Registration Deadline – 2018 Hampton Roads Coastal Virginia Regional Conference

Dear SAWE Members,

With the summer’s end fast approaching, so too does the 2018 Hampton Roads Coastal Virginia Regional Conference and Planning Meeting on Mass Properties Engineering.  I wanted to remind as many as I could that registration is available through the SAWE website here and more importantly, the deadline for registering is September 6th, to ensure that we plan accordingly with the hotel for all those in attendance.  The conference is being held on Friday, September 14th at the Hilton Norfolk, “The Main”, in downtown Norfolk, VA with training on Saturday, September 15th.

Exhibitors and Sponsors:

5 Exhibitors (Intercomp, HII, ShipWeight, Altair, The Scale People)

2 Silver Sponsors (Aerospace Corp – exhibiting, Space Electronics)

2 Break Sponsors (Intercomp, GEC)

Technical Conference – Friday, September 14th

We have scheduled a full day of technical presentations.  This will include the Executive VP of Engineering at Liebherr, Bryant Ward, giving a presentation titled  “Designing the World’s Largest Mining Truck,” which I think will be a real treat for all of us as they are assembled locally in Hampton Roads.  Also, our lunchtime speaker is Jeanne Willoz-Egnor, the Director of Collections at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, dubbed America’s Maritime Museum by Congress, giving a presentation titled “The Technology of the America’s Cup.  The actual vehicle used in the 2013 race where America came back from being down as much as 8-1 is on display at the museum and worth a visit if you have time.

Training – Saturday, September 15th

We have scheduled three training opportunities for the conference to include a class on Developing Basic Parametric Methods, which pertains to all of our industries, a new class titled Introduction to Marine Weight Engineering for Non-Naval Architects, and finally, Marine Systems Weight Estimating Methods based on SAWE RP-14.  Registration for training is available through the registration process.  Please see the conference website and the August 7th blog post for more details.  If you are attending the conference, these are great opportunities to take advantage of while you are already here!

As always, these conferences are a great opportunity to continue our involvement with the SAWE, stay connected on mass properties engineering related topics, exhibit our products and services, provide support through sponsorship, attend training, and visit a new location to take advantage of all the area has to offer.

I sincerely hope to see as many of you there as possible and the Hampton Roads Chapter Host Committee is standing by to support you!

David S. Cash – Hampton Roads Chapter President

Orion Spacecraft Testing Coverage

The Orion spacecraft recently underwent mass properties verification in Houston in preparation for the second Launch Abort System test.  NASA Langley Research Center was intimately involved and LaRC engineers Amanda Cutright and Anjie Emmett were on hand for the operations.

Here is a video clip of Anjie and Amanda explaining the testing:

http://www.dailypress.com/visuals/video/95951602-132.html

Knowing the mass and the CG of the Orion spacecraft is a safety of flight issue.  The AA-2 (Ascent Abort – [test] Two) test flight will test the Launch Abort System during the critical boost phase of the Space Launch System.  The LAS must safely remove the Orion capsule with its crew away from a failing booster if there is a launch mishap. The earlier PA-1 (Pad Abort – [test] One) test performed a similar function, but from a stationary simulated launch pad.  The AA-2 capsule is an actual Orion Command Module, instrumented and mass simulated for this test. The fixture seen in the videos was built to enable multiple weight and CG measurements to be made in multiple orientations and is reusable on subsequent Orion vehicles.

The Houston Chronicle also posted an article on the verification test at:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/nation-world/article/NASA-s-Orion-spacecraft-test-module-passes-13152137.php#photo-16006303

Amanda and Anjie traveled to Johnson Space Center in Houston for the testing.   They are seen in the background of the video above.

The Norfolk, VA area newspaper The Daily Press also ran a story about the testing:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dp-nws-nasa-langley-orion-test-20180215-story.html

Both Amanda Cutright and Anjie Emmet are members of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the SAWE.  Amanda is co-chair of the upcoming 78th International Conference on Mass Properties Engineering in Norfolk, VA  from May 18 – 23, 2019.

 

Robert Zimmerman

SAWE Vice President – Technical Director

The Benefits of ANSI Membership to the SAWE Society, Corporate, and Individual Members

The SAWE has been a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) since 2012, and an accredited Standards Developing Organization (SDO) since 2014. We are proud of this role and our association with 285 other SDO’s in the United States. We also do not do this to avoid responsibility as an International standards developer, but to enhance that as well. SAWE is legally incorporated in the United States and so to participate in International, ISO, sanctioned standards development work, it does so as an SDO for the United States’ sole member to ISO, which is ANSI. But all SAWE work thru ANSI is open to full participation by members and corporations from any country. Through this process we develop ANSI/SAWE STD documents with full international participation in our voluntary consensus manner. We also develop Recommended Practices, SAWE RP’s, in an open consensus manner which is fully accessible and in cooperation with our International Membership.

 Benefits for belonging to SAWE with the above focus are manifest at several levels. First, as SAWE has a long tradition of doing, the work brings together technical and programmatic insights from the best Mass Properties Engineers in the world. It is motivational to know that the work ongoing within SAWE can have US and International impact to products from under the sea to outside our solar system. As an individual, participation in ANSI process brings recognition as someone who cares about defining and improving the world of Mass Properties Engineering. Our corporate members are key to providing the resources and strategic guidance the SAWE uses in creating new standards and assuring existing standards are up to date and relevant to modern acquisition programs and product operational needs. Corporate membership gives our sponsors insight into the issues of currency in Mass Properties Engineering, and SAWE activities are vitalized by receiving such guidance. Secondly, for our corporate support the American National Standards Institute wants you to know that “Standards Boost Business” (https://www.standardsboostbusiness.org ) Millions of dollars are saved thru implementation of standard practices, business is provided assurances in product quality across corporate and regional borders. Engineering artifacts, technical and managerial in nature, may be contractually assured to merge more easily between buyer / supplier relationships.

Recently ANSI organized a meeting with some current Captains of Industry regarding an “Executive Roundtable on Strategic Standardization and Competitiveness”. Based on past meetings between U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and ANSI President S. Joe Bhatia, the issue of “Underinvestment in Standards” was the basis for this recent roundtable activity. These meetings called for “sustained investment in terms of funding, manpower, and participation by both the public and private sectors to make that leadership possible”.  SAWE corporate and individual membership provides a direct path for such an investment opportunity and for fulfilling leadership roles in the field of Mass Properties Engineering.

 The role of SAWE thru its ANSI membership and our associated International standards development goals is a proud and growing opportunity for the Society. We encourage you as members, corporations, government organizations, product suppliers and product users to share in our eagerness to define this International journey in the future of Mass Properties Engineering.

Jeff Cerro

SAWE Survey results

Dear Mass Properties Engineering Industry participants,

The SAWE recently conducted an industry survey with the ultimate objective of stimulating increased collaboration between Academia, SAWE Company Members and Corporate Partners, society members, and the SAWE Executive Board toward a common objective of addressing the current risks and opportunities.

Summarized results are available here.

Please use this forum to discuss the results and the direction of our society.

Paper 3699 “The Health of Mass Properties Engineering in Aerospace, Marine, Offshore, Land Vehicles, and Allied Industries – Results of a 2018 Industry Survey” with the detailed results can be downloaded from the SAWE document ordering and downloading database at https://www.sawe.org/papers/3699.

Please take the initiative to proactively participate in our Society of Allied Weight Engineers resulting in the betterment of our World through open collaboration.

Sincerely,

Clint Stephenson
SAWE Executive Vice President
executivevp@sawe.org
8326475599

Training Available at Regional Conference in September

The Hampton Roads Chapter of the SAWE is pleased to offer some exciting opportunities for training at this fall’s Regional Conference in Norfolk, Virginia!

Three classes will be offered on Saturday, September 15:

Developing Basic Parametric Methods:  In this full day class, Andy Walker describes how to parametrically and statistically estimate the weight of a complex vehicle, allowing for an estimate when little is known about the vehicle, particularly useful early in the design process.

Introduction for Marine Weight Engineering for Non-Naval Architects: In this brand new, half day course taught by former NAVSEA Technical Warrant Holder Dominic Cimino, participants will obtain a basic understanding of the weight engineering process relative to marine vehicles and consider the effects of buoyancy, wind, and sea conditions.  The course will also include a discussion of some basic naval architecture principles and an overview of how mass properties in the marine industry are different from those in the allied industries.

Marine System Weight Estimate Methods based on SAWE Recommended Practice 14:  This half day class, delivered by Andy Schuster, builds nicely on Cimino’s introductory course.  It covers the fundamental and practical methods of estimating the weight for marine systems, includes practical examples, and an exercise where students will develop a weight estimate for a 200 ft ship.  A complimentary copy of SAWE RP 14 for review is provided to all who register for the course.

Space is limited, so sign up today at https://www.regonline.com/registration/Checkin.aspx?EventID=2524062.  For additional information about the Hampton Roads Regional Conference, check out the website athttps://www.sawe.org/hamptonroads/2018regional/