Carbon Fiber: GM's Mark Voss to discuss composite's path forward

CompositesWorld’s Carbon Fiber 2017 conference, Nov. 28-30 in Charleston, SC, US, features keynote speaker Mark Voss, engineering group manager, body structures advanced composites, at General Motors (GM). 

His presentation, “The Successful Path to Implementing Lightweight Composites on Future Automotive Platforms,” will review GM’s long history of composites executions for lightweighting and performance improvements, through which he and the company have experienced the launches of new materials many times. He will discuss implementing new composites into production and the risk that carries for OEMS and suppliers. He will highlight the technical and commercial risks that could derail the short- or long-term viability of a new material system. He will walk through the different aspects of the risks tied to a new material system execution and will propose strategies to minimize them.

Voss has successfully led teams responsible for numerous carbon fiber panels implemented at GM, starting with the 2004 Anniversary Edition Corvette Z06 hood, the first OEM original equipment carbon fiber painted exterior panel. He led the 2009 Corvette ZR1 carbon fiber panel development and execution, as well as the development of the 2014 Corvette Stingray composite body panels. Voss has received numerous patents related to the execution of carbon fiber and other mass savings technologies. 

Carbon Fiber 2017 also features a tour on the morning of Nov. 28 of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner final assembly line in North Charleston, followed that afternoon by a pre-conference seminar by Chris Red of Composites Forecasts and Consulting LLC on the outlook for carbon fiber growth in energy and transportation applications. 

Presented by CompositesWorld, Carbon Fiber 2017 is the preeminent conference on carbon fiber and the expanding role of this material in the composites industry. The conference offers cutting-edge information and access to industry experts in streamlining manufacturing costs, market outlooks and forecasting, and more. For more information about Carbon Fiber 2017, and to register, click here.

Carbon Fiber 2017 is sponsored by Harper International, Toho Tenax America Inc., Cygnet Texkimp, Eisenmann, Izumi International, Kamitsu, A&P Technology and Abaris Training.