together to share knowledge and create problem-solving resources. This group is for professionals interested in machining processes, and in improving efficiencies in high-volume machining systems.

Tech groups discuss, explore and advance technologies, bringing members with common interests together to share knowledge and create problem-solving resources. This group is for professionals interested in precision machining and finishing of materials such as titanium, ceramics, and plastics.

This forum can be used to share information between members of the injection molding tech group & others they choose to share this forum with. This forum was created by members of the tech group to be used to do work together, such as updating the prototyping mold matrix.

Discussion area for extrusion and purging

This forum is to be used for discussing questions and comments related to purging and injection molding.

The Injection Molding Technical Group provides an opportunity for SME members involved in plastic injection molding to collaborate and exchange information related to their field.

The Design for Plastics Technical Group recommends and develops resources to help educate plastics design and manufacturing specialists.

The Plastics Tooling & Mold Design Tech Group provides plastics part designers, tool designers, moldmakers, and molders with the knowledge, educational and technical resources required to work as a manufacturing team to successfully compete in the global economy.

This group provides a forum for members to connect, learn, and develop educational resources in composite materials, tooling, processing, post fabrication, joining and assembly, finishing, and composite repair.

Ask your composites questions here! This is also an archive of past questions/answers.

The Finishing Processes Technical Group provides a home for SME members involved in protective and decorative finishing, including cleaning and pretreatment processes, liquid and powder coating application, curing, and environmental compliance.

This is an open discussion area for subjects of interest to our community (e.g., Lean, Design, SCM, Quality, Enterprise Integration, etc.). You may wish to develop more specifically focused forums for your special interest subjects. We encourage community members to take the lead and moderate a forum so the discussion is member-to-member. Let us know if you want to be set up as a focused forum moderator. Any Tech Group could use this space to create and chronicle ongoing work and learning. You can't learn to ride a bike until you take your feet off firm ground. Play around in this space - it won't hurt as you can't fall! Let us know if you want to take the next step and create a focused forum for your group or interest.

This forum is a discussion for this tech group. Meeting notes and draft documents with related discussions will be housed here. Please join in as interested!

This is an open area for lean related discussions.

The Manufacturing Leadership Institute Tech Group is made up of people interested in learning and in developing leaders in the extended manufacturing enterprise. How does a practitioner/employee develop suitable leadership capabilities? It is housed in the PPDM Community and it serves all SME Communities, chapters, members, and practitioners.

The Lean to Green Sustainability Tech Group www.sme.org/leantogreen welcomes postings, comments, questions about your journey through lean and/or green. We have observed that the lean concepts of eliminating waste, developing your people, and delivering value are perhaps very supportive in the broader economic, societal, and environmental aspects of all enterprise. What do you think?

The PLM Tech Group is very involved with learning and sharing insights and connections on the exciting arena of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Current projects include a Product Development Tool Matrix and a PLM Curriculum Development Project. This is an open area for related PLM discussion.

Hardware, software, practices and processes for capturing 3D spatial data and creating digital representations of physical objects. Focused on high density, high resolution scanning/capture devices.

Direct digital manufacturing is the process of going directly from an electronic digital representation of a part to the final product via additive manufacturing.

Members interested in the medical application of rapid technologies and additive manufacturing to design and create custom devices, medical models, equipment and medical instruments. The use of layered manufacturing to create tissues and organs will also be of interest to our members.

Nanomanufacturing is about locating and manipulating individual atoms and molecules in a material. The technology can be used to create new products or increase the useful functions in existing products.

The Rapid Tooling Group is seeking answers and looking for emerging methodologies and materials, aimed at providing short- and long-term solutions to tooling challenges.

The group promotes the importance of technology transfer of Rapid Technologies and Additive Manufacturing information through collaboration; facilitates partnerships with educators, research, commercial materials/systems suppliers, students, and manufacturing practitioners; increases awareness on a global scale through educating and communicating; promotes advances in student exit skills and employability.

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems

Owners of small (<50 employee) manufacturing businesses.

Submitted abstracts for CNC Clinic. Access limited to event advisors.

This is an area for general discussion regarding the 2008 CNC Machining Clinic.

Advisor meeting minutes are posted here

Conference Abstracts under Review.

Event-related meeting minutes.

Submitted abstracts for 3DI conference; access limited to event advisors.

Abstracts, ideas, discourse regarding opening keynotes for 2009. Access limited to event advisors.

Senior Chapters add your general non-region specific information here

Student Chapters add your general non-region specific information here

Discussions amongst chapters located in Michigan

Discussions amongst chapters located in Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, & Connecticut

Discussions amongst chapters located in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, & South Dakota

Discussions amongst chapters located in Manitoba, Ontario, & Quebec

Discussions amongst chapters located in Saskatchewan, Alberta, & British Columbia

Discussions amongst chapters located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Deleware, Washington, D.C., & New York

Discussions amongst chapters located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois & Indiana

Discussions amongst chapters located in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, & Montana

Discussions amongst chapters located in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas & Mexico

Discussions amongst chapters located in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama & Missouri

Discussions amongst chapters located in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia & Virginia