Deep drawing in focus
The 41st IDDRG conference will be held in Lorient , France , from 6-10 June 2022 . The event , organised by Prof . Sandrine Thuillier at Université Bretagne Sud , includes all engineering aspects of sheet metal forming such as the thermo-mechanical behaviour of materials ; formability ; tools ; tribology ; process reliability ; numerical simulation and experiments .
The theme for IDDRG 2022 is “ Beyond the Horizon for Conventional and Non-Conventional Sheet Forming Processes .” The main topics are listed below :
n Non-conventional testing methods for appropriate material characterisation . n Material constitutive modelling . n Necking , instability and formability limit prediction . n In-line control in sheet metal forming . n Digitalisation in tooling and intelligent tools for sheet metal forming . n Advanced simulation methods for sheet metal forming . n Damage and fracture in sheet metal forming . n Tribology , friction and wear in forming . n Shear cutting and blanking . n Sheared edge formability . n AHSS and Gen-3 steels . n Warm and hot forming . n AI in sheet metal forming .
GENERAL NEWS
Three dedicated mini-symposiums ( MS ) will also be held to focus on up-to-date methods and processes . Prof . Dr . Dirk Mohr and Prof . Vincent Grolleau will also co-organise a minisymposium in honour of Prof . Dr . Pavel Hora , to celebrate his contribution to sheet metal forming and the numerical simulation of the process . He has been an active member of the executive committee of IDDRG and is deeply involved in the international IDDRG community .
The International Deep Drawing Research Group ( IDDRG ) was started in the late 1950s as an organisation of national groups devoted to the study of sheet metal forming including forming processes ; materials ; formability issues ; tooling ; tribology and other interesting aspects of sheet metal forming research and industrial practices . n
:// iddrg2022 . sciencesconf . org /
Supply chain and workforce issues
The National Association of Manufacturers in the U . S . released its Manufacturers ’ Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021 , showing that manufacturers remain mostly optimistic in their economic outlook ( 86.8 %, down from 87.5 % in Q3 ) but are significantly concerned with issues such as inflation , hiring and potential tax increases targeting manufacturers .
“ Manufacturers are working overtime to fill more than one million open jobs , including through our nationwide ‘ Creators Wanted ’ workforce campaign ,” said NAM President and CEO , Jay Timmons . “ On top of that , we ’ re grappling with a supply chain crisis . Despite the challenges confronting us , manufacturers remain bullish on the future . But if Congress passes legislation with taxes that hit manufacturers harder than other industries , our entire recovery will be thrown off course . If new taxes land on our shoulders , it will undo all the progress we ’ ve made since the 2017 tax reform law .
“ Manufacturers have kept our promise to hire more workers , raise wages and benefits and invest in our communities . Our question to Congress — the message of this survey — is , do we want to weaken our recovery by undermining manufacturers ’ competitiveness ? Raising taxes on manufacturers will not help us build back better . It will tear down what we ’ ve achieved .” Key survey highlights include :
n Increased raw material costs ( 87.1 %), the number-one issue for the fourth straight quarter . n Supply chain challenges ( 84.5 %). n Attracting and retaining a quality workforce ( 82.7 %). n 87.8 % of respondents said an increased tax burden on income from manufacturing activities would make it more difficult to expand their workforce , invest in new equipment or expand their facilities . n 85.2 % said that they have open positions which they cannot fill . n 73.6 % of respondents said that supply chain bottlenecks negatively impacted their company ’ s outlook for production , hiring and overall business activity .
The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in
the United States , representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states . Manufacturing employs more than 12.5 million men and women , contributes US $ 2.52 trillion to the U . S . economy annually and has the largest economic multiplier
SURVEY and development . n
Left : Jay Timmons , President and CEO , NAM .
ISMR February 2022 | sheetmetalplus . com | 7