Key customers and ESI experts will speak at the Japanese User Forum PUCA 2011

The program will focus on ground transportation, energy and heavy industry.

ESI Group, pioneer and world-leading solution provider in virtual prototyping for manufacturing industries, announces the program of the 22nd Japan user forum, PUCA 2011, which will take place in Tokyo, Japan, 5 & 6 December 2011.

During the event, ESI customers from around the world will speak of how virtual prototyping addresses key industrial challenges, specifically in the ground transportation, energy and heavy industries.

On December 5, the opening session will feature a presentation by keynote speaker Eric Landel of Renault, global automotive manufacturer, on the topic of ‘How numerical simulation helps support the automotive industry in times of new challenges’.

Engineer and inventor Yoshinobu Sawamoto will then make a keynote address on the implementation of simulation at TAKATA Corporation, a leading manufacturer of automotive safety systems (airbags, seat belts, child restraints, etc) and interior equipment (from textile to electronics).

Finally, keynote speaker, physicist and ESI Scientific Committee member Franck Delplace from EDF will focus on energy, delivering a presentation on ‘Challenges for the Energy Industry in the 21st Century’, addressing the global issue of increasing energy demand and decreasing supply, and touching on how virtual prototyping has a role to play in bringing new solutions.

PUCA 2011 will then split into three parallel sessions, addressing industry specific issues and bringing together sector specific experts in the fields of manufacturing and performance testing in the Transportation sector, Energy, and Heavy Industry. Subjects as diverse as Multi-disciplinary optimization of car hood panel design for pedestrian safety and commentary on the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant will be addressed by speakers from Japan and overseas.

To complete the first day, on December 5, a gala dinner will provide an agreeable and informal setting for all participants to network, discuss and exchange information. Informal demonstrations of immersive 3D tool IC.IDO, ESI’s new Virtual Reality Solution, will run in parallel to the conferences during both days.

On 6 December, the program will be organized around the different trades in which ESI has proven expertise: Virtual Manufacturing (sheet metal forming, casting, welding, heat treatment and composite materials), Virtual Performance (crash, safety, NVH, passenger comfort, and biomechanics), and Virtual Environment (acoustics, electro-magnetics and fluid flow). Conferences will be animated by ESI domain experts and industry customers, including Y-TEC corporation, Nissan Motor Co., H-ONE, UBE Industries, Mitsubishi Motors, Toyota Boshoku Corporation, TS TECH Co., Ltd., Chuden Engineering Consultants, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Isuzu Advanced Engineering Center, Ltd., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Samsung Techwin, National Food Research Institute (NFRI), and NEC Saitama, Ltd. Academic speakers will represent Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tohoku Gakuin University, Nihon University, Hiroshima University, Okayama Prefectural University, Seikei University, and Hongik University. More than 70 presentations will be delivered during the 2 day forum.

PUCA 2011 will take place on 5 & 6 December, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Shinjuku area, Tokyo. For further information, please visit www.esi-group.com/PUCA2011