Join ASPE

Background

The American Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE) has constituted a number of Technical leadership Communities (TLCs) in an effort to enhance the technical strength of the society and promote increased participation of the members in charting the Society’s technical directions. In the future, these TLCs will be chaired by individual Board members with responsibility for particular technology areas. At the present time, the committees will be headed by one serving member of the Board and one appointed chair to facilitate an orderly transition. Six technical areas have been identified with Precision Manufacturing being one of them.

Technical Scope

The Precision Manufacturing Technical Leadership Committee (PMTLC) will serve as a focal point and technical resource for ASPE members interested in the full range of processes and machinery employed in the manufacture of precision components, devices, and systems. The goal is to create and provide a vibrant technical community where members can discuss topics of mutual interest, learn from the expertise and experience of other members, and contribute ideas and knowledge to help solve technical challenges and questions faced by fellow members. Topical areas addressed by the Committee will include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Mechanical material removal, including cutting and abrasives processes
  • Forming, molding, casting, and additive processes
  • Non‐mechanical material removal, including electro‐chemical, electro‐discharge, and directed energy processes
  • Coatings and surface treatments
  • Manufacturing machinery, including system design and modeling, machine metrology and performance verification, performance enhancement, and auxiliary systems
  • Material handling, including workholding, alignment and registration, and automation
  • Process control
  • Assembly, including automation and tolerances and alignment

 

Responsibilities and Deliverables

The responsibilities and deliverables of the PMTLC include the following”

  • Keep abreast of and understand the state‐of‐the‐art (SOTA)
  • Advise the Annual Meeting Chair on the SOTA, including
    • Suggestions of relevant topics for conference sessions
    • Recommendations for Keynote Speakers and Invited Talks
    • Organize a technical session in each Annual Meeting; and solicit qualified conference
    • papers and speakers, in consultation with the Annual Meeting Chair, that reflect and
    • advance the SOTA
    • Recommend topical meetings in the area and assist the Topical Meeting Chair
    • Prepare review papers on a regular basis (approximately one every three years) on selected topics of interest for publication in Precision Engineering
    • Report to the ASPE Membership each year on the activities, plans, and learnings of the PMTLC

 

Committee Governance and Structure

The PMTLC will have a Chair and Vice‐chair who will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the group, recruiting new members, and ensuring the vitality and continuity of the Committee. Once the Committee is in full operation, the Chair will be a Member of the ASPE Board of Directors who has relevant expertise in one or more aspects of Precision Manufacturing, and is elected to this post (and a seat on the BOD) by the ASPE membership. The Vice‐chair will be selected by the Chair and approved by the TLC membership for a term of two years. In addition, the Committee may, at their discretion, identify members to be responsible for one or more of the periodic responsibilities and deliverables. During the initial organizational period, the Chair of the Committee will be John Ziegert, and the Vice‐ Chair will be John Taylor. They will serve until a regularly elected BOD Member is available to fill these roles.

 

Committee Operations

The PMTLC membership will convene at the Annual Meeting to monitor progress on the deliverables to the Society, plan for future activities, and conduct discussions among the membership on topics of interest, emerging technologies, and future directions. In addition, the officers may elect to conduct web‐based meetings that are open to the membership (approximately quarterly) to discuss Committee business and plans. It is expected that service on the various activities and deliverables of the TLC will become an entry point and stepping stone for new members interested in future leadership roles in the Society.

 

Interactions with the Society

The PMTLC will report to the ASPE Executive Committee on a regular basis to keep them apprised of PMTLC activities and plans, and ensure coordination with the activities of the other TLCs.

 

Membership

Once the PMTLC is fully functioning it is expected to consist of members with a broad range of interests and expertise in various aspects of precision manufacturing processes and equipment, and broad representation from industry, government, and academia. Committee members will be encouraged to actively solicit and recruit new members, and if sufficient interest exists to create new sub‐committees and special interest groups.