A conference on "Quality and Design in Manufacturing", hosted in Riyadh by the technology department of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), received an overwhelming response with presentations by leading academic and industry figures. An accompaniment to the conference was a machinery exhibition and the official launch of Pro/Engineer 2001, a very advanced solid modeling software.
The conference, opened by Professor Abdullah Al Rasheed, VP, KACST, aimed to address the challenges and opportunities facing industry in light of globalisation of markets and to investigate the role of the latest technologies for excellence in design and manufacturing. In addition to discussing the importance of product quality optimisation, the topics included best practice technologies for designing better, more innovative products faster, and at the first attempt, by using technologically advanced solutions including CAD/CAM/CAE and Rapid Prototyping & Reverse Engineering. Werner Mack, VP, Channel Sales Europe, Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), made a presentation covering Pro/Engineer Mechanical CAD for flexible and lean engineering and its functioning within a web environment.
Other presentations at the conference were by AA Al Sheikh, VP for Total Quality Management, Sabic; Dr Mohammed Al Fawzan, assistant research professor, KACST; Kyriakos Papantoniou, CEO at Infocad SA; Dr Charles Feltner, senior technical director PTC and former director of manufacturing, Ford Motor Company; and Tim Heller, European director, Stratasys Inc. Saudi industrialists and government representatives showed a keen interest in the conference.
In addition to a series of presentations, delegates had the opportunity to visit the machinery exhibition to view various rapid product development machinery. A Rapid Prototyping Sys-tem by Stratasys was producing prototypes directly from CAD data in a matter of hours without the need for expensive tooling. The Renishaw Cyclone machine demonstrated reverse engineering solutions for finished component or tool production and the FaroArm portable CMM showed highly accurate controlling of dimensional quality for engineering manufacturing.
Following on from the conference, an Open House showing technical CAD/CAM demos was held the next day during which there was a lively questions-and-answers session. Dr Al Fawzan said it was a great opportunity for the Saudi industrial firms to recognize the latest technologies in design and manufacturing. The event was also useful for both academic staff and students. Dr Mohammad Tarabzoni, head of KACST's technology department, said the conference could be considered as one of the department activities which included the awareness and introduction of new technologies to Saudi industry. The department owns a technology database that contains more than 55,000 technologies from 30 countriees. The KACST, an independent scientific organisation of the Saudi government, is playing a leading role in technology transfer to the Kingdom. Its mission is to become a world-class research organisation providing a vital source of information covering science and technology for the local industry.
