The organizing committee for the SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) today announced the winners of the group’s annual SPE ACCE scholarships and the Dr. Jackie Rehkopf scholarships from an endowed fund that has been set up to honor the long-time SPE ACCE committee member, SPE Automotive Division board member, and automotive composites researcher. SPE ACCE and Rehkopf scholarship winners will be honored at the SPE ACCE Virtual Event, Sept. 9 - 11, 2020. Both scholarships are administered as part of the SPE Foundation.
The organizing committee for the SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) announced the winners of the group’s annual SPE ACCE scholarships and the Dr. Jackie Rehkopf scholarships from an endowed fund that has been set up to honor the long-time SPE ACCE committee member, SPE Automotive Division board member, and automotive composites researcher.
ANTEC® 2020, taking place March 30-April 2 in San Antonio, TX, is the largest, most respected and well-known technical conference in the plastics industry. SPE is now accepting paper submissions for publication and presentation. Present the latest topics in industrial, national laboratory and academic work. Raise awareness and share your findings in polymer research or new and improved products and technologies.
As Industry 4.0 gains momentum in the plastics industry, many are calculating the risk-reward ratio of becoming early adopters. To truly understand the urgency of starting your Industry 4.0 project, consider what you’re losing by not innovating, specifically: the cost of poor quality, downtime, and competitiveness.
In this session, you will learn why the process data and analytics provided by Industry 4.0 solutions are the most important part of industrial automation and how they can help you solve your production problems.
Studies show that higher levels of emotional intelligence and social intelligence are what separates top performers from average performers. And emotional and social intelligence impacts almost everything we say and do!
When professionals build and leverage their emotional and social intelligence, they are better equipped to develop rewarding strategic partnerships, increase their influence and boost their performance.
The seminar aims at review of available sandwich panel technologies, with the focus on configuration with thermoplastic honeycomb core being accepted in more and more applications today. The principles and benefits of sandwich panel design will be presented, along to post-processing techniques and examples of applications starting from a lower end of industrial packaging, through building and transportation, including but not limited to automotive.
This webinar, presented by David Peterson, Managing Partner for Direct Recruiters, will focus on resume development, looking for job opportunities, networking, interview types and tips, getting offers and more. Peterson manages and oversees DRI search and recruitment teams in the Plastics and Flexible Packaging industries.
Cycle time optimization is often one of the main objectives when designing and constructing the mold. However, the majority of a molding cycle is often dictated by the cooling time. Therefore, it is strange that in the mold design process the integration and design of the cooling line layout and high conductivity inserts is often left toward the end of the design process where the design envelops has been drastically reduced. It is also commonly believed that the placement of the cooling lines is the only driver for properly cooling the part, and its design only influences the manufacturability of the part.
What makes a product successful? It’s always a blend of both functional and emotional attributes that together create beauty in a product. This webinar will focus on these attributes and their proper application in the entire spectrum of the product design and development process.
Creep is the tendency of a polymeric material to deform permanently under the influence of constant stress, as applied through tensile, compressive, shear, or flexural loading. It occurs as a function of time through extended exposure to levels of stress that are below the yield strength of the material. Given sufficient time, this can lead to creep rupture, the failure within a material as a result of continuously applied stress at a level below the tensile strength. Plastic materials are particularly prone to creep rupture through exposure to static stresses, and a recent study indicates that 22% of plastic failures are associated with creep.
An organization’s ability to manage accountability is key to its success. Among top-performing organizations, 77 percent of leaders reported employees of all levels are held accountable for results, according to an OnPoint Consulting survey. Only 44 percent of leaders said this was true at less successful organizations. Learn how to recognize and measure accountability, manage accountability more effectively and evaluate how well your team or organization is performing in this area.
Many leaders would say they want to create a culture of accountability, but what does this look like when it’s put into practice? How can you measure accountability within your team or organization? What are some challenges that keep you from holding others accountable? How do you respond to someone who makes excuses?
You’re nearing graduation; Yeah!
Cannot wait to start getting multiple job offers; double Yeah!
Now you have multiple job offers; oh Crap!
How do you choose which one to pick; double Crap!
Hopefully this webinar will help put some quantitative decision making around a very complex choice: what job offer will you choose to start your career and how do you know you’ll make enough money to thrive?!
This webinar will introduce the attendees to the basics and most important topics related to thermoset rubber compounds. About 15 billion kilograms of rubber are produced ever year. Rubber finds its way into wide range of applications in the automotive, medical, appliance, electrical, and chemical industries. As a class of materials, rubber has many useful properties because of its unique molecular structure. These include being soft and relatively flexible, high ultimate elongation coupled with good elastic recovery, useful over a wide temperature range, and good chemical resistance.
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis(DMA) is a thermoanalytical technique that measures the stiffness (modulus) and damping (tan delta) of polymeric materials to assess the viscoelastic properties as a function of time, temperature, and frequency. Polymeric materials display both elastic and viscous behavior simultaneously, and DMA can separate these responses. Polymers, composed of long molecular chains, have unique viscoelastic properties, which combine the characteristics of elastic solidsand Newtonian fluids.
Are you someone that fears going into your supervisor’s office to request permission to attend ANTEC®? Have you ever been greeted with a hasty “no way, your time is better spent in the lab” when asking for funding to travel to any conference? If so, this webinar is for you. In this webinar, Jason Lyons, Business Manager of Arkema’s Kepstan®PEKK Product Line, will guide you through several strategies that he has used over his career to not only obtain funding to attend ANTEC®, but to support other SPE initiatives along the way.
BETHEL, CT—Feb 20, 2019: At SPE’s ANTEC® 2019 in March, the SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals will introduce two new Honored Service Members who are being recognized for their contributions to the Society.
BETHEL, CT—January 31, 2019: SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals announced today that Townsend Solutions is SPE's first Preferred Partner. An SPE Preferred Partner is a converter, manufacturer, solutions provider or product distributor that has been recognized by SPE for demonstrated leadership and innovation in the plastics industry.
At some point you’re going to need to take more than a day or two off of work. It might be for a vacation, it might be for parental leave, or it might be for something you didn’t plan on like sick relative or an accident. Obviously the unplanned absences are harder to prepare for (unless you have a solid Magic 8 Ball on your side), but there are a few things you could do so you don’t leave your company in the lurch should that type of situation come up. Here are some of the ways you can be prepared to take off, whatever the situation may be.
Join the SPE Foundation as it seeks support for After-School SPE STEM Clubs. Focused on sustainable materials science and positive plastics education, we need your help to bring this exciting new program to more students. It costs $5,000 per year to cover the cost of one club. Help us reach our goal of raising enough funds for FIVE After-School SPE STEM Clubs! Donate here for Giving Tuesday (11.30.21)!
The executive planning committee for the SPE® Automotive Composites Conference & Expo (ACCE) is announcing the third keynote speaker for their 19th annual event September 4 – 6, 2019 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich. in the Detroit suburbs.
SPE Foundation and World Design Organization Team with Stamford, Connecticut Students to Pare Plastic Waste in the Environment.
A candidate for induction into NIHF is required to hold a United States patent that has contributed significantly to the nation’s welfare and the progress of science and useful arts. They are seeking candidates whose patented work is significant to their field, is commercialized and in widespread use, and is having a major impact on our daily lives. NIHF considers both living and deceased candidates. Nominations can be submitted at www.invent.org/inductees/nominate-inventor. There is no cost to make a nomination and the deadline is Feb 15, 2021. List of inductees by alphabetical order can be found here: www.invent.org/inductees/nominate-inventor.
This year, the SPE Detroit Section generously donated $60,000 to help the SPE Foundation create PlastiVideo learning modules! PlastiVideos teach students about career opportunities in plastics and include such exciting topics as foam, manufacturing, sustainability, and marine debris. Your support makes it possible to create more content to engage students and help inspire future plastics professionals. In celebration of #GivingTuesday, SPE professional and young professional members can join or renew SPE on Tuesday, December 1 and $25 of their membership dues will be donated to the SPE Foundation's PlastiVideos Program in their honor.
Learn more - contact customerrelations@4spe.org.
SPE recently announced Sue Milazzo Wojnicki's promotion to the position of Chief Operating Officer. In her role, Sue will oversee SPE’s operational processes to produce a superb member/stakeholder experience. Sue will also manage SPE's day-to-day business operations, working closely with the CEO and with all SPE employees, ensuring that the company’s operations support and advance SPE's vision and strategy.
SPE recently announced a new virtual event focused on plastics in the aerospace industry. The first offering in SPE’s “Plastics In…” virtual series, Plastics in Aerospace: The Virtual Edition, taking place May 18-19, 2020, is a one and half day live online event that is focused on insights from aerospace industry leaders. Plastics performance, material innovations, supply chain challenges and solutions, and how plastics usage is growing in aerospace will be addressed. Event co-chairs Dr. Jason Lyons, SPE Vice President/Divisions, and Dr. Scott Eastman, SPE Vice President/Sections, are guiding the speaker selection process.
Introduction to Design for Rotational Molding, presented on September 18th by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems, is focused on the rotational molding process, applications and basic design guidelines. Webinar highlights include the distinctions between rotational molding and other processes (i.e. injection molding) and touches on gaining technical knowledge and learning basic skills necessary to understanding rotational molding. Introduction to Design for Rotational Molding and dozens of recorded webinars are currently available to SPE members in the SPE Library.
Originally scheduled to take place in New York City in December, SPE’s upcoming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Manufacturing event has been rescheduled to be held virtually January 27-28, 2022. Speakers will focus on raising awareness, how to recognize personal bias, ways to change your company’s culture, how to increase supplier diversity, explore the benefits of creating a more inclusive manufacturing environment, and more!
SPE’s Plastics Engineering magazine is now housed in Wiley Online Library. The capabilities and functionality of the library enhance the reader experience by providing access to back-file content back to 2007, full-text search and inclusion in collections. As a benefit of membership, SPE members will continue to have full online access to the publication, along with SPE’s three journals, by logging in through SPE’s website, www.4spe.org.
With continued interest in and development of sustainable plastics, it is clear that not everyone is working with the same lexicon. Terms such as 'degradable', 'bio-degradable', 'recyclable', and 'compostable' are subject to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or outright fraudulent claims. SPE's latest webinar, "This is Not the Wild West: Sustainability Definitions, Standards, and Regulations" which took place on October 13th and was presented by Kelvin Okamoto, President, Green Bottom Line and Founder/CEO of Gen3Bio, addressed how ASTM standards are being used to create a common understanding based on science and testing. He also addressed the commonalities and differences among standards, certifications, and regulations.
This webinar, presented on November 12th by Jeffrey Jansen, Senior Managing Engineer and Partner, The Madison Group, addressed some of the considerations that need to be made when selecting a plastic resin, and outlined the challenges and benefits of selecting an appropriate material.
This webinar, presented by Jeff Jansen, Senior Managing Engineer and Partner, The Madison Group, addressed the mechanisms of wear in plastics.
This webinar, presented by Dr. Abhishek Shetty, Lead Scientist, Anton Paar USA Rheology Division, on March 24th, looks at how DMA can be used to gain a better understanding of the viscoelastic and thermal properties of your material. The theoretical basics of DMA measurements are also covered along with the test methods and their resulting information. Access to this webinar is open to all.
Presented by Tobias Husemann, Product Management Team Leader, Anton Paar, on August 27th, Improve Your Chromatography with Refractive Index focused on how you can minimize uncertainty — and expensive errors - with a fast, highly-precise refractive index measurement. Featured topics in this webinar included: GPC calibration process; the role played by dn/dc values; how a refractometer can improve the GPC calibration process; and requirements and the specifications your refractometer must meet.
SPE's latest webinar, "iMFLUX's Novel Low, Constant Pressure Molding Technology Overcomes Traditional Barriers to Achieving A Truly Sustainable, Circular Operation," presented by Gene Altonen, Chief Technology Officer, iMFLUX, discusses one of the biggest challenges facing the plastics industry today -- the need for technology solutions that enable a Circular Economy. This is especially true for injection molded parts, where operational tradeoffs are often encountered when running many sustainable materials.
Giving High Impact Feedback, presented on October 17 by Rick Lepsinger, Managing Partner, OnPoint Consulting, is focused on helping managers and team leaders create a climate that supports open feedback, provides strategies to reduce defensiveness, and ensures feedback is perceived as useful.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy in Failure and Compositional Analysis, presented on January 9 by Jeffrey A. Jansen, Senior Managing Engineer and Partner, The Madison Group, is focused on the technique for the analysis of organic materials. It provides critical information in the evaluation of polymeric materials, including material identification, contamination, and degradation. This webinar features a fundamental understanding of the technique.
Failure Associated with Injection Molding Defects, presented on December 12 by Jeffrey A. Jansen, Senior Managing Engineer and Partner, The Madison Group, is focused on preventative measures in injection molding, including appropriate material selection, proper mold design, and process development.
Degradation Failure of Plastics, presented on October 10 by Jeffrey A. Jansen, Senior Managing Engineer and Partner, The Madison Group, is focused on plastics susceptibility to molecular degradation through a variety of exposures. Topics include: plastic molecular degradation; material susceptibility to degradation; stabilizers to prevent degradation; testing; and more.
This webinar, presented by Dennis Gros, MBS Advisors, on January 14th, looks at salary trends and the factors that affect your money. Gros provides an overview of the past five years of employment in the plastics industry. Specifically, he analyzes the growth curve of compensation for roles in manufacturing, engineering, sales, supply chain, and general management.
Bumps & Bruises: Starting Your First Real Job, presented on October 1 by Jeremy Dworshak, Plastics Engineer, Steinwall, is focused on maneuvering through the landscape of your first job. Topics covered include understanding your role in the workplace, effectively working with peers, planning your future and more. Bumps & Bruises: Starting Your First Real Job and dozens of recorded webinars are currently available to SPE members in the SPE Library.
Conor Carlin, SPE's VP Sustainability, will deliver a keynote presentation on adapting plastics consumption habits to a circular economy during Virtual Engineering Week, which is taking place November 30-December 4. In a recent interview with PlasticsToday, he explains what needs to be done and by whom.
The auditor's report for SPE's financial statements, which are comprised of financial position statements as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, are now available for viewing.
BETHEL, CT—SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals announced today that its partnering with more than fifty-three other leading societies to form the Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine).
No single thermal analysis technique is best suited universally, but together they provide essential data for the characterization of plastics materials. This webinar, presented by Jeffrey Jansen, Engineering Manager and Partner, The Madison Group, reviewed thermal analysis techniques and their application to plastic problem solving through case studies. Webinar registrants can access the webinar recording by clicking here. SPE members can access the recording by going here. Login required.
Great products might not last forever, but they usually last a long time. But no matter how great the product is, there will come a point in time where a thing no longer has any value. Then what? This webinar, presented by Eric Larson, Founder, Art of Mass Production™ (AMP), tells you how a product can be designed to account for its expected end of life.
BETHEL, CT—Feb 19, 2019: At March’s SPE ANTEC® 2019 in Detroit, MI, SPE-Inspiring Plastics Professionals will introduce twelve new Fellows who are being recognized for their contributions to the Society.
SPE is proud to host the second annual Plastics in Aerospace conference, taking place virtually Oct. 26-27. This year’s conference will focus specifically on aircraft interiors and emerging technologies including UAV/UAM. Learn which materials are emerging as prime candidates to revolutionize the aerospace industry from thought leaders in this space.
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