SAE International
File:SAE Organisation Logo.gif | |
Type | Professional Organization. |
---|---|
Focus | Automotive,Automobile,Aerospace,Commercial Vechicle. |
Area served | Worldwide. |
Method | Industry standards, Conferences, Publications. |
Key people | Andrew L. Riker,Henry Ford,Thomas Edison,Glenn Martin,Orville Wright,Charles Kettering |
Website | http://www.sae.org/ |
SAE International (SAE), formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a professional organization for mobility engineering professionals in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries. The Society is a standards development organization for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and others. Membership is open to the public for those particularly interested in Human Factors and Ergonomic Standards.[1]. SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series.
History
In the early 20th century there were dozens of automobile manufacturers in the United States. Many of these manufacturers joined trade groups that allowed them to promote the industry and raise public awareness related to the automobile. A need for patent protection and the development of engineering standards emerged during this time.
Two magazine men of the era: Peter Heldt of The Horseless Age, and Horace Swetland of The Automobile advocated the creation of SAE. Heldt wrote an editorial in June 1902 in which he said, "Now there is a noticeable tendency for automobile manufacturers to follow certain accepted lines of construction, technical questions constantly arise which seek solution from the cooperation of the technical men connected with the industry. These questions could best be dealt with by a technical society. The field of activity for this society would be the purely technical side of automobiles." Likewise, Swetland used his editorial power to drum up support for the creation of an organization like SAE. Swetland went on to become one of the founding officers in the organization.
Starting out as the Society of Automobile Engineers in 1905, SAE's original purpose was to promote the use of standards in the nascent automobile industry (initially in the United States) and to promote the better interchange of ideas and expertise, in a similar manner to many other technical societies.
Although beginnings were modest with only 30 inaugural members (Andrew L. Riker was the inaugural president, and Henry Ford the inaugural vice-president), SAE's numbers grew steadily. Membership reached approximately 1800 by 1916, at which point the society expanded its mission to cover all forms of self-powered transport, including aircraft, boats, agricultural machinery, and others. The new word automotive (from Greek for autos, meaning "self" and from Latin for motivus, meaning "of motion") was coined by the Society to describe all self-powered vehicles, and the name was changed. Other notable supporters of the new organization included Thomas Edison, Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Martin, and Orville Wright.
Charles Kettering presided over SAE during World War I and saw membership pass the 5,000 mark. During this time, SAE emphasized the importance of developing member activity through local chapters - called Sections.
After World War II, the Society established links with other standards bodies and automotive engineering societies worldwide, and since then has founded sections in a number of countries formerly lacking such organizations, including: Brasil, India, China, Russia, Romania, and Egypt.
By 1980 membership had grown to 35,000+. And today more than a quarter of the Society's modern membership is from outside of North America.[2]
Standards
SAE has established a number of standards used in the automotive industry and elsewhere.
Automobile standards
Automobile standards are the most familiar to the average American consumer, and include:
- measuring automobile power in units of horsepower (SAE Net Horsepower), which has been generally followed in the USA since the early 1970s
- motor oil classification standards
- tool measurement sizes
- Modern vehicles are equipped with a diagnostic system known as On-Board Diagnostics II (OBD II). If a malfunction occurs, a Check Engine Light will alert the driver who must scan the system for stored fault codes. These fault codes are known as SAE Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs).
- SAE J1962 defines the pinout of the OBD II connector
- SAE-J1850 defines one allowed protocol for the OBD II connector[3] (replaced by SAE-J2284 in 2008)
- SAE-J2284 defines the specific version of the CAN bus used on the OBD II connector
- SAE-J1939: Recommended Practice for a Serial Control and Communications Vehicle Network
- SAE J1772: SAE Electric Vehicle Conductive Charge Coupler
Furthermore, SAE encourages the design of vehicles in accordance with established Human Factors principles. SAE is one of the most influential organizations with respect to Ergonomics work in Automotive Design. Human Factors and Ergonomic standards (Number: Title) published by SAE include the following:
- J2094 200101: Vehicle and Control Modifications for Drivers with Physical Disabilities
- J1139 199907: Direction-of-Motion Stereotypes for Automotive Hand Controls
- J1903 199707: Automotive Adaptive Driver Controls, Manual
- J941 200801: Motor Vehicle Drivers' Eye Locations
- J287 200702: Driver Hand Control Reach
- J1138 199902: Design Criteria Driver Hand Controls Location for Passenger Cars
- J899 200705: Operator's Seat Dimensions
- J1163 200612: Determining Seat Index Point
- J209 200305: Instrument Face Design and Location
- J1814 200303: Operator Controls
- J1050 200301: Describing and Measuring the Driver's Field of View
- J2119 199710: Manual Controls for Mature Drivers
- J2331 200212: Operators Field of View—Engineering Evaluation
- J153 198705: Operator Precautions
- J2217 199110: Photometric Guidelines for Instrument Panel Displays That Accommodate Older Drivers
Aerospace standards
Aerospace Standards (AS), Aerospace Recommended Practices (ARP), and Aerospace Information Reports (AIR) are guidelines for design and production of aircrafts and aircraft avionics systems:
- Aerospace Standards (AS) apply to missile, airframe, ground-support equipment, propulsion, propeller, and accessory equipment.
- Aerospace Recommended Practices (ARP) are recommendations for engineering practice.
- Aerospace Information Reports (AIR) contain general accepted engineering data and information.
Well known SAE Aerospace standards include:
- ARP4754: a standard dealing with the development processes and certification of Aircraft systems.
Conferences
SAE holds an annual conference and tradeshow, called SAE World Congress.[4] SAE also runs a biennial conference and tradeshow, called Convergence, on behalf of the Transportation Electronics Association.[5] The sociey holds many events focused on all facets of transportation.[6]
SAE has been the organizer for the International Conference on Environmental Systems, an annual technical conference focusing on manned space systems, since its inception through the 2009 conference.
Other Contributions
SAE holds 12 Collegiate Design Competitions - events challenge students to design and build functional vehicles in a competitive setting. These Design competitions host more than 4,500 students from 500 universities on every continent. SAE Colligate Design Contests include the following: Formula SAE, Formula Hybrid, SAE Aero Design, SAE Mini Baja, and SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge.
SAE strives to encourage and support the development of youth skills related to math and science in the communities which it serves. The SAE Foundation raises funds to support math/science programs primarily for grades 4 through 8. Furthermore, SAE has developed curriculum to supplement learning in public schools.
Controversy Over Access to SAE Database
In April 2007, MIT canceled its subscription to SAE because of required Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology implemented on its online technical papers. After much discussion, SAE International's Publications Board voted to remove the DRM restrictions on Oct. 31, 2007[7] for colleges, universities, and other academic institutions.
Upon the removal of the FileOpen DRM technology in November 2007, MIT Libraries re-subscribed to the SAE articles subscription service[8].
Publications
SAE International has been publishing technical information since 1906[9]. As well as the industry magazines that are published monthly—Automotive Engineering International[10], Aerospace Engineering and Manufacturing[11], Off Highway Engineering[12], Truck & Bus Engineering[13], SAE Vehicle Engineering[14], e-newsletters, Momentum magazine for student members, and various journals[15]—SAE also produces the monthly Update[16] newsletter for its members and publishes more than 100 books a year in print and electronic formats. Ranging from compilations on various technical subjects, to textbooks, to historical and enthusiast-oriented books, SAE’s titles cater to a variety of readers.
Notable members
- Horace Swetland
- Andrew L. Riker
- Henry Ford
- Thomas Edison
- Glenn Martin
- Orville Wright
- Charles Kettering
- Harry Cheesbrough
See also
References
- ^ Becoming a Member
- ^ SAE General History
- ^ http://www.auto-diagnostics.info/j1850
- ^ http://www.sae.org/congress/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/events/convergence/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/events/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/servlets/pressRoom?OBJECT_TYPE=PressReleases&PAGE=showRelease&RELEASE_ID=647
- ^ http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/following-removal/1024/
- ^ http://store.sae.org/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/mags/aei/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/mags/aem/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/mags/sohe/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/mags/tbe/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/mags/sve/
- ^ http://store.sae.org/saejournals/
- ^ http://www.sae.org/update/