The Shapemakers by The Aluminum Extruders Council

AEC Die Clinic, one the Council's most popular educational workshops, is being offered for the first time at ET – and is available to nonmembers of AEC. This program, which has trained hundreds of die professionals over the past 25+ years that the Die Clinic has been offered, provides those involved in extrusion die operations with a well-rounded education from experienced extruders and die makers who share their knowledge and expertise. AEC Die & Tooling Team Chair, Pawel Kazanowski of Hydro Aluminum Technology Center, talks with ET Seminar Committee Chair Craig Werner about what attendees can expect to learn from the AEC Die Clinic at ET and who should take advantage of this unique opportunity.

Craig Werner, ET Seminar Committee Chairman talks with Lorenzo Donati, Associate Professor of Manufacturing Technologies in the Department of Engineering for Industry at the University of Bologna in Italy. Dr. Donati and his colleague, Dr. Barbara Reggiani, will be conducting their workshop during ET Week in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, May 2, 2022. Discover what you will learn in this course that covers practical and analytical concepts using finite element analysis to better understand the extrusion process and the principles discussed in the class. You'll also hear a little more about Dr. Donati and his background in this engaging interview.

ET Chairman Craig Werner talks with Professor Wojtek Misiolek, Director of the Loewy Institute at Lehigh University, and top-rated instructor of AEC's popular Extrusion Excellence Course. Learn about this one-day course, which will be offered two times at ET '22, from the extrusion process expert who brings theory and practice together, providing a fundamental engineering approach to the aluminum extrusion process.

Duncan Crowdis and Craig Werner provide an overview of the Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition, the benefits for students and instructors and they talk with a student, Andrew Schoenjahn, from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, and leader of the GVSU Design Club. Andrew shares his thoughts on how the Design Competition will help his fellow Design Club members in their future careers and how AEC's resources have already given them a better understand of aluminum extrusions.

Olivier Gabis of Wagstaff, Inc., the Track Chair for the ET '22 Billet Process Track, discusses the highlights of the BP Track with ET '22 Chair Craig Werner. Safety, billet metallurgy, microstructure, impact of alloys on mechanical properties, new technologies, and more will be included in this essential track. Also, get a preview of all the options you can expect at ET by ET Vice Chair Jerome Fourmann.

Rob Nelson, Executive Vice President of Almag Aluminum and ET Value-Added Processes Track Chair talks with ET Seminar Committee Chair Craig Werner and Vice Chair Jerome Fourmann about some of the highlights of the papers in this track. From fabrication and finishing to machine learning and Industry 4.0, the Value Added Track covers a diverse set of subjects that will help extruders better understand and, therefore, improve processes and products

Hear what you can expect when attending the Management Issues (MI) Track at ET '22 this May in Orlando, FL. ET Seminar Committee Chair Craig Werner and ET Vice Chair Jerome Fourmann talk with MI Track Chair Jason Weber, V.P. of Sales and Marketing at Taber Extrusions, who discusses the type of topics you can expect to hear and some of the highlights of the papers in this track. From automation and raw materials to safety and attracting and developing talent into the industry – the papers cover a variety of topics that would appeal to top management to better understand advancements and where the industry is headed for the future.

Learn more about the aluminum extrusion industry's most important and anticipated technical conference at ET22.org.

ET '22 Chairman Craig Werner and ET Vice Chair Jerome Fourmann discuss what to look forward to at ET '22 this May in Orlando, FL. Frank Kraft, ET Extrusion/Die Theoretical (TH) Track Chair, talks about technical paper highlights in his track and discusses the importance of these theoretical papers—and how the concepts presented often become the technology of the not-too-distant future. Jerome explains the elements of ET and how to save money when registering early and with a team.

Jeff Henderson, AEC President, and Greg Wittbecker, Senior Analyst with CRU North America, discuss China's announcement to curtail production and the impact to aluminum extruders. Greg also provides insight into the recent volatility in aluminum prices.

Craig and Jerome talk with Extrusion Equipment (EE) Track Chair Chip Edwards, who recently retired from Cardinal Aluminum. Chip reveals the interesting topics in the EE Track, how the information gathered at the EE Track sessions can help extrusion professionals improve their operations, the inner workings of being a Track Chair for ET, and why extrusion industry professionals need to attend ET '22 next May.