Copper Symposium 2023: Successful materials conference
At the end of November, more than 130 copper enthusiasts attended the Copper Symposium 2023, this year's materials conference organized by the Copper Association, to find out about the latest developments in the development and processing of copper materials.
In keeping with tradition, the 2023 Copper Symposium was once again held in cooperation with a university institute. This year, the Otto Schott Institute for Materials Research at Friedrich Schiller University Jena co-hosted the conference. The program itself once again covered a broad spectrum of research and application of copper materials. This year's main topics were hydrogen, simulation/modeling, digitalization, new materials, additive manufacturing, joining, process engineering as well as nano and surface technology. The extensive program of the Copper Symposium 2023 was rounded off by exciting excursions to companies and institutes in Jena. A special highlight was the evening get-together in the planetarium, which took participants into the world of the planets with impressive light shows, among other things. A poster exhibition was also held as part of the lectures, with the best prepared topics and their presenters being awarded a cash prize. Maximilian Plötz from the Technical University of Munich, who presented a poster on the topic of "Additive processing of copper materials using the liquid metal jetting process", was awarded first place.Kilian Brans and Leonhard Nägele from the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University also received awards for their contribution "Process-safe mass production of lead-free connectors" and Dr. Christian Hildmann from TU Dresden for his presentation on the behavior of formed joints under load with fault currents.
After the last copper symposium had to be canceled due to the corona restrictions, this year's conference guests were all the more pleased that the "family reunion" of the copper community was once again used for personal exchange and networking. A small exhibition also provided information about the services offered by Brenscheidt Galvanik Service GmbH and Matplus GmbH as well as the services of the Machine Tool Laboratory WZL at RWTH Aachen University, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and the Fraunhofer IMW. Participants can already look forward to the next Copper Symposium, which will take place in November 2025 in cooperation with the fem Forschungsinstitut Edelmetalle + Metallchemie in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Those who are running out of time until then will also have the opportunity to attend the international Copper Alloys conference in October 2024, which the Copper Association is organizing together with the Swedish institute RI.SE in Stockholm. The call for papers is currently open.