Over the years, aerospace composites trade events have been quite popular and usually attract a loyal following of people involved in this industry. Most of us in the industry look forward each year to attending at least one composites conference. But at the core of these events is an imbalance that I think needs to be corrected. Historically, the technical papers and presentations at aerospace conferences have focused heavily on materials. How composite parts are built is often just an afterthought. At the recent Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (SAMPE) 2007 Technical Conference, for example, a huge majority of papers listed in the program focused on materials (properties, testing, etc). As I reviewed the program, 1 wondered, Where are the processing papers? This heavy emphasis on materials comes at a time when the aerospace industry is dramatically increasing the amount of composite structure on aerospace vehicles (especially commercial aircraft). The increase in composite materials used in airframes means that a greater volume of composite parts are being built today than ever before. You would think that the manufacturing processes used to build these parts would get more attention at the industry's premier events.
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