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Articles

in Vol. 8 - January Issue - Year 2007
Most Successful Asian MFN Shot Peening Workshop & Trade Show Ever!

The 6th Asian MFN Shot Peening Workshop and Trade Show in Singapore broke all records. A total of 103 participants from 14 different countries joined the event hosted from the 13th to the 15th of November at the Hilton Hotel.

Aside from the importance of its technical content, the workshop’s truly international environment gave participants an excellent opportunity to mingle with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, but with similar needs and problems in the field of shot peening.
 
The large turnout at this year’s event underlined the growth of shot peening in the region, especially among aerospace industries. These had to ensure not only that their operators received competent training, but that this training was recognized by clients and authoritative agencies. Therefore turning to MFN came as a natural choice.

Workshop Structure & FAA Acceptance

The workshop spanned a period of three days and offered three different course levels, basic, intermediate and advanced. By passing optional exams at the end of the course, participants received certificates of achievement bearing the appropriate FAA acceptance code. This year’s workshop had a team of MFN trainers from seven countries who were responsible for presenting the curriculum and for answering questions at any time. Trainers are specialists in their individual fields and, prior to the workshop, the team had revised the curriculum to include new processes and developments. In addition to theoretical classes, hands-on training was offered for flap peening and residual stress measurement equipment.

Guest Speaker Day

The second day of the course, open to participants from all three levels, was dedicated to distinguished speakers from various industries and institutions.
Since MFN offers FAA-recognized courses, it always tries to invite a speaker from this organization. It’s certainly interesting to learn more about the FAA and the organizers can benefit from any recommendation which the FAA specialist may have on improving the course. This year, MFN was most pleased to have Adrian Fox from the FAA Singapore Office as the keynote speaker.
Scientific input was provided by Dr. Hitoshi Soyama (Ph.D.) from the Tohoku University in Japan, with a most interesting presentation on cavitation shotless peening.
The day’s program was completed by speakers from several industries covering a wide range of topics.

Participants from Various Industries and Organizations

While most of the participants were from aviation industries, there were also some from oil refining industries, whose needs MFN is careful to address.

Here is a selection of some of the companies which sent their staff to this year’s workshop:
-Chung Nan Machinery
-Daksha Engineering Company
-Eagle Services Asia
-FAA Singapore
-Frontken (S) Pte Ltd
-Fusion Clad Precision Technology
-GEAE China
-Hamilton Sunstrand
-Messier Services Asia Ptd Ltd.
-Pratt & Whitney Services Pte Ltd
-Primus International (Suzhou) Ltd.
-Singapore Airlines
-Singapore Aero Engine Services
-SME Aerospace
-Smiths Aerospace Suzhou
-ST Aerospace Engines Pte Ltd
-ST Aviation
-ST Kinetics
-The Boeing Company
-Turbine Overhaul Services Ptd Ltd.

MFN also involved local universities and colleges in order to promote interest in shot peening. Teachers and students from ITE, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the Singapore Polytechnic attended the event.

Trade Show

There were thirteen booths at the trade show, representing manufacturers and service providers from China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S.A. Generous breaks during the day ensured that there was enough time for the participants to communicate with the booth staff.

Poolside Barbeque Party

MFN organized a social gathering which gave all workshop attendees the opportunity to establish useful contacts and improve networking. Special thanks go to the sponsors Abrasive Engineering Singapore and Frohn GmbH Germany for kindly financing this event.

Looking to the Future...

MFN tries to make this workshop as attractive as possible. A good mixture between theoretical knowledge, hands-on training, guest speakers and trade show ensures that there is much to gain for all.
The next MFN workshop will be hosted at the Hilton Hotel in Clearwater Beach, Florida, U.S.A. on 15th – 17th May, 2007.
More information can be found either at www.mfn.li/workshops or by requesting an information package at info@mfn.li.

Author: Giovanni Gregorat, Contributing Editor MFN