SafekipediaSAE International
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. It used to be called the Society of Automotive Engineers, but it changed its name in 2006 to show that it includes people from all over the world and works on many kinds of transportation, not just cars.
The organization helps make sure that cars, airplanes, ships, and other vehicles are safe and work well. It also works with students and teachers to encourage learning about science, technology, engineering, and math.
SAE International has more than 138,000 members from many countries. People join as individuals, not companies, and they can take part in many activities, learn new skills, and even compete in design challenges.
History
In the early 1900s, there were many car makers in the United States and around the world. Engineers wanted to share ideas and solve common problems, so they formed groups to help each other. Two writers, Peter Heldt and Horace Swetland, supported this idea and helped start the Society of Automobile Engineers in New York City in 1902.
Over the years, more engineers joined, and the group grew. By 1916, it included people from airplane, tractor, and boat engineering. The group changed its name to the Society of Automotive Engineers to include all kinds of vehicles. Women joined in the 1920s, and the group continued to grow. After World War II, it connected with engineers in many countries.
By the 1980s, the group had almost 50,000 members, and by the 1990s, over 80,000 members in more than 80 countries. In 2006, the group changed its name to SAE International to show its global reach and work in many areas beyond just cars. As of 2017, SAE International had over 138,000 members worldwide, with many from outside North America.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1900s | |
| 1904 | Edward Tracy Birdsall, charter member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, invites others to the Automobile Club of America at 753 5th Ave., New York, NY to organize a society of engineers concerned with all aspects of automobiles. Those invited included Horace Swetland, publisher of the trade journal The Automobile, and seven others. Henry Ford, though invited, did not attend. |
| 1905 | 30 founding members of the society of automobile engineers meet in New York to elect officers. They were: President: Andrew L. Riker, engine designer for Locomobile First Vice President: Henry Ford Second Vice President: John Wilkinson, engine designer for the Franklin automobile Secretary-treasurer: Edward Birdsall SAE Council: Horace Swetland, The Automobile Allen H Whiting, New York manufacturer of The Whiting auto Hiram P Maxim, The Electric Vehicle Company H W Alden, The Electric Vehicle Company LT Gibbs H Vanderbeek – Source: |
| 1906 | Membership listed at 52; 32 attend meeting from nine different states. Volume 1, no. 0, of SAE Transactions printed with three papers. |
| 1907 | Membership listed at 100. |
| 1908 | Membership listed at 150. |
| 1909 | Society is incorporated, debut of original SAE logo. Membership approaches 400. |
| 1910s | |
| 1911 | SAE is formally incorporated in New York. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers effectively dissolves following court ruling. SAE takes over ALAM's technical section, beginning SAE's standardization program. SAE opens associate membership to anyone "in a responsible commercial or financial capacity." The SAE Bulletin is founded. |
| 1912 | SAE publishes its first standard. ALAM officially dissolves. |
| 1913 | Membership exceeds 1700. |
| 1914 | Initial publication of SAE's annual compilation of standards in the SAE Data Book. |
| 1915 | SAE moves headquarters to the Engineering Societies' Building. SAE standardization efforts reduces the different types of lock washers used in vehicles by 90% (originally 300), reduced 1600 sizes of seamless steel tubing to 221. First student branch is formed at Cornell University. |
| 1916 | SAE opens a Detroit office. Admits members of the American Society of Aeronautical Engineers, the Society of Tractor Engineers, National Association of Engine and Boat Manufacturers, the National Gas Engine Association, and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. The National Gas Engine Association and the National Association of Engine and Boat Manufacturers merge their standards work with SAE. SAE publishes first aeronautical standard. |
| 1917 | Elmer Sperry coins the word automotive; SAE changes its name to Society of Automotive Engineers in February. National Automobile Chamber of Commerce begins to support standards work. Found Washington DC Office in the Munsey Trust Building. Cooperated with the Quartermaster Corps to produce the liberty truck and with the U.S. Navy department and the Signal Corps to produce the Liberty airplane engine, the Liberty L-12. SAE's Journal is founded. |
| 1918 | Orville Wright writes to Charles Witteman of the Witteman – Lewis Aircraft Company. It begins: "My dear Mr. Witteman: as your name does not appear on the roster of the Society of automotive engineers, I suspect the advantages of membership have not been presented to you. The work covered by the S.A.E. is of such value that everybody identified with the industry should take out membership.": 24 |
| 1919 | Membership exceeds 4300. |
| 1920s | |
| 1920 | Membership reaches 5000, including SAE's first woman member Nellie M. Scott, treasurer of the Bantam Ball Bearing company of Bantam, Connecticut. |
| 1921 | SAE standards number 224. Automotive Industries estimates SAE standards save $750 million, or 15% of the retail value of all automobiles sold. |
| 1922 | Membership exceeds 5000. |
| 1926 | Membership exceeds 6000. |
| 1927 | The first SAE award is created – the Wright Brothers medal – for the best paper on the topic of aircraft. |
| 1930s | |
| 1930 | 25th Anniversary. Membership exceeds 7000. |
| 1933 | Fuels and Lubricants Meetings Committee is formed. |
| 1935 | Tractor and Industrial Power Equipment Meetings Committee is formed. |
| 1936 | SAE's first National Aircraft Production Meeting is held. |
| 1939 | The SAE War Engineering Board is established to evaluate problems defined by the military and to assign committees of specialists to ascertain prompt solutions. |
| 1940s | |
| 1940 | Membership reaches 5855. |
| 1942 | The War Activity Council is formed to coordinate efforts for the Allied forces. |
| 1943 | The War Activity Office is established in Detroit. |
| 1944 | The Special Publication Department is formed. |
| 1945 | Membership exceeds 12,000. |
| 1946 | The Technical Board is formed, creating standards for design, manufacturing, testing, quality control, and procurement. |
| 1947 | Formal Engineering Meetings structure established. The Engineering Materials Meetings Committee is formed. |
| 1950s | |
| 1958 | The Sections Board is formed to guide SAE's local sections and keep the SAE board of directors informed. |
| 1960s | |
| 1961 | SAE Aerospace standards number 1000. |
| 1966 | SAE publications gain international coverage. |
| 1967 | The phrase "land, sea, air, and space" is added to the SAE logo. |
| 1970s | |
| 1973 | SAE launches first design competition for college students called the Recreational-Ecological Vehicle contest. |
| 1974 | SAE moves headquarters to a new location on Thorn Hill in Warrendale, PA, 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, PA. Warrendale is christened SAE World Headquarters. |
| 1976 | SAE officially launches its Collegiate Design Series. |
| 1977 | The SAE Fellow award is established to recognize achievements in technology and engineering. |
| 1978 | The SAE Women Engineers Committee is formed. |
| 1980s | |
| 1981 | The collegiate design competition Formula SAE begins. The first volume of Aerospace Engineering Magazine is published. |
| 1983 | SAE begins its Professional Development Program to educate and certify mobility engineers. |
| 1986 | SAE creates the SAE Foundation to fund and promote education in math and science. |
| 1990s | |
| 1990 | SAE foundation launches A World in Motion, "with the specific aim of bringing a new style of pedagogy to physical sciences in grades four, five, and six." SAE establishes the Performance Review Institute, a nonprofit affiliate, to develop performance standards and certify systems accordingly. SAE forms its first international affiliation with SAE Brazil : 132 |
| 2000s | |
| 2002 | SAE recognizes its second organizational affiliate, SAE India. |
| 2004 | The Institute of Vehicle Engineers, UK, merges with the United Kingdom's Midlands SAE Section to form SAE UK. SAE membership reaches 84,000. |
| 2005 | SAE Aerospace standards number 6200. SAE celebrates its 100-year anniversary with SAE 100. |
| 2006 | SAE officially changes its name from Society of Automotive Engineers to SAE International to better reflect its current scope: both the increasingly international scope of its activities and membership and the applicability to other industries besides the automotive industry, such as the aerospace industry. |
| 2010s | |
| 2010 | SAE membership reaches 120,000. |
| 2012 | SAE International acquires Tech Briefs Media Group. |
| 2014 | SAE International Completes Asset Purchase of ARINC Industry Activities – Expands Aerospace Portfolio. |
| 2019 | SAE International forms Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium |
Technical standards
SAE International helps companies, government groups, and researchers create guidelines for designing and building car parts. These guidelines aren’t laws, but some government agencies like the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada sometimes refer to them.
SAE also creates guidelines for the aerospace industry. These include suggestions for engineering practices and reports with useful engineering data.
Levels of autonomy
Main article: Self-driving car § automation-levels
SAE created a well-known way to describe how much a car can drive itself. They call it "levels of driving automation" and there are six levels, from level 0 (no help from the car) to level 5 (the car drives completely by itself). This idea is also used by the NHTSA.
SAE units
The letters "SAE" are often seen on tools and hardware in North America. They mean that these items use measurements based on inches, not the metric system. This usage comes from old traditions and is a bit loose but very common.
SAE also sets standards for measuring how powerful car engines are. Before 1971–1972, they used a method called "SAE gross power," which gave higher numbers than real performance. Since then, they use "SAE net power," a more careful way that includes things like engine accessories and exhaust systems.
Publications
SAE International has been sharing technical information since 1906. It publishes many magazines each month, such as Automotive Engineering International, Aerospace Engineering and Manufacturing, and Off Highway Engineering. They also have special magazines for students and send out a monthly Update newsletter to members. SAE creates over 100 books each year, covering many topics from technical subjects to history.
In April 2007, MIT stopped getting SAE’s materials because of special technology called digital rights management on their website. After that, SAE removed this technology for schools and universities.
SAE Foundation
In 1986, SAE International created the SAE Foundation to help with science and technology education. Many students were not choosing to study these subjects, which could make it hard to have enough skilled workers in the future. The SAE Foundation works to support learning in math, technology, engineering, and science.
The A World In Motion program helps students from kindergarten to Grade 12 learn about STEM subjects. Teachers and volunteers from companies lead activities that show how physics, motion, flight, and electronics work in fun, hands-on ways.
The SAE Collegiate Design Series gives college students a chance to work on real engineering projects. Students form teams to design, build, and test vehicles, such as remote-controlled airplanes or race cars, based on what a company needs. They then show their ideas at competitions and are judged to see whose design best meets the company’s requirements.
The SAE Collegiate Design Series includes competitions like:
- SAE Aero Design
- Baja SAE
- SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge
- Formula SAE
- Formula Hybrid
- SAE Supermileage
- SAE AutoDrive Challenge
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