Friends,
UAMMI recently hosted another successful CrossTalk event in conjunction with SAMPE’s Wasatch Front Materials Expo. This event brought together many thought leaders and industry experts throughout Utah and across the country.
Held at the SLCC Miller Campus, over 120 attendees participated in this all-day event which featured presentations from nine different experts within the advanced materials and manufacturing industry. The speakers also engaged the audience by answering questions and sharing expertise, which was the main purpose of this event.
Selected speakers were from both local and national companies and organizations including Orbital ATK, Radius Engineering, Impossible Objects, Renegade Materials, T.E.A.M, Abaris Training, Hill Air Force Base and U of U Mechanical Engineering . Presentation topics included additive manufacturing, composite recycling, aerospace manufacturing, textile innovations and more. You can view these presentations on the UAMMI web site here.
A few highlights from the presentations were:
- More than 24,000 tons of excess carbon fiber and pre-preg material ends up in landfills each year. Companies like Vartega are figuring out how to recycle that material into useable new materials with many of the same properties as the original.
- Over 30,000 new commercial airplanes will be built over the next 20 years. Companies like Orbital ATK are working to meet that demand with increased automation of carbon fiber part manufacturing.
- The amount of composite materials being used in military aircraft is steadily going up. Both the F-35 and F-22 are manufactured with over 35% composite material. Repairing this amount of composites is a big challenge for the military. However, the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base is solving this through using new processes like additive manufacturing and laser De-paint.
As the event concluded, the 13th Annual Wasatch Front Materials Expo began next door. Hosted by Utah SAMPE, the expo featured local and regional advanced manufacturing and materials companies showcasing their companies and services to over 500 attendees. Now in its 13th year, the expo continues to grow and was even sold out this year, which is an exciting indication of the industry growth here in Utah.
Both CrossTalk and the Wasatch Front Materials Expo turned out to be wonderful events. We look forward to participating in them again and helping to grow this exciting industry with you.
Jeff Edwards
Executive Director