IdMRC Impact Report

Design and Manufacturing Excellence:
Tools & Technologies for the Future

Engineering Research at the University of Bath
and its Impact in Industry
34
Impact Report
Introduction to the IdMRC

The Centres research seeks to provide a multidisciplinary approach to design and manufacturing and
one that encompasses a concept to grave view on the
product life cycle
Overview
Centre Description
The University of Bath Innovative Design and

Manufacturing Research Centre (IdMRC) was
established in 2001 and is unique in the UK in
its emphasis on research in both design and
manufacture. The Centre is primarily funded by
the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) as part of its Innovative
Manufacturing Research Programme which
supports a number of centres of excellence in the
UK.
In modern manufacturing the definition,

manufacture and verification of a product or
machine are intimately interlinked, and any one
aspect must be undertaken in full recognition
of the importance of the other two. The IdMRCs
research programme reflects this importance, with
four research themes: Constraint-Based Design
and Optimisation (CBDO); Design Information
and Knowledge (DIAK); Advanced Machining
Processes and Systems (AMPS); and Metrology
and Assembly Systems and Technologies (MAST).
Across the themes the research emphasis in the
Centre is on high-quality investigative research
leading to the development of supporting tools and
methods.
Since 2001 the Centre has received two major

funding awards from EPSRC totalling more than
10 million. This core funding has been enhanced
through further awards from DEFRA, JISC and
other research funders giving a total grant portfolio
of about 17 million.
The Centre is housed in a recently constructed
purpose-built facility which combines the latest
in computing with state-of-the-art laboratories.
Facilities include a video-conferencing access grid
node, advanced machining systems, a dedicated
metrology laboratory, and a range of equipment to
support the analysis and investigation of products,
machines and manufacturing systems.
A 2008 international review panel

considered the Centre as a whole and its
individual research themes, all of which
were rated highly. The reviewers were
particularly complimentary about the
Centres overall performance, making
remarks such as an outstanding overall
performance, very good overall
performance and it is certainly fulfilling
the planned goals, well on its way to
achieve international competitiveness and
leadership position, close to a generally
outstanding status due to [the Centres] good
reputation in academia and its intensive
linking with industry and a very good
IMRC with excellent management and
attention to quality.
The research work is undertaken within the four

research themes by twelve academic leads
working with twenty full-time research staff and
thirty-three PhD students. The research engages
strongly with industry, the Centres research results
being applied by multinational companies and
SMEs alike, in the form of new machine designs,
software systems, workshops, methods and
procedures. The staff also undertake a range of
consultancy and commercial activities with both
the private and public sectors. Approaching 250
companies and organisations from the UK and
overseas have collaborated with the Centre since
2001: a conservative estimate of the value of this
collaboration exceeds 6 million.
Introduction
Expertise and Capability

Industry Sectors
Tools & Methods
Areas of Expertise
Current Research
Advanced Engineering, Aerospace,

Automotive, Defence, Electronics, Fluid Power,
Manufacturing, Marine, Medical, Mining,
Packaging Machinery, Power Generation,
Pharmaceutical, Rail, Renewable Energy and
Sports
Metrology, Manufacturing and Maching

Processes, Rapid Prototyping, Reverse
Engineering and Assembly Systems
Design Methodologies, Design Management,
Machine and Manufacturing Systems and
Design, Modelling and Optimisation of
Products and Machines
Lean Methodologies, Quality Systems, DfX,

FEA, CAE, PDM, PLM, Machine-Material
Interaction, Machine Investigation, Ergonomics,
Creativity and Eco-Design, Rapid Prototyping,
Process Planning and Machine Control,
Through-Life Costing
Through-life Information Management, Cost

Modelling, Personal Information Management
(email and logbooks); Modelling and
Optimisation of Packaging Systems, Cryogenic
Machining, Interoperability, Self-Replicating
Machines, Large-Volume Metrology and
Assembly, Creativity, DfX methods (eco-design,
change-over, manufacture)
Information Management, Knowledge

Management, Personal Information, Technology
Management and Creativity, Through-Life
Costing
Staff and Output - since inception

Academic staff
18
Journal papers
319
Research staff
55
Conference papers
367
Research students
58
Keynotes & invited papers
30
Eng Docs
Books
Research grants
17 million
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)

Completed projects
17
KTP funding
1.6 million
KTP Associates
26
Company turn-over enhancement
13 million
Company profit enhancement
15 million
Company savings
2.75 million
Employee growth
330 plus
Current projects
Impact Report
History
Although the Centre was formed in 2001, its
roots can be traced back to the mid-1990s in the
Engineering Design Centre (EDC) funded by the
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC). The EDC aimed to consolidate
the Department of Mechanical Engineerings
work in the areas of high-speed machinery and
manufacturing systems design, and focused on
four complementary work programmes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Design and Testing Technology

Design Engineering
Manufacturing Machinery and Plant
Mechanical and Fluid Power Transmissions
Following the success of the EDC, the Department

was invited to bid to the EPSRC under the 2001
Innovative Manufacturing Programme which aimed
to create a limited number of Centres of Excellence
for UK manufacturing research. The Department
was awarded 3 million to support a five-year
programme of research in the design, manufacture
and management of processes, machines and
systems. Following the significant contribution
of the Centre to both UK industry and the

international scientific community, the Department
was awarded a follow-on grant of 7.3 million to
fund further development of the Centres research
portfolio for five years from October 2006. In
parallel with securing this funding, and as part
of succession planning, a number of strategic
appointments were made to consolidate and
extend the Centres research capability. The
appointments included Professor Chris McMahon
from Bristol, Professor Steve Newman from
Loughborough and Professor Paul Maropoulos
from Durham. These appointments not only
strengthened the existing research activities but
also enabled further refinement and integration
across the existing research portfolio. As a
consequence, and given the needs of UK industry,
the Centres overall research focus was further
evolved to provide an integrated research portfolio
in Design and Manufacturing across the definition,
manufacture and verification of the product. It is
this integrated perspective that is unique to the
IdMRC in the current UK research capability.
UK manufacturing needs
to understand any source
of commercial advantage,
whether it is in requirements
capture, design, material
processing, assembly
processes, metrology in
process control/verification
or product maintenance and
service. The Id MRC is an
excellent means to assist in
achieving a combined value
chain approach and this can
be seen by the impressive list
of industrial collaborators.
In my opinion the quality of
the research and its industrial
relevance provide excellent
value for money.
Geoff McFarland, Group
Engineering Director,
Renishaw plc
The Centre has done an

excellent job in transferring
knowledge and technology in
the applied front.
2008 International
Review Panel
International Collaborators
Beihang University, Beijing, China
University of California, Berkeley, USA
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Technical University of Delft, Netherlands
Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France
Georgia Tech, USA
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Indian University of Science, Bangalore, India
Kyoto University, Japan
Lulea University, Sweden
University of Maryland, USA

MIT, USA
Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, Canada
Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France
Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Stanford University, USA
University of Sydney, Australia
Universit de Technologie de Compigne (UTC), France
University of Zagreb, Croatia
The applied targets for

the Centre are very well
developed based on industry
input. Clearly this Centre has
made a mark internationally
in developing research
for applications in the
manufacturing industry. The
theoretical underpinnings are
based on applications.
2008 International
Review Panel
Research Areas
Constraint-Based
Design and
Optimisation
(CBDO)
Design Information
& Knowledge
(DIAK)
Advanced Machining
Processes and
Systems
(AMPS)
Metrology and
Assembly Systems
& Technology
(MAST)
The Innovative Design & Manufacturing Research Centre structured around four
distinct research themes
The IdMRC represents the coming together of

world-leading expertise in a great diversity of
engineering subjects and disciplines, developed
and integrated during research carried out over
the last three decades. This expertise can be,
and is, deployed in research across the entire
life-cycle of the engineering process from design
to end-of-life and across a wide spectrum of
industry sectors from aerospace and automotive
engineering, to packaging and pharmaceuticals,
to medical engineering and mining.
The level of expertise embodied in the IdMRC
is reflected in the fact that members of the
research team are involved in the governance of
research through their election to industry-based
and governmental advisory boards, panels and
committees. In addition the Centres staff serve as
editors and members of editorial boards of leading

journals and are on the organising and scientific
committees of the main international conference
series in design and manufacturing.
Research work is carried out by the application of
special expertise associated with four research
themes. Thus, the four themes provide the
organisational structure for the IdMRC.
Impact Report
DESIGN INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE

(DIAK)
The DIAK research theme focuses on developing an understanding of the knowledge
and information needs of engineers. Such research leads to a diversity of novel
approaches to knowledge and information capture, organisation and management.
There is a particular emphasis on through-life information management for complex
products, an area in which the team has led a large national Grand Challenge
project (KIM). The research work is supported by the study of designers information
needs, and of approaches to information use covering personal, group and company
information. There is increasing focus on people, costing, environmental and
operational issues within the context of design information and knowledge. This work
is being supported by the development of a design-observation laboratory which will
allow new developments in empirical research.
Research Areas
Whole-life design information and knowledge management (the KIM Project).
Representing, organising and using design information.
Costing information.
Information for eco-design and approaches to eco-innovation.
Information for creativity.
Handling personal information.
The observation and analysis of design activity.
CONSTRAINT-BASED DESIGN AND

OPTIMISATION (CBDO)
The CBDO theme builds on the Centres long-standing expertise in machine,
process and systems modelling. The research agenda reflecting the interests of
key collaborators in the packaging, aerospace and other industries is based on
recognition of the significance of dealing directly with the constraints that arise in the
design process. This has led to the creation of constraint modelling techniques for the
design and optimisation of engineering systems. In particular, the approach has been
applied successfully to packaging machinery and its interaction with material and
product.
Research Areas
Machinery design: this includes the design of the next generation of machinery
and processes through an understanding of the interactions between machines,
products and materials.
New application areas: other areas in which constraint modelling techniques can
be applied including, for example, electronics, systems modelling, and human
interactions with machines.
More complex systems: the research questions here include how to decompose
design tasks, and how to use approximate methods to represent sub-system
performance.
Conceptual design: application of constraint modelling techniques at the more
conceptual levels of design is being investigated.
Research Areas
ADVANCED MACHINING PROCESSES AND

SYSTEMS (AMPS)
The AMPS research theme covers processes and systems research with particular
reference to responsive and customised manufacturing processes and systems integration
specifically interoperability and manufacturing information support systems. The themes
research supports a range of industrial sectors from aerospace to automotive to medical
applications, and aims to develop new manufacturing processes and innovations in system
design that enable new products to be developed more rapidly, existing products to be
produced with reduced lead time and mass customisation to be introduced effectively.
Research Areas
Information and knowledge platforms to support the CAx manufacturing chain

(interlinking with the DIAK, CBDO and MAST themes of the IdMRC).
Interoperable CNC machining and in-process measurement.

Process control of CNC machine tools.
Application of standards in machining processes and systems.
Cryogenic CNC machining for personalised products.
Self-replicating machines based upon layered manufacturing technologies.
Dematerialisation of manufacturing resources.
Hybrid machining systems.
METROLOGY AND ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS

AND TECHNOLOGY (MAST)
The MAST research theme covers metrology and assembly systems and technologies
and deals with their theoretical analysis, integration and optimisation within digital
environments. The research is strongly focused on the experimental evaluation of
new metrology and assembly methods and systems, both in the laboratory and within
large-scale technology demonstrators. MAST is especially focused on complex and
large-volume and high-value manufacturing applications, typical of the aerospace, power
generation, automotive, defence and marine industries. The theme is underpinned by
the Large Volume Metrology and Assembly (LVMA) major grant that provides its unique
selling-point. LVMA researches the evolution of design and assembly methods as a result
of making large-volume metrology part of the assembly and fabrication process. The
overarching strategic objective is to develop the scope and impact of the MAST theme to
become a sustainable research area in the longer term.
Research Areas
Large-volume metrology and assembly integration.
Design and process evolution (including design-for-verification).
Metrology process models.
Measurement capability characterisation and uncertainly minimisation.
New assembly technologies, including metrology-enabled assembly.
Creation of the Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications (LIMA).
Impact Report
THE IdMRCS VISION

The design and manufacturing space is characterised by its breadth of activity. This multi-dimensional space can
be defined in terms of the activity domain and the time domain. Thus engineering activity goes from design through
manufacture, assembly and verification to use and extended use. In the time domain there are short-time deadlines
and long through-life horizons.
The Bath IdMRC, because of its unique combination in one centre of high-quality engineering design and
manufacturing research, can and does encompass these two domains.
There are discrete elements within the activity domain that occur and reoccur variously within the time domain. The
critical factor is to ensure that these elements are understood properly and can be linked together and a virtuous
circle of improvement can be created.
The ten-year vision of the IdMRC is to research and generate integrated self-improving design and manufacturing
systems and activities.
Research will therefore be undertaken with self-improvement and integration as a benchmark. This will enable
radical new product development approaches to be generated and innovations and experiences to be fed in to
give positive and beneficial feed back. In particular a number of next-generation and linked research areas will be
considered such as multi-channel auto-updating knowledge systems and self-aware autonomous manufacturing
resources, in short, support for the Intuitive Learning Factory.
Industry Impact Case Studies

The benefits that can be derived by a company from working closely with
academia are very diverse. Sometimes the benefit is felt in the explicit and
tangible solution to a clearly defined problem, often it comes from seeing
activities and processes in a new light, which provides the basis for a
change to better and more efficient practice. The case studies which follow
demonstrate many of these diverse benefits.
Impact Report
Interacting with Machines and Materials

Bath research is helping to improve production, cut waste
and increase profits for manufacturing companies
To succeed in todays global market, companies
need to be one-step ahead of the competition.
The best way to achieve this is through
continuous improvement. Many production
improvement strategies fail because people take
action without first understanding fundamental
interactions between machines and materials.
This is particularly challenging in the packaging,
processing and pharmaceutical industries, where
knowledge, materials and equipment from multiple
supply chains must be integrated.
Baths Contribution
A new method developed by engineers in the
IdMRC is providing crucial understanding and
helping companies to save millions through
improvements in quality and efficiency. The
machine-material interaction methodology uses
a continuous-improvement practitioner-based
approach and builds on the Centres expertise
in design methods, manufacturing systems
improvement and system modelling.
The Impact
Working with more than twenty companies over the
last seven years, IdMRC research engineers have
created new approaches to machine investigation
and materials testing and have developed
computer-based models to represent the complex
interaction between machines and materials during
processing.
The Research Partners

Rank Hovis McDougall, Merck
Sharpe & Dome, AstraZeneca,
Pira International, Processing and
Packaging Machinery Association,
Bradman Lake, HayssenSandiacre,
Marden Edwards and Endoline
These techniques have helped firms to create

new machine and tooling designs, as well as
improve production practices, thereby increasing
profitability and long-term competitiveness.
The findings have also been published as a
book that presents a general methodology for
understanding machine-material interaction and
realising targeted and sustainable benefits no
matter whether they are practice-, process- or
design-led. The book includes detailed industrial
case studies, worksheets and templates.
The Future
The methodology is now part of a broad range of
University of Bath training courses for industry, as
well as being used in consultancy and Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships (KTPs); in addition Astra
Zeneca are planning to roll out the Bath method
worldwide.
Contact: Dr Ben Hicks or
Professor Glen Mullineux
Over 1 million of savings every year

The methodology for understanding machine-material interaction forms a
fundamental component of our operational excellence programme. This has
resulted in a 16 per cent improvement and corresponds to an annual saving of
over 1 million.
Ross Wilson, Manufacturing Engineer, AstraZeneca
Industry-wide gains
Bath has delivered ground-breaking understanding of a number of
fundamental issues. Their clear demonstrations of the application of their
work to the solution of real problems benefits the entire industry. Some of
this understanding has been incorporated into new test equipment and test
standards.
David Shires, Chief Consultant, Pira International
Creating the next generation of machines
Bath has supported members of the Processing Packaging and Machinery
Association in improving existing machinery and creating the next generation of
machines, which is essential for maintaining UK competitiveness.
Martin Keay, Technical Consultant, PPMA
10
Todays Information & Knowledge for Tomorrow

The IdMRC-led KIM Grand Challenge Project leads
to a better understand of long-term knowledge and
information management for complex, long-lived
engineering products
The design, construction and operation of complex
engineering products uses and generates
enormous amounts of knowledge and information.
When these products have long life spans
keeping track of and maintaining the usefulness
of the information and knowledge, and making it
available to operators, maintainers, designers and
users is a real challenge.
Research led by the IdMRC at the University of
Bath has led to a better understanding of what
these challenges are, and how they might be
overcome. The Director of the IdMRC, Chris
McMahon, who also led the KIM Project, explains
that the wide range of issues demanded a study
pulling together engineering and management
specialists: The implications of providing
customer service for a complex product for 30
years or more are very profound, in terms of the
people involved in firms, decision strategies,
organisations, processes and information
technologies. Bath is very proud to have led
a very competent team investigating all these
issues.
Baths Contribution
As the project team lead, the IdMRC provided
the planning, orchestration and integration of the
research work being carried out by the KIM team,
a group which included a diverse mix of seventy
academics and researchers in eleven universities
working with over eighty industry collaborators.
These included such sector leaders as ABB,
Airbus, BAE Systems, Balfour Beatty, Converteam,
EuroStep, LSC, MBDA, Rolls-Royce and the
UKCeB.
The underlying principle of the KIM Project providing the right

information in the right context at the right time is at the heart of our
business proposition. In addition to the enormously useful insights
gained into the information management problems that we face
every day, engagement in the KIM Project and its knowledge transfer
activities has proved very useful in developing our Group Knowledge
Management Strategy.
Simon Flint, Business Development Manager, Balfour Beatty
The KIM project hit exactly the right spot for companies such as
ABB engaged in the delivery and through-life support of high-value
engineering solutions. Under the leadership of the Bath team, the
research team and industrial partners worked together to clarify issues
and develop concepts to address this complex topic. We have benefited
from very valuable insights into the hard and soft factors in our
Knowledge Management Strategy.
Nigel Chapman, Organisation & Systems Development, ABB Ltd
In addition, the DIAK group in the IdMRC took a

major rle in investigation of the approaches that
firms should take in the future to document their
design processes so that design decisions and
processes may be revisited over many years, of
approaches to curating and valuing information
and to closing the loop by the feeding back
of learning from use to the next generation of
designs.
The Impact
Working with a number of the industrial and
academic partners of the KIM project team the
Bath researchers:
Led the development of new means of
documenting design processes based on
multimedia information capture and lightweight
representations.
Developed faceted classification computer
systems for management of in-service data, the
principles of which have been adopted by the
collaborating companies.
Developed approaches to information
value that have been used in a project with
Rolls-Royce for the management of commercial
information.
Led the development of a set of Principles
of Engineering Information Management that
may be adopted throughout engineering
industry to ensure best practice in information
management.
In addition Bath ran three conferences, three
seminars and a number of industry workshops to
ensure the transfer of knowledge from the project
to industrial partners.
The Future
The KIM research team is currently preparing
publications aimed at practitioners to record the
understanding gained in the project. Researchers
at Bath are also participating in projects to explore
how the lessons learned in the project can be
applied in research data management.
Contact: Professor Chris McMahon

Over 80 Research partners were involved
in the KIM research, including such sector
leaders as ABB, Airbus, BAE Systems,
Balfour Beatty, Converteam, EuroStep,
LSC, MBDA, Rolls-Royce and the UKCeB
Impact Report
11
Laboratory for Integrated Metrology

LIMA is a new laboratory dedicated to integrating methods
and technologies for measurement applications, especially
in high-value manufacturing, such as the aerospace, medical
instruments, power generation and marine industries
The iGPS (see page14) is just one of a number
of measurement systems set to replace existing
technologies for measuring large structures and
which are being explored by IdMRC researchers.
To provide a method of integrating these new
systems so that they can be adopted early and
effectively by industry, a new laboratory the
Laboratory for Integrated Metrology Applications
(LIMA) has been initiated and is led by the
IdMRC at Bath.
LIMAs primary research aim is to develop with
industry novel applications and knowledge transfer
of technologies arising from R&D in metrology
and assembly, motion control, non-destructive
evaluation and imaging. LIMA has contributed
already to the transnational Advanced Low Cost
Aircraft Structures (ALCAS) project and to the
national Next Generation Composite Wing (NGCW)
Programme.
Baths Contribution
Baths unique contribution through LIMA based
on the expertise to be found within MAST in the
IdMRC has been to provide the overall scientific
leadership of the partners and of the engineering
input related to metrology and the interface of
metrology with digital manufacturing and assembly
processes.

Airbus, Renishaw,
Rolls-Royce, Vestas,
EADS Astrium and EADS
Innovation Works are
among the partners
including seven blue-chip
companies, eight Metrology
and Software Vendors, six
Universities, the National
Physical Laboratory (NPL)
and the West of England
Aerospace Forum (WEAF)
The Impact
The main outcome of the ALCAS project has been
the practical improvement of metrology practice
on the ALCAS jig. For the NGCW project Bath
handled the overall specification, co-ordination,
technical management and evaluation of the
multiple contributions received by the collaborators
which resulted in state-of-the-art reports for Airbus.
These reports cover the complete spectrum
of industrial metrology and metrology-assisted
assembly and fabrication required by the National
Next Generation Composite Wing. The implications
of LIMA financial and strategic for the UK
aerospace industry are significant.
The Future
In concert with other industry and academic
partners, LIMA work has resulted in the formation
of the Measurement-Assisted Assembly (MAA)
research hub of Airbus that is managed by Bath
to cover relevant R&D requirements of Airbus in
this scientific field. The University partners have
signed letters of intent, signifying their willingness
to participate in the MAA research hub. Additional
research projects are being defined for LIMA and
the MAA research hub.
Contact: Professor Paul Maropoulos
Essential for high value industry

Effective manufacturing needs integrated closed-loop process controls to verify the
final product. Flexible automation and a broad spectrum of metrology capabilities
will encourage design and manufacture to remain side by side for high value-added
industry. LIMA seeks to achieve this through a combination of applied research, leading
equipment and facilities.
Professor Geoff McFarland, Group Engineering Director, Renishaw plc
Effective process improvement
We believe that the LIMA model of universities, industry and the national measurement
institutes working together in partnership is a very effective way of leveraging technology
resources to produce step changes in process improvement.
Nick Orchard, Man Eng Capability Acquisition Manager Measurement, Rolls-Royce plc
Major benefits for future strategy
For Airbus the LIMA proposal is an opportunity to have a centre where we could drive
our measurement assisted assembly (MAA) work through a common hub. Overall, the
major benefit for Airbus would be to utilise this knowledge base when defining future
strategy and demand requirements related to aircraft and wing manufacturing.
Amir Kayani, Manufacturing Engineer Research & Technology, Airbus UK
12
Tooling up for Cost-cutting

A new method of early prediction of tooling costs will
save aircraft manufacturers and other industries time
and money by reducing effort and supporting more
effective tooling procurement
The Impact
The new method has provided a step change
in the estimating approach used by the
manufacturing team, as well as a useful tool for
assessing supplier bids.
The cost of aircraft tooling can run into millions,

indeed billions, of pounds. One of the major
challenges the industry has is predicting the
expected costs of such tooling during the early
design stages, particularly when the design and
manufacturing concepts are novel and the ensuing
components have not been manufactured before.
It is during these early stages that up to 80 per
cent of the costs are built in, yet up to now initial
information available about tooling requirements
has often been minimal.
Baths contribution
The challenge has been to find approaches that
assist in predicting the costs of tooling with minimal
effort. The research question is what is the minimal
information required to predict the costs of future
tooling at the early design stages?. To answer
this question it was necessary to determine what
the interdependencies were between the tooling
design, manufacture, material and complexity.
The Airbus tooling group is now able to estimate

the tooling costs with minimal information. In
practice this means that if they have information
on the material required they are now able to
predict both design and manufacturing costs,
sub-categorised into areas such as material and
machining.
The Future
The next stage of the research is to undertake
further testing within Airbus, expand the range of
tooling the model can be used for and provide a
costing package that the tooling team can use.
Contact: Dr Linda Newnes
The project supported by Airbus UK built on the

IdMRCs expertise in knowledge and information
management and cost modelling. During the
project a new approach to classifying the tools and
identifying cost structures for different tool families
was identified. The approach has been validated
by members of the tooling team within Airbus and
assessed against two product families to ascertain
the capability of cost structures.
Exciting and useful

This research has provided the tooling team with a robust
method for analysing the tooling costs during the early
design stages. What is exciting is that we now have the
capability to predict the costs of a tool with a single piece of
information. This enables us to undertake rapid estimates
with minimum effort. We believe the findings can be used
across the design stages, but in particular at the early
concept stages to assist us in comparing alternatives in
terms of cost.
Alan McMurray, Manufacturing Engineering Manager,
Airbus UK
The Research Partner

Airbus UK
Impact Report
13
Packaging the Future

IdMRC researchers are helping to automate smaller
runs of food packaging. In related research they are
helping both to reduce costs and to reduce waste
material sent to landfill
Based on work first done by Toyota, IdMRC
engineers have designed agile packaging systems
flexible enough to deal with small-batch niche food
packaging something which, surprisingly, is still
often done by hand.
Baths Contribution
Baths proprietary constraint modelling software
was used to identify the key motion requirements
for driving and guiding cartons during folding.
From this information, systems and machines were
designed capable of being reconfigured to handle
different designs of packaging and small batch
sizes.
The Impact
The research has demonstrated the benefits of
automating the process, these being principally
the reduced process time and improved quality.
In addition, eliminating manual folding can reduce
costs through a reduction in training for personnel,
minor injuries and material waste.
Project lead at Bath, Dr Ben Hicks said: The food
packaging industry faces two major challenges:
innovation and the environment. Retailers want
new forms of packaging to attract consumers,
but there is both a financial and environmental
cost due to higher levels of material waste during
production and at the end of the life cycle when
packaging ends up in landfill.
The new production methods, show that reducing

costs and saving the planet can go hand in hand.
The research was funded by the Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
and the Department for the Environment Food and
Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The Future
Bath engineers are also working on environmentally friendly packaging processes for formfill-and-seal type packaging used for foods such
as rice, pasta and crisps. The research has led
to better tooling thus reducing the need for large
material tolerances resulting in less packaging
material and a more efficient process.
New methods developed by Bath could mean over
10 per cent savings in material costs and 40,000
tonnes less landfill in the UK each year. Bath
researchers are also investigating new sealing
processes for biodegradable materials, which will
lead to further environmental benefits.
Contact: Dr Ben Hicks or
Professor Glen Mullineux

Marks & Spencer, Kings College London, Bendicks of Mayfair,
Marden Edwards, Quin Systems, HayssenSandiacre Europe,
Amcor Flexibles Ltd, United Biscuits and Campden BRI
New markets
The technology demonstrator developed as part of the project has provided important new
commercial opportunities and new market sectors in which we can now compete.
Mike Webb, Quin Systems
Fundamental research
Projects such as this are fundamental to the consumer goods industry if it is to meet the challenge
of sustainability and rising costs. In the area of consumer packaging, ever-tightening consumer
pressure and legislation is forcing manufacturers to reduce material consumption and reduce the
environmental impact of their finished product. To meet such targets there is a need to maximise the
efficiency of existing equipment, minimise material consumption and use thinner, lighter-weight,
recyclable and recycled materials.
Barry Pamplin, European Packaging Controller, United Biscuits
Higher revenues
The incorporation of improved sealing and forming set designs that benefit the end-user across just
3 per cent of our European machine base of over 3,000 machines would provide incremental revenue
of over 1M.
Jim Goodwin, Engineering Director, HayssenSandiacre
14
Measuring Up for Success

Principally used for navigation, GPS-derived
technologies are now being developed for use in
industrial applications to support high-accuracy
large-component measurement
Indoor GPS (iGPS) is a new type of large-volume
measuring system developed in the past few
years, as an alternative to using laser trackers
and other systems. iGPS is particularly suited
to the measurement, inspection and assembly
of very large parts such as aircraft wings, aero
engines, large gearboxes and wind turbine blades.
However, until Bath undertook research in the area,
a limited industry track record and no international
standards meant take-up of iGPS had been
slow due to the lack of reliable and independent
capability and deployment guidelines.
Baths Contribution
The purpose of this project was to establish the
measurement capability of iGPS and to establish
best practice for its use, relying on the expertise
available within the IdMRC and LIMA (see p.11).
The project was carried out using the metrology
laboratory at Bath and was co-ordinated by the
National Physical Laboratory (NPL). Large-scale
testing was carried out at the Broughton Airbus
facility. Bath is the first UK university to install and
research the capability of an iGPS system.
Professor Paul Maropoulos at Bath said:
Our research has shown that iGPS can offer
a highly flexible and scaleable system for
large-volume measurement that advances current
technology. It has certain operational advantages
in terms of volumetric coverage and flexibility over
more conventional methods such as laser trackers
or photogrammetry.
Instrumental research
The research team of the IdMRC at the University of
Bath has made an excellent contribution to the capability
evaluation study of iGPS. The results of the project have
been received well by both the instrument manufacturer,
Nikon Metrology, and the industrial sponsor of the project,
Airbus. The work has influenced both the academic field and
industrial practice.
Ben Hughes, Principal Scientist, NPL
Greater flexibility
iGPS offers greater flexibility, expansion capability and
usability than any current large-volume measurement
system at a comparable level of accuracy.
The Impact
The research has produced the first independently
provided capability statement for the iGPS
internationally that is validated by a national
measurement institute (NPL) and has been
accepted by Nikon Metrology Ltd (previously
Metris), the manufacturer of iGPS.
A generic mathematical model has been
developed to describe the operation of the
multi-sensor iGPS and how it is affected by
the arrangement of transmitters and receivers.
Calibration procedures, environmental limitations
and measurement practices were also considered.
Airbus has used the project results to decide
whether to adopt iGPS across its manufacturing
programmes, reducing the risk associated with the
adoption of leading-edge technologies.
The Future
The research will be developed further and applied
to other areas of metrological system performance
evaluation affecting the aerospace, automotive,
marine and power generation industries plus
related research organisations. In addition the
IdMRC work will lead to a metrology systems
selection methodology. The research has also led
to a memorandum of understanding between Bath
and NPL regarding future research activities.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL),
Airbus Europe, Nikon Metrology Ltd and
University College, London
Impact Report
15
Closing the Gap

A new and more precise way of measuring parts of
aircraft wings is reducing the need for costly and time
consuming gap-filling known as shimming
The larger the manufactured object the harder it is
to get measurements exactly right. Nowhere is this
issue more important than in the aircraft industry.
Composite structural elements of aircraft such as
wing ribs and spars are difficult to manufacture
within tight dimensional tolerances and, because
they are so large, accurate dimensional information
is difficult to get. This creates considerable
problems during assembly resulting in interference
fits or gaps. Gaps have to be filled by the use of
liquid and solid materials, a process known as
shimming. Shimming adds cost and time and
wastes material; in an ideal world it would be
unnecessary.
The challenge for Bath has been to eliminate the
need for shimming by eradicating all assembly
gaps in excess of 0.7mm.
Baths Contribution
Bath IdMRC has assisted in the development
of a highly accurate production process called
metrology-assisted robotic machining (fettling) to
improve the fit of the wing ribs.
The University of Bath contribution has centred
around metrological planning including the
calculation of the associated measurement
uncertainties, and the integration of the metrology
with the robotics.
The Impact
The project has been a great success. Fit
accuracy has been increased substantially with
gaps more than 0.7mm eliminated across the
complete technology demonstrator section of
the composite wing, once assembled. This will
eliminate the need for solid shimming during
production, resulting in major cost and time
benefits.
Airbus currently makes up to 600 pairs of wings a
year. Forecasts indicate that the world will require
24,097 new passenger aircraft of more than 100
seats during the next twenty years thats 1,205
aircraft a year, worth US$2.9 trillion. Airbus has
more than 40 per cent of the market.
The research team has produced three formal
reports for Airbus, codifying the process and
detailing the experimental results obtained. The
reports were fully endorsed by Airbus.
The Future
The generic principles of this research will be
developed further and applied to other areas of
aircraft manufacture, assembly and verification.
The techniques being developed can easily
be transferred to other large-component
manufacturing and assembly processes where
very high accuracy is necessary.

Airbus, Nikon Metrology Ltd,
FARO, KUKA and New River
Kinematics
Serious financial benefit

Ensuring consistency in the assembly interfaces and increasing the
process capability of composite wing integration are major considerations.
The project undertaken in collaboration with the University of Bath has
been extremely valuable. The projected financial and operational benefits
will be substantial.
Mark Summers and Amir Kayani, Airbus UK
Project success
Fit accuracy has been substantially increased, resulting in the elimination
of solid shimming, with gaps now achievable at less than 0.7mm across
the complete composite wing once assembled.
24,000 big passenger aircraft needed by 2030
More than 24,000 planes are likely to be made in the next 20 years; if
Airbus has up to 50 per cent of the market this means their producing
over 600 wings a year.
16
China on Your Desktop

Imagine a factory that can make a replica of itself
Open-source 3-dimensional printing technology

developed by engineers at Bath is helping to
make a dream come true: they are building
machines that can manufacture their own parts,
paving the way to machines that can replicate
themselves entirely. And because the technology is
open-source, it means that now anyone can have a
go at designing and making things out of plastics.
Mention printing and you will probably think
of paper, but today it is possible to print
3-dimensional objects. The Bath IdMRC-developed
low-cost 3-D RepRap (Replicating Rapidprototyper) machine has the potential to start a
worldwide manufacturing revolution from peoples
desktops. Already over 2000 people around the
world are using them to make things as diverse as
shoes, tools, toys and door handles.
Three-dimensional printing is not new. The first
machines were developed in the 1980s, but the
cost has until now remained very high at around
15,000 for the cheapest and up to 0.4M for
the most expensive. Three-D printers differ from
normal printers by spraying out thin layers of
molten plastic rather than ink; as the layers of
plastic solidify they build up to make objects.
Baths Contribution
Aimed at individuals in the developed world and
small communities in developing countries, the
RepRap machine costs as little as 300 to make
because it can reprint over half of all the parts
needed to make another version of itself. And
all the non-printed parts are the sort that can be
bought at hardware shops or from online stores.
You are the factory

Think of RepRap as a China on your desktop.
Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager, Google Inc.
Remarkable and far reaching
The promise of advanced fabrication technology that can copy
itself is a truly remarkable concept with far reaching implications.
Sir James Dyson
Second industrial revolution
[RepRap] has been called the invention that will bring down
global capitalism, start a second industrial revolution and save the
environment...
The Guardian newspaper
In line with open-source software, all RepRap

designs are shared and free to download. They are
distributed under the terms of the GNU General
Public Licence, so anyone with a RepRap machine
can use it to make another one and need pay no
royalties whatsoever.
The RepRap movement is based at the Bath
IdMRC, where it began in 2005, but it relies on a
team of volunteers distributed across the world for
its rapid development.
The Impact
As well as over 2500 machines in circulation, at
the time of writing six RepRap spin-out companies
have been started: two in the UK, two in the USA,
one in Germany, and one in New Zealand.
RepRap has spawned a design-sharing website
called thingiverse.com where anyone can upload
designs for others to copy for free. The site now
has many hundreds of designs from all over the
world for items from replacement table-football
players through desk-vices for holding fly-fishing
flies to shower curtain hooks. Many of the
uploaded designs are for improved parts for the
RepRap machine itself. Any RepRap owners can
download such improvements and add them to
their machines that is how RepRap evolves.
Creator Dr Adrian Bowyer from the IdMRC says the
potential of RepRap is still unfolding. Its an ideal
prototyping platform for companies to research
how additive manufacturing might be used with
the materials they want, rather than being limited
to what the rapid prototyping industry is prepared
to supply.
RepRap machines are suited to firms who want
to trial new manufacturing systems. Because the
machine is so low in cost, there are no problems
with putting experimental materials through it. With
a commercial machine this would almost certainly
void the warranty or service agreement. With
RepRap the worst that can happen is that the print
head of the machine gets wrecked, in which case
it is simple to print another. And for individuals
RepRap is a desktop factory capable of producing
things now usually bought in the shops.
The Future
Bath IdMRC would be very interested to hear of
any open source RepRap developments and is
happy to work jointly on such projects.
Contact: Dr Adrian Bowyer
Impact Report
17
Sharing for Success

IdMRC research into electronic logbooks and email is
improving information sharing by the application of new
methods and 21st Century technology to the way personal
information is recorded
In modern organisations, the effective use of
information and knowledge is a prerequisite
for sustaining competitive advantage. This is
particularly challenging for engineering companies
where product development takes many years and
involves individuals and teams distributed around
the world. While there exists a range of formal
software systems to support design work many
engineers rely heavily on their personal information
stores including their logbooks, laptops and email
systems.
The importance of these resources in supporting
the individual and their potential to support
the engineering team cannot be overstated.
These resources contain significant amounts of
information which is not recorded elsewhere, such
as design rationale, records of alternatives and
information on customers and suppliers.
Bath IdMRC Researcher Hamish McAlpine argues
that valuable information should be more easily
accessible to organisations.
Much of what we know about the work of
historically important engineers and scientists
such as Leonardo da Vinci has come from their
collections of personal notes. Despite this,
logbooks are rarely formally managed.
Baths Contribution
IdMRC researchers are investigating from first
principles new tools and methods to support the
improved management of personal electronic
information. The work is focused on organising
and sharing personal information and integrating it
with existing records of product development. The
programmes of work build on the expertise of the
team in design methods, information science and
knowledge engineering.

Airbus UK and Converteam
UK Limited
The Impact
Working with a number of major organisations
such as Airbus and Converteam, and academics
from the University of Sydney and the University
of California, Berkeley the research team have
created a number of demonstrator systems
including:
Electronic logbooks to support engineers over
the product life cycle.
Integrating email within engineering information
management systems and design records.
Improved monitoring and control of engineering
projects through the analysis of the email
content being exchanged.
These systems are being refined and integrated
within the collaborating organisations by virtue
of Knowledge Transfer Programmes and the
Engineering Doctorate programmes. To date
benefits include significant time-savings and
methods for the early identification of issues in
engineering projects.
The Future
The research team are exploring mechanisms for
exploiting the technologies further and developing
fully functional systems. In response to requests
from industry collaborators the team are in the
process of developing best-practice guidelines
and training courses.

Additional work is focusing on the addition of video
and audio as well as collaborative platforms such
as Wikipedia. It is thought that this approach could
radically change the nature of how engineers
currently work and store their design records.
Contact: Dr Ben Hicks
Emails are evidence

Email now has a important central rle in contractual situations and is required
evidence in any litigation where its content may be very important to establish design
intention however unwittingly it was recorded in the email.
Dr Laurie Burrow, Converteam UK Ltd
18
Stepping into the Future

Developing a new rapid-production method for bespoke
consumer products
Imagine a day when you can order
made-to-measure shoes at off-the-shelf prices,
delivered to your home or office the next day.
Thats the promise of a new technique developed
by engineers at Bath that allows machining
of rubber and other soft materials at very low
temperatures. As well as improving customer
choice it has major implications for people with
diabetes and circulation problems.
Baths Contribution
Engineers at Baths IdMRC have developed a new
form of super-cooled machining for rubber and
other flexible plastics materials.
Building on the Centres expertise in advanced
machining processes and systems, the CRYMAN
system works by cooling soft materials to very low
temperatures using liquid nitrogen to achieve
temporary solidity allowing milling and drilling,
processes conventionally limited to solid materials
like metal and wood.
The Impact
Professor Steve Newman, the project lead,
said: Modern consumers expect increasingly
personalised consumer products manufactured
from soft material such as rubber. For
manufacturers this represents a challenge
because, conventionally, such materials demand
the use of individual bespoke moulds, dies and
other tools, which are highly resource and time
intensive.
Enormous potential for sporting and medical applications

The research at Bath on cryogenic machining has
provided a new manufacturing process which enables fully
personalised soft elastomer products to be manufactured
rapidly and economically. It has enormous potential across
medical and sporting applications.
Richard D. Allen, Technical Director, Soletec Systems
250 million potential customers
As many as 250 million people have been diagnosed with
diabetes. This is expected to rise to 450 million by 2020.
Many would benefit from bespoke footwear to help improve
circulation.
Wide range of impact
The CRYMAN cryogenic machining technique can be used
to make everything from personalised car tyres and football
shin pads to high-performance components for the motor
industry.
The CRYMAN system provides a new process

for high-variety component production for soft
elastomer materials, enabling efficient and
cost-effective manufacture
Bath has developed and trialled the new process
in conjunction with Delcam plc, specialists in 3-D
design, manufacture and inspection of complex
shapes, and Soletec Systems Ltd, leaders in the
automated manufacture of bespoke footwear and
insoles for health, sports and retail markets.
Soletec is using the new system to make a new
range of orthotic insoles, particularly aimed at
the sports and diabetic/vascular disease market
specialist insoles can improve performance on
the one hand and help with circulation issues and
injury healing on the other.
The Future
The process has significant potential in industries
other than shoe manufacturing. Personalised tyres
for cars and motorbikes or bespoke shin pads
for footballers are just some of the ideas so far.
Less obvious perhaps but nonetheless vital in
manufacturing, the process could also be used to
make customised rubber seals such as those for
the process industries and those used as engine
gaskets.
Contact:
Dr Vimal Dhokia or Professor Steve Newman

Delcam plc and Soletec Systems Ltd
Impact Report
19
Pump Priming New Ideas with Old

Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century yet
good ideas often fall by the wayside in the initial phases of
design; now theres a way to use previously undeveloped
ideas to stimulate the creation of new design solutions
During the highly creative process of developing
new packaging concepts think of the crown-cork
bottle and the self-chilling and the easy-open
ring-pull cans many sound and potentially useful
ideas are discarded undeveloped. Yet many of
these ideas out of mind and out of sight will
have potential either as embryonic solutions to
later problems or as a stimulus to creativity.
Baths Contribution
The goal of this research was to find a way to
stimulate and manage ideas. The research was
carried out within Crown Packagings innovation
department and thus unusually for research into
creative processes in industry was based on
observations made in an authentic work setting
where real design solutions are being developed
using typical design practice.
Following the attendance by the Bath researcher at
fifteen separate brainstorms and review meetings
activities captured on over forty hours of video
footage it was discovered that of those ideas
that were finally selected as being of greatest use
up to ninety per cent were those that had been
conceived in the first twenty minutes of a group
brainstorming session.
This insight means that for the first time the
brainstorming process which is so widely used
in enterprise activities of all sorts can be made
much more effective.
The research demonstrated that the provision
of existing ideas as a stimulus to new ones was
valuable. This resulted in the development of a
tool for finding appropriate ideas from earlier

Crown Packaging
design episodes and presenting them as creative

stimuli for concept design in new projects.
The tool, known as Sweeper, searches for stored
ideas from a database of earlier design episodes.
It then finds and presents appropriate solutions to
the problem in hand by matching key information
from the project briefs. Sweeper can also be asked
to retrieve random stimuli.
The Impact
Sweeper has been successfully implemented by
the research partners, Crown Packaging, where it
supports a team of eight highly creative members
of the Innovation Department who are tasked with
proposing new concepts for innovation projects.
By the automatic intelligent retrieval of ideas from
the information repository, Sweeper has been
shown to provide effective stimulation in team
brainstorming sessions, especially at the critical
moment when idea generation flags, improving
not only the quantity of the new ideas but also the
quality.
The Future
As part of a drive toward fostering creativity
throughout the entire company, Crown is now
interested in adopting a similar tool for their
engineering and technology development
departments. Work is currently being conducted
by IdMRC researchers to assess the, probably
quite different, creativity support needs of the
engineers associated with these highly technical
and highly constrained departments.
Contact:
Professor Steve Culley or Dr Elies Dekoninck
The finding of the research carried out by the IdMRC at Bath is both unexpected and
remarkable; and it can be used directly to improve the brainstorming process. As
outlined in the Cox Report, business creativity is an invaluable tool for UK companies
to use in the face of increasing competition from overseas. This work can improve the
creative process and therefore help UK companies gain competitive advantage.
Gareth Jones, Industrial Design Consultant and Visiting Professor in Engineering
Bath has worked closely with us to develop a creativity tool that produces new ideas
from old. This was not an easy task as innovators usually find analysis tools systematic
and boring. However we find the Sweeper software is simple and fun to use in our
brainstorming sessions. I particularly like the use of images to trigger ideas. I hope the
technique and software can be used more widely in industry.
Chris Ramsey, Innovation manager, Crown Packaging
20
Expertise
The IdMRC represents the coming together of worldleading expertise in a great diversity of engineering
subjects and disciplines developed and integrated during
research carried out over the last three decades
Professor Chris McMahon BSc, CEng, FIMechE
Professor of Engineering Design
IdMRC Director
Areas of Expertise Design theory, design methodologies, design

management, information management, knowledge management, product
life-cycle management, computer-aided design and manufacture, information
organisation, risk and uncertainty, annotation
Tools & Methods CADCAM, DfX, FEA, CAE, PDM, PLM, faceted classification,
text retrieval, risk assessment
Current Research Company knowledge management strategies and
techniques, expertise finding systems, annotation systems for costing, record
management (especially emails), methodologies for parametric associative CAD
Industry Sectors Aerospace, automotive, rail, electrical systems, construction
Ben Hicks BEng PhD, CEng, FRSA, MIMechE

IdMRC Deputy Director
Areas of Expertise Design methodologies, design management, information

management, personal information, simulation, machine and manufacturing
systems design, and technology management
Tools & Methods Lean methdologies, quality systems, DfX, FEA, CAE, PDM,
PLM, machine-material interaction, and machine investigation
Current Research Improving personal information management (email
and logbooks), innovation and entrepreneurship within micro-manufacturers,
modelling user-product interaction, methods to improve the performance of
manufacturing/production systems
Industry Sectors Aerospace, advanced engineering, packaging, processing
and pharmaceutical
Impact Report
21
Professor Steve Culley BSc(Eng), CEng, FIMechE

Professor of Engineering Design
Theme Leader: Design Information & Knowledge (DIAK)
Areas of Expertise Handling engineering design information, design

management, knowledge management, personal information, information value
and quality, design flexibility, information for creativity
Tools & Methods Design-for-X, facetted classification, mark-up methods,
design observation techniques, Bayesian inference methods
Current Research Information and creativity, improving personal information
user influencing design, barriers to technology transfer, valuing approaches
Industry Sectors Aerospace, advanced engineering, SMEs
Professor Stephen T. Newman BSc PhD, MIET
Professor of Innovative Manufacturing Technology

Theme leader: Advanced Machining Processes & Systems (AMPS)
Areas of Expertise CAD/CAM/CNC manufacturing, manufacturing data
managment, machine tool systems integration, personalised product
manufacture, STEP-NC
Tools & Methods CAD/CAM, process planning, CNC, manufacturing
information modelling
Current Research Cryogenic machining of soft elastomer materials;
interoperable CNC manufacturing, energy modelling in factories, hybrid
multi-process machine tools
Industry Sectors Aerospace, general engineering, medical and sports
Professor Glen Mullineux BA MSc DPhil, CMath, FIMA

Professor of Design Technology
Theme Leader: Constraint-Based Design & Optimisation (CBDO)
Areas of Expertise Mathematical modelling, constraint modelling,

optimisation, geometric modelling, CAD systems, geometric algebra, design
methodologies, simulation, mechanism and machine design and analysis
Tools & Methods CAD, CAE, DfX, FEA, machine-material interaction, and
machine investigation
Current Research Constraint modelling and applications, mechanism
systems, geometric algebra, methods to model and improve the performance of
machine systems
Industry Sectors Packaging, processing and pharmaceutical
22
Expertise
Professor Paul G. Maropoulos

Dipl Eng PhD, Eur Ing CEng, FHEA FCIRP FIMechE
Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Theme Leader: Metrology and Assembly Systems & Technologies (MAST)
Areas of Expertise Dimensional metrology large volume, process modelling
and planning, integration of manufacturing with design and verification, digital
enterprise technologies, technology management
Tools & Methods Process modelling (UML, IDEF), CAD and digital
manufacture (CATIA and DELMIA), uncertainty modelling and evaluation (SA,
Monte Carlo), metrology process planning (DELMIA, Quest)
Current Research Measurement-enabled aircraft assembly, large volume
metrology, digital factory and digital verification and testing, high speed
machining, new production concepts
Industry Sectors Aerospace, advanced/precision engineering, defence,
power generation, renewables (wind turbines) and marine
Linda Newnes PhD
Head of Costing Research, Design Information & Knowledge (DIAK)

Areas of Expertise Through-Life costing, costing for availability and capability
Tools & Methods Parametric costing, cost modelling tools in general,
Uncertainty modelling (e.g. pdf, p-box), design for cost, product service
systems, in-service cost modelling
Current Research Cost estimating for long-life low-volume electronic defence
products; using manufacturing quality techniques to estimate cost and
specification trade-offs at the concept design stage; modelling non- recurring
costs for aircraft tooling at the concept design stage; modelling in-service costs
and uncertainty; using game theory to model uncertainty in cost models at the
early design stages.
Industry Sectors Aerospace, defence, electronics and medical
Adrian Bowyer BSc(Eng) PhD, CEng CMath CSci, ACGI

MBCS FIMA FRSA
Senior Lecturer, Advanced Machining Processes & Systems (AMPS)
Areas of Expertise Tribology, spatial data analysis, software engineering,

computational geometry, microelectronics, manufacturing processes, additive
manufacturing, biomimetics, smart gel technology
Tools & Methods Open-source and free systems
Current Research The RepRap project: a project to make an open-source
self-copying rapid prototyping machine; reactive gel technologies: the
chemical equivalent of a transistor.
Industry Sectors Manufacturing, CAD/CAM and smart materials
Impact Report
23
Geraint Owen PhD
Design and Manufacturing Senior Lecturer, Metrology and Assembly Systems &
Technologies (MAST)
Areas of Expertise Manufacturing system design and modelling, rapid
changeover, flexible assembly systems, metrology and reverse engineering
Tools & Methods Simulation of manufacturing systems
Current Research Multi-process machine tool environment, reverse
engineering, walking worker assembly systems, sustainable motorsport
Industry Sectors Consumer products, industrial products, automotive and
aerospace
Elies Dekoninck BSc PhD
Design Lecturer, Design Information & Knowledge (DIAK)

Areas of Expertise Stimulating creativity, eco-design, eco-innovation,
user-centred design, industrial design, design tools and design processes
Tools & Methods TRIZ tools for eco-innovation, idea-recording and creativitystimulating tools, user-centred design tools, design research methods
Current Research Creativity in detail design, user-centred eco-design,
creative design environments, creative stimuli in engineering design,
eco-innovation for corporate sustainability, creative responses to legislation
Industry Sectors Consumer products, electronics, medical products, industrial
products and packaging
Richard McIntosh BSc BEng PhD
Research Fellow, Design Information & Knowledge (DIAK)

Areas of Expertise Design consultant support, design for changeover,
stimulating design creativity, design tools and design processes
Tools & Methods Tools for design innovation, change-over improvement
methodologies
Current Research Mass customisation, lean, responsive manufacturing,
design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA), Design for change-over (DFC),
design innovation
Industry Sectors Consumer products, electronics, medical, industrial
products, surface coatings, mining, civil engineering, leather goods, aerospace
and fluid power
24
Expertise
Aydin Nassehi BSc MSc PhD
Research Fellow and Theme Representative, Advanced Machine Processes &

Systems (AMPS)
Areas of expertise Manufacturing systems modelling and analysis, enterprise
integration, computer-integrated manufacturing, production planning, plant
layout design
Tools & Methods CAD, CAM, CNC, STEP-NC, UML, system dynamics,
discrete event simulation, JIT, MRPII, ERP, PDM
Current Research Realisation of a universal manufacturing platform for
enabling interoperability in the CAD/CAM/CNC chain; multi-perspective
modelling of manufacturing enterprises; dematerialisation of manufacturing
resources
Industry sectors Aerospace and general engineering
Mansur Darlington BSc PhD

Centre Manager
Since 1997 Mansur Darlington has been involved in research and research
project management associated with the capture and codification of
engineers design knowledge and the development of methods for
supporting engineers information needs. He is a member of the Design
Information & Knowledge group of the IdMRC at the University of Bath,
and was Project Manager for the 3-year 5.5m Knowledge and Information
Management Grand Challenge Project (KIM) which concluded in 2009.
Gillian Elsworth
IdMRC Administrator
Gillian Elsworth is the IdMRC Administrator. She brings to her rle at Bath
a wealth of experience and knowledge gained in administrative support
both in a commercial environment (including a seven-year stint at Coopers
& Lybrand) and in academia, most recently at Lancaster University
Management School. She is responsible for supporting staff in all aspects
of their work and research and for the professional running of the Centre.
25
Ways to Work with Us

Your R&D needs can be met by careful selection of one or more of a
number of collaborative arrangements with the University of Bath
The IdMRC has a strong track record of working with local, national and international companies
in a variety of sectors. These include, amongst others, the Aerospace, Automotive, Advanced
Engineering, Medical, Defence, Packaging, Processing and Pharmaceutical industries.
Our expertise covers practical testing and troubleshooting, theoretical modelling and simulation,
and the development and implementation of best practice, processes, tools and methods helping
businesses to innovate, grow and improve their performance.
There are a number of different ways in which we can collaborate in focused research engaging
in short-term feasibility studies to long-term fundamental research any one of which can be
matched to your problem-solving needs. These are itemized below and illustrated in the Industry
Impact Case Studies and in the following pages.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

(KTPs)
Collaborative Research
Business benefits
Access to award-winning expertise and
facilities
Financial support available from regional,
national and international funding bodies
Build collaborations across your supply chains
Key features
From fundamental blue-skies to applied
problem-solving research
Build multidisciplinary teams involving other
Departments
Results normally owned by the University
Business benefits
Injection of knowledge and expertise
covering any important aspect of the
business, including products, processes
and manufacturing improvement and
innovation
Financial support available for UK-based
projects
Key features
A partnership between the Company
and the University working on a strategic
development project
One or more graduates work in the
Company
Project length is typically two years,
starting at any time of year
Ways to Work with Us
Consultancy
Student Projects
Business benefits
Rapid access to award-winning 5-star expertise
and facilities
Payment based on results
Results normally owned by the Company
Business benefits
Opportunity to meet enthusiastic potential
recruits
Opportunity to bring fresh ideas into the
Company
Final report and presentation of
recommendations
Key features
Focus on applied problem solving and strategic
advice
Normally short to medium term projects
Enables relationship building with high profile
experts
Student Placements
Business benefits
Input from high-calibre student or team of
students
Opportunity to bring fresh ideas into the
Company
Possible continuation of completed placements
for one day a week on a project basis
Key features
Placements usually start in the summer
Cost to company of one year placement
typically 16k
An important reason for choosing Bath was the abilityto

have experts working in the right direction from the start.
Elliot Ross, Technical Support Engineer, Steve Vick
International
Key features
Projects normally start in January for 3-5 months
In-kind contributions from company
Can solve real industry problems
Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in

Systems
Business benefits
Develop systems thinking in your organisation
through collaborative research
Research engineers are based in industry
working on innovative research projects
Stay ahead of the competition and collaborate
with leading academics
Key features
An alternative to the traditional PhD for people
with an industrial focus
A 4-year research programme and taught
courses at the Universities of Bristol and Bath
Typical costs of around 9k per year for a
full-time research engineer
Feasability
Nature of Project
26
Consultancy
Applied
Student
Projects
Strategic
Knowledge
Transfer
Partnerships
Collaborative
Research
Student
Placements
Fundamental
Short
Long
Timescale
27
Long-term commitment,
Long-term gain
Aligning the timescales of academic research
and industrial R&D has always been a
challenge. In order to meet this challenge and
to build long-term mutually beneficial relations,
the IdMRC employs a number of types of
collaboration. Careful selection of the type of
collaboration allows appropriately co-ordinated
resources and expertise to be applied to meet
both industrial needs and timescales and the
needs of longer-term scientific programmes.
This multi-facetted approach has been the key
to sustaining long-term relations and ultimately
maximizing industrial progress and impact
amongst both SMEs and large enterprises alike.
28
28
Impact Report
Running
rings
round the
problem
Our long term relationship with
engineers at Bath is seen as a valuable
asset to the firm. To maintain our success
in todays highly competitive global
market place we need to ensure we have
access to cutting edge research and the
best of the future engineering talent that
is available. Time and time again Bath
has proved that it can provide both.
Andy Slayne, SG PP Rencol Technical Director
Preventing damage
Rencol Tolerance Rings are precision spring fasteners that are a press fit
between two mating components. They hold two parts in place but are designed
to allow controlled slippage when the pressure becomes too great. This means
machinery is not damaged. Other advantages of use are making assembly easier
and allowing relaxed tolerances and angular misalignment of components. This
leads, amongst other things, to a reduction in noise and vibration.
200k increased sales
The SG PP Rencol project is predicted to lead to five new types of rings with sales
of 200,000 over the next five years; and, due to the improved method, each new
RENCOL Tolerance Rings design will now cost 40,000 less to develop.
Impact
ImpactReport
Report
Building on a seven-year relationship between Bath IdMRC

and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Rencol Ltd (SG
PP Rencol) of Bristol, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership
(KTP) between these two partners now promises to
produce 200,000 in extra revenue over the next five years
plus savings of up to 40,000 on each future product
development.
SG PP Rencol, with over 30 years of product design
and manufacturing experience, has supplied the global
tolerance ring market with more than 250 million items
annually. Bath IdMRC engineers have worked with SG PP
Rencol in a number of different ways, including student
research projects, student placements, consultancy and
more recently a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
The aim of the recently completed KTP project has been to
develop a theoretical means for more accurately predicting
the performance of tolerance rings with the long-term aim
of using simulation as the primary design tool.
Rencol Tolerance Rings, used to hold bearings onto
a shaft or into a housing, solve many of the engineering
problems associated with temperature, vibration and
torque control. They are used in a wide variety of
applications from fixing bearings to plastic housings in
electric motors to attaching mechanical drive systems in
cars. They are also used to mount bearings in computer
hard drives.
Through the KTP, the company has established a
non-linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) design capability
to predict the performance of Rencol Tolerance
Rings, thereby enabling much of the initial design and
development to be undertaken more rapidly and more cost
effectively through simulation.
This has led to higher levels of staff training, design and
29
product development savings, process and tooling design

improvements and product optimisation. Together these
operational developments should ensure that SG PP
Rencol maintains its market position for many more years
to come.
Blessing Fatola, the Bath IdMRC associate on the KTP
project, said the experience was an invaluable start to his
career as an engineer:
I think the KTP is one of the best graduate schemes
available to aspiring engineers. The project management
experience combined with exposure to matters of such
strategic and academic importance went far beyond my
initial expectations. I felt valued and part of the team.
Andy Slayne, SG PP Rencol Technical Director, said: The
capability now exists to interface models of tolerance
ring performance within the customer organisation.
This will increase confidence in the product so future
business implications could be significant. Both Baths and
Blessings contributions were excellent .
Blessing, now employed full time by SG PP Rencol, is
working on a project to improve the performance of the
companys tolerance rings for electric motors.
In addition to taking advantage of having a full-time KTP
associate, for the past four years SG PP Rencol has
hosted two third-year undergraduates each year and is
committed to doing so again in the future.
Following on from the success of the KTP project the firm
is planning to host an ongoing engineering doctorate
course. The students will be based at SG PP Rencol and
will be supervised through the Industrial Doctorate Centre
located in Bristol by academics from the universities of
both Bath and Bristol.
Significant and excellent

The capability has been developed to model the performance of our
products, and their applications, enabling a higher level of technical interface
with our customers design teams than was previously possible. As a result,
improved design solutions can be proposed, building greater confidence in
our products and generating opportunity for further technical collaboration
with our customers. Throughout the project Bath Universitys modelling and
contact mechanics expertise was helpful in overcoming technical challenges.
Andy Slayne, SG PP Rencol Technical Director
250m produced annually

SG PP Rencol supplies the global tolerance ring market with design and
manufacturing based in Bristol in the UK, local manufacture In Malaysia,
Japan and China and offices in Bristol, Germany and the US.
30
30
Impact Report
Converting
the power
of emails
Bath has helped us to understand the wider picture,
some of the strategic issues that we may have
otherwise neglected. I certainly see long-term benefits
in terms of knowledge management and it has also
given us some useful ideas about new markets.
Dr Laurie Burrow , Process Innovation, Converteam UK
Cutting edge design

Converteam designed and supplied the electric propulsion system for the next
generation of UK warships. A Type 45 destroyer weighs in at 7,500 tonnes but,
with its 20 MW (26,800 shaft horsepower) induction motors, the ship can reach
29 knots in 70 seconds.
Saving time and money
By analysing the volume, content and type of emails being sent about a project
Bath IdMRC researchers have shown that delays and problems can be flagged-up
and dealt with at an early stage, thereby saving companies time and money
Significant implications for other industries
Baths email research could have significant implications for other industries
involving large collaborative projects.
Impact
Report
Impact
Report
Converteam UK, based in Rugby, is a
world leader in the design, construction
and in-use support of large power
conversion systems, exemplified by
their integrated power and propulsion
systems used in many hundreds of
naval, research and commercial ships.
With over 100 years of experience in
propulsion systems, Converteams latest
offering has been designed to power
a new generation of UK warships to an
impressive 0-29 knots in 70 seconds.
For companies like Converteam an
increasingly important part of their
operations is the in-service support of
a product over its entire lifetime. This
means that information about design,
manufacture, servicing and so on
needs to be stored in a way that will
make it not only retrievable but useable
over 30 years and more into the future.
Some of this information is that contained
within emails, a form of communication
which has become dominant in
engineering projects. Embedded in
these emails is much useful and reusable
information; yet how we best store and
retrieve it in a meaningful and useful way
is still largely unclear. Gaining a better
understanding provides the current focus
for a long-term research relationship
between Converteam and the IdMRC
that started over a decade ago.
The early collaborative research involved
PhD project research; this was followed
by work with Converteam as a leading
research partner in the KIM Grand
Challenge Project. This project which
completed after three years in 2009
concerned developing methods for
supporting through-life information and
knowledge management for long-life
complex capital projects projects of
just the sort in which Converteam is
characteristically involved.
Amongst other things, KIM research
looked at systems which could be
employed to ensure information
and knowledge is safely stored and
accessible so it can be used in the future
and recreated many times over.
Professor Chris McMahon, Director
of the IdMRC, says the Converteam
relationship is a good example of how
involvement with research at Bath
can help medium-sized specialist
engineering firms.
Often its about capturing the less

tangible things, the insights that come
about through the research process.
Essentially its about people a common
interest in engineering excellence
and trust. Its not about one person
or one project. Its about an ongoing
interface between teams where there is a
convergence of academic research and
the real world of engineering.
Dr Laurie Burrow of process innovation at
Converteam, agrees:
Our work with Bath IdMRC has helped
us to understand the wider picture, some
of the strategic issues we may have
otherwise neglected. I certainly see
long-term benefits in terms of knowledge
management. We are already starting to
use some of the research gained from
projects the IdMRC has been involved
in. It has also given us some ideas about
new markets.
For a company like Converteam it is
crucial that information flows effectively
across different departments in order
to maximize potential gains across the
range of the business.
Professor Steve Culley, head of the
Design Information and Knowledge
theme in the IdMRC, argues that such
gains are best achieved through a
long-term relationship.
Working with Converteam has three
critical elements understanding
the ongoing needs of the business,
developing new applied research areas
and implementation through practice.
This is really the kind of process that
can only take place effectively with
commitment over time. The benefits of a
long-term relationship are well illustrated
by current doctoral research which is
examining how email content can be
tracked and analysed to help project
managers highlight delays and problems
at key stages of a project, thereby saving
time and money.
Craig Loftus, the Bath IdMRC PhD
student who is doing the research into
email use, says without the trust built up
over years his research would simply
not have been possible. Engineers at
Converteam have been very positive
about my research and very easy to work
with. Crucially they have been happy to
share a large body of confidential project
emails as a data set for my work.
31
Although engineering-based, Craig

says that Baths email research could
have significant implications for project
managers in other industries where large
collaborative projects are undertaken
and long product life-span is a factor.
Another example of how the
Bath-Converteam relationship is
continuing is a joint Knowledge Transfer
Partnership (KTP) with Lancaster
University.
Research Engineer and KTP Associate
Alexeis Garcia-Perez is one year into a
project designed to embed knowledge
management systems into Converteam
on a multi-department, world-wide basis
ideas first developed as part of the KIM
Project.
Alexeis says that established
commitment plus the KTP framework has
given him a great start to his engineering
career.
There are not many jobs where one has
the exposure to the challenges of doing
serious knowledge management work
within an engineering company. The KTP
project at Converteam offers a great
research experience and an excellent
personal development program.
As well as formal projects informal but
frequent exchanges between Bath and
Converteam staff take place where
other current and emergent thinking
around engineering information and
knowledge management is discussed
and contributed to.
It is clear then that a long-term research
relationship between academia and
industry can have real benefits to both
sides. For Converteam Laurie Burrow
has said:
We find it very useful working with
Universities like Bath over an extended
period of time. It is a many-sided
relationship with real rewards in terms
of technology, concepts and access to
cutting edge academic research. I hope
the relationship between us will continue
for many years to come.
32
Impact Report
IdMRC Industry Collaborators

ABB Limited Accentus plc Aeromet International PLC Adiuri Systems Aga Rangemaster Group plc AGR Group Airbus UK
Airbus Germany Alstom Power Amcor Flexibles Apex Pumps Ltd Appeal Blinds Applied Group Ardo UK ArjoWiggins
Fine Papers Arup (civil) Atkins Rail Atkinson Euipment Ltd Atomic Weapons Establishment plc BAE Systems Babcock
Marine (Devonport) Ltd Bailey Caravans, Bristol Balfour Beatty Bart Spices Ltd BEMA Ltd Bendicks (Mayfair) Limited
BFF Nonwovens Ltd Blaze Venture Technologies Limited BMT Defence Services BMW Germany Bobst Group Bombardier,
Belfast Boothroyd Dewhurst Bradman Lake Group BRE Breward Consultancy Brunstrom Instruments Buro Happold
Campbell Soup Company Cascades Paperboard (UK) Ltd Catalyst VP CC Technology CCFRA Technology Ltd Cdata (UK)
Ltd Clares Equipment Group Ltd Colin Mear Engineering Ltd Colson Manufacturing Engineering Co Ltd (Chippenham)
Conquest Foods UK Limited Converteam UK Ltd Cooper-Avon Tyres Ltd Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital
Dublin Corus COSi CPC Reading Crest Packaging plc Crown Packaging UK plc CSC (UK) Ltd Currie & Brown Group
Limited Dana Glacier Vandervell Dassault Systemes UK Ltd Delcam International plc Delcam plc Design IV Partnership
DML (see under Babcock) Dowding and Mills Fridgemotors Ltd DE&S (MOD) Dyson Ltd EADS Astrium Limited EADS
Eimeldingen UK Ltd Eli Lilly and Company Ltd ENTHEO Ltd Environ UK Ltd Erlson Engineering Ltd Esteban Cordero
SRL Eurostep Limited Faade Hoists International Ltd FARO UK Field Packaging Systems Fiskeby Board Ltd Food
Processing KTN Ford of Britain Forward Indistries Ltd Galorath International Ltd GE Aviation Geomagic Ginsters
GKN plc GlaxoSmithKline UK Ltd Golden Wonder Ltd Aero Engine Controls Granta Design Associates Limited Gresham
House Gudel UK Hanatek Limited HayssenSandiacre Hexagon Metrology Ltd Honda R&D Europe (UK) Ltd Horstmann
Controls Ltd Health and Safety Executive University of Huddersfield Ibstock Brick Limited Image Scan Holdings plc IMI
Norgren UK; Norgren Limited in the UK Inbis Technology Ltd InnovMetric Invicta ITER Organisation JATCO Ltd J. C.
Bamford Excavators Limited Jo Bird and Co. Ltd Johnson Matthey Plc Jotne EPM Technology KHS Kisters Ltd Kohler
Mira Limited KorteQ Ltd Kraft Foods UK Ltd Kuka Automation & Robotics Ltd Land Rover UK Lanner Group Ltd Laser
Projection Technologies Inc Lasercomb Dies Ltd Launch Diagnostics Ltd Lean Enterprise Research Centre LEC Refigeration
Ltd LMR Systems, Inc London Associates Product Designers LSC Group Lynx Technic Ltd Manor Bakeries Ltd Marden
Edwards Limited Maritime and Coastguard Agency Marks and Spencer plc MAS-SW Mayr Melnhof Packaging UK Ltd
MDBA Missile Systems Meggitt Avionics Messier-Dowty Ltd MG Rover Group Ministry of Defence Konica Minolta MIT
Libraries Morphy Richards Limited M-Real New Thames Ltd National Physical Laboratory NEG-Micon Nestl UK Ltd
Network Rail Infrastructure Limited New River Kinematics NGL Nikon Metrology Ltd NIST (National Institute of Standards
and Technology) Numatic International Ltd Pall Europe Ltd Pall Indusrial Manufacturing Panasonic UK Ltd Graham E
Pepall, Independent Design Professional Phase Vision Ltd Philips Healthcare Piedro (U.K.) Limited Pira International
PPMA Ltd Praxis High Integrity Systems Limited Premier Orthotics Limited Prism Proctor and Gamble UK QinetiQ Ltd
Quality, Argentina Quanta Fluid Solutions Ltd Quin Systems Ltd Radiodetection Ltd Ramboll UK Ltd RBLI Limited
Renishaw plc Richard Rob Associates riskHive Ltd Robert Bosch Ltd Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace Rolls-Royce DA
Rolls-Royce plc Rotary Precision Instruments Ltd Rotork Group The Royal Mint Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Sandiacre Packaging Machinery Ltd Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Rencol Ltd Sauer-Danfoss Ltd Schlumberger Oilfield
UK plc Schlumberger Stonehouse Technology Center Schuler Pressen GmbH & Co. KG Securistyle Ltd SEER ShapeSpace
Ltd Ships Support Agency Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery SMAC Europe Smearcheck Limited Smurfit Kappa UK
Soltec Computer Systems Ltd Spirax-Sarco Limited St Michaels Hospital Bristol Stilo Suiko WCS Systems Navigator
Taunton Aerospace Ltd Toyota Argentina S.A. ITI TranscenData Truflo Marine Ltd TRW Ltd Tryton Foods Ltd Tullis
Russell Papermakers Ltd Tulsa Oilfield Equipment S.R.L. TV Product Service Ltd TWI Ltd UKCeB Unilever Foods UK Ltd
United Biscuits (UK) Ltd United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust Vanguard Software Corporation Verisurf UK Limited Vestas
Blades (UK) Ltd Vitacress Salads Ltd Voith Paper Ltd VOSA Vosper Thornycroft (UK) Ltd VT Group plc Welton Bibby &
Baron Ltd Wessex Water Services Limited Westland Helicopters Ltd WHS Halo Wideblue Ltd Zepf Technologies UK
Impact Report
Innovative Design & Manufacturing Research Centre 2010

The content of this document is subject to copyright and other proprietary rights
Published by the University of Bath, 2010
The Dyson logo on page 16 is reproduced with the permission of Dyson Limited
All other logos reproduced with permission
Front Cover:
The cover image contrasts the simple design and precise execution of a Japanese sand
garden with the complexity of the double-brane mug designed by Allan C. Ecker. The
mug was produced using a rapid-manufacturing 3D printing process from a digital design
downloaded from the design-sharing website: thingiverse.com
35
36
Impact Report
Innovative Design and Manufacturing Research Centre

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Bath
Bath BA2 7AY
Tel: +44(0) 1225 386371
Fax: +44(0) 1225 386928
Email: idmrc@bath.ac.uk

IdMRC Impact Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

IdMRC Impact Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design and Manufacturing Excellence:

Tools & Technologies for the Future

Introduction to the IdMRC

The University of Bath Innovative Design and

In modern manufacturing the definition,

Since 2001 the Centre has received two major

A 2008 international review panel

The research work is undertaken within the four

Expertise and Capability

Tools & Methods

Advanced Engineering, Aerospace,

Metrology, Manufacturing and Maching

Lean Methodologies, Quality Systems, DfX,

Through-life Information Management, Cost

Information Management, Knowledge

Staff and Output - since inception

Keynotes & invited papers

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)

Company turn-over enhancement

Company profit enhancement

Design and Testing Technology

Following the success of the EDC, the Department

of the Centre to both UK industry and the

The Centre has done an

University of Maryland, USA

The applied targets for

The IdMRC represents the coming together of

editors and members of editorial boards of leading

DESIGN INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE

CONSTRAINT-BASED DESIGN AND

ADVANCED MACHINING PROCESSES AND

Interoperable CNC machining and in-process measurement.

METROLOGY AND ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS

THE IdMRCS VISION

Industry Impact Case Studies

Interacting with Machines and Materials

The Research Partners

These techniques have helped firms to create

Over 1 million of savings every year

Industry Impact Case Studies

Todays Information & Knowledge for Tomorrow

The underlying principle of the KIM Project providing the right

In addition, the DIAK group in the IdMRC took a

The Research Partners

Laboratory for Integrated Metrology

The Research Partners

Essential for high value industry

Industry Impact Case Studies

Tooling up for Cost-cutting

The cost of aircraft tooling can run into millions,

The Airbus tooling group is now able to estimate

The project supported by Airbus UK built on the

Exciting and useful

The Research Partner

Packaging the Future

The new production methods, show that reducing

The Research Partners

Industry Impact Case Studies

Measuring Up for Success

The Research Partners

Closing the Gap

The Research Partners

Serious financial benefit

Industry Impact Case Studies