>Z Corporation was there showing off their new machine and all I can say
is WOW!
Same words uttered by many at Autofact. they are impressive and I would
love to see that machine at about 25K. Would blow the industry apart..
>Extrudehone was there showing off their PROMETAL RTS-300 system that uses
Great to hear they are inching towards the market! Should be an interesting
addition to the dance card.
>Dynamic Tooling - Jet Mold, Introduced a process/product called PolySteel.
Where did these guys come from? What happened to Phast and IM who are
working on similar approaches? Were they there?
>As I walked through the show I spoke with nearly all of the principles of
>the equipment manufacturers and it was clear that times are getting better.
1997 ended with alot of controversy in the markets. Overall people are
holding things together and even with the unrest in the far east, things
seem to be moving forward. I find it interesting that people have been
saying they could buy 'capital equipment' but not the 'bodies' to run it.
There is 'anti' employee mood.
>great deal from them. I wonder if there is a chance that SME could seek a
>more technical talk from its speaker list. Before I get blasted from the
Here I will take exception to this comment....Karl, others and I have
discussed this before. If I asked him for a technical presentation he'd
say "No". I could blame him for not putting forth the effort of getting
approval and making the presentation. I could blame his employer as being
too closed mouthed. But I won't. I know how difficult is it to get things
approved, the time and effort, much less getting up and doing it.
I do appreciate each person who submitted papers, who spoke, and what you
shared. Yes we always want more but the important thing is you took the
time, shared what you could and people came together to listen and talk.
Maybe you provoked ideas rather than told us how to do it.
This conference has never been and I hope will never be an academic
conference. With Austin and Dayton, those are the proper places for such
presentations. Some academic presentations are ok but should continue to
be limited.
SME and RPA does a great job with this conference. We had a meeting of our
industry members and here are their comments..
1. T-The...bad days for flying and too expensive ticket wise. Bosses are
getting hard to convince that 800-1200 for a ticket is worth it... maybe
every 2-3 years. With that happening you have to wonder just how much
people miss.
2. Conference cost even for 3 days is difficult.
3. Hotel space is getting limited and it is not convenient to stay else where.
So add a car, etc to the cost. If the conference ever depends on 'out of
towners' then you'll see a big change in everything. Now they plan only for
the big three's convenience (I'm waiting on the flames from that thought).
I heard that bosses are getting real tight on travel and the traveler is
expected to get the same amount of work completed not matter what new ideas
are found. Because that new stuff is not guaranteed to make a real hit
back home. Otherwise we'd all own a Z-Corp and be making lots of widgets.
See ya in Austin,
Elaine
*******************************************************************
Opinions, suggestions, and other controversial matter VOID where prohibited.
******************************************************************
Elaine T. Hunt, Director
Clemson University Laboratory to Advance Industrial Prototyping
206 Fluor Daniel Bldg. Clemson, SC 29643-0925
864-656-0321 (voice) 864-656-4435 (fax)
elaine.hunt@ces.clemson.edu
http://chip.eng.clemson.edu/rp/persall/elaine.html
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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