ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - Loughborough University
ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - Loughborough University
ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - Loughborough University
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<strong>ANNUAL</strong> <strong>REPORT</strong> <strong>2010</strong><br />
Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre
IMCRC ACADEMICS<br />
Construction Unit<br />
Professor Simon Austin<br />
Professor Andrew Baldwin<br />
Professor Dino Bouchlaghem<br />
Professor Patricia Carrillo<br />
Professor Andrew Dainty (Deputy Unit Leader)<br />
Professor Alistair Gibb (Unit Leader)<br />
Dr Christine Pasquire<br />
Professor Andrew Price<br />
Professor Tony Thorpe<br />
Product Customer Interface Unit<br />
Professor Serpil Acar<br />
Professor Paul Chung (Deputy Unit Leader)<br />
Mr John Richardson<br />
Professor Jim Saker (Unit Leader)<br />
Manufacturing Unit<br />
Professor Chris Backhouse<br />
Professor Neil Burns<br />
Professor Mike Caine<br />
Professor Keith Case (Deputy Unit Leader)<br />
Professor Paul Conway<br />
Professor Phill Dickens<br />
Professor Mike Jackson<br />
Professor Roy Jones<br />
Professor Richard Hague<br />
Dr Jenny Harding<br />
Dr Andy Harland<br />
Dr Russ Harris<br />
Dr Robert Harrison<br />
Dr Neil Hopkinson<br />
Dr David Hutt<br />
Dr Sean Mitchell<br />
Mr Paul Palmer<br />
Professor Rob Parkin<br />
Professor Shahin Rahimifard<br />
Dr Carys Siemieniuch<br />
Professor Steve Rothberg<br />
Dr Kathryn Walsh<br />
Dr Andrew West<br />
Professor David Williams (Unit Leader)<br />
Dr Bob Young<br />
The IMCRC also wishes to acknowledge the collaboration from the many<br />
other academic staff within all departments of the Faculty of Engineering<br />
who, together with assistance from other <strong>Loughborough</strong> Departments, have<br />
contributed to the research programme.
CONTENTS<br />
Executive Summary 4<br />
Advanced Manufacturing Areas 6<br />
Impact 16<br />
Research Themes 18<br />
Management and Organisation of the Centre 26<br />
Appendix 1: Project Summary Table 28<br />
Appendix 2: PhD Students 30<br />
People 32<br />
List of Collaborators 33<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 1
2<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
MANUfACTURiNg RESEARCh<br />
‘AdvANCEd MANUfACTURiNg<br />
iS A kEy STRENgTh iN ThE<br />
ECONOMy AT ThE fRONTiER Of<br />
NEw TEChNOLOgy, PROCESSES<br />
ANd PROdUCTS’<br />
dEPARTMENT fOR BUSiNESS, iNNOvATiON ANd SkiLLS
ESTABLiShEd iN 2001, the iMCRC has<br />
secured substantial EPSRC and industry<br />
funding to pursue research across a range<br />
of themes including customised products,<br />
a healthy and secure future, high value<br />
assets, and next generation technologies.<br />
it has a portfolio of over 200 projects,<br />
46 of which are currently ongoing. Over<br />
50 <strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong> academic<br />
staff contribute to the research which<br />
has involved more than 200 researchers,<br />
107 of whom are engaged on current<br />
projects.<br />
The iMCRC is working with academic<br />
partners worldwide and has been in<br />
collaboration with over 400 industrial<br />
companies.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 3
4<br />
Executive Summary<br />
wORkiNg TOgEThER iN ChANgiNg TiMES<br />
The research landscape is changing: The <strong>Loughborough</strong> IMCRC is responding to these changes through<br />
the focussed application of its strong skill base and its close contacts with industry partners.<br />
Changing Times<br />
The last twelve months have seen changes<br />
in government policy, resulting in changes in<br />
industry and academia. We anticipate further<br />
changes.<br />
Against the current economic landscape there<br />
is widespread recognition that manufacturing<br />
has a crucial role to play in building a<br />
more balanced resilient economy. This will<br />
require established manufacturing industries<br />
to become more competitive while also<br />
addressing environmental and sustainability<br />
requirements. New manufacturing industries<br />
are required to meet the changing needs of a<br />
global marketplace.<br />
In the first part of <strong>2010</strong> Prof. David Delpy,<br />
Chief Executive of EPSRC (Engineering<br />
and Physical Sciences Research Council),<br />
presented a number of regional research<br />
seminars entitled, ‘Working Together in<br />
Changing Times’. These set in context the<br />
future funding strategy of the EPSRC in this<br />
new landscape. He emphasised the need to<br />
understand these changes and to respond<br />
to them by working in partnership to deliver<br />
‘Excellence with Impact’. He reminded us of<br />
the importance of identifying and supporting<br />
individuals who are delivering the highest<br />
quality research for the UK.<br />
The IMCRC is responding to this challenge.<br />
Over the last twelve months it has<br />
consolidated its research portfolio, completed<br />
a number of research projects, made<br />
substantial progress on others, and worked to<br />
secure new research funding post 2011. Our<br />
research has had impact on industry, with<br />
IMCRC innovations already changing and<br />
benefitting industry practice.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
Impact<br />
Patents for new technologies are being<br />
registered and new processes are being<br />
introduced into industry, while IMCRC<br />
research staff and researchers are working<br />
with businesses to share their knowledge<br />
and skills. Major research projects such<br />
as the Business Driven Automation project<br />
are currently prototyping new innovative<br />
approaches to automation, which will reduce<br />
the time to market of new products. New<br />
technologies are being developed and tested<br />
in a wide range of business areas.<br />
How are innovations transferred into industry?<br />
Having already initiated an internal study of<br />
the impact of a number of different IMCRC<br />
research projects, we have some, but not all of<br />
the answers. This knowledge has contributed<br />
to the specification for a forthcoming<br />
EPSRC study of the impact of all the IMRC<br />
programmes. The continuation and extension of<br />
our studies into the impact of our research will<br />
ensure that the IMCRC is at the leading edge of<br />
this knowledge area and can contribute fully to<br />
the future agenda for change.<br />
The re-branding of the IMCRC and the launch<br />
of the new report, brochure, e-newsletters<br />
and website has ensured that our research<br />
findings and the research currently being<br />
undertaken within the IMCRC has reached a<br />
wider community.<br />
By reflecting on the development of our<br />
research knowledge and skills we have<br />
reviewed our research strengths and<br />
developed our strategy for advanced<br />
manufacturing research.<br />
A Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing<br />
‘Advanced Manufacturing’ is a term used to<br />
describe industries and businesses which<br />
use a high level of design or scientific skill<br />
to produce innovative and technologically<br />
complex products and processes. These<br />
specialist requirements demand new and<br />
advanced technologies.<br />
The IMCRC has established strengths, a<br />
critical mass of researchers, and strong<br />
industry links in a number of specific<br />
areas of Advanced Manufacturing. These<br />
include: Regenerative Medicine; Electronics<br />
Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing;<br />
Intelligent Automation; Sports Technology;<br />
Sustainable Manufacturing; and Construction.<br />
Although some of these areas are long<br />
established and some are still in the early<br />
stages of development, all are continually<br />
evolving. While Regenerative Medicine and<br />
Electronics Manufacturing have become<br />
research centres in their own right the other<br />
Advanced Manufacturing areas are forging<br />
ahead with world-leading research, details<br />
of which are provided in this report together<br />
with other research strengths, which we are<br />
confident will provide a platform for a wide<br />
range of new research initiatives.<br />
The Future<br />
The UK’s economic future will need high value<br />
added manufacturing processes for industry<br />
to be both progressive and competitive in the<br />
global marketplace. Advanced Manufacturing<br />
technologies will also aid the transition to<br />
a low carbon economy by enabling energy<br />
efficiency savings.<br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong>, through the IMCRC<br />
(in partnership with the Innovative Electronics<br />
Manufacturing Research Centre (IeMRC)<br />
and the new “EPSRC Centre for Innovative<br />
Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine”) and<br />
other research centres, is leading UK research<br />
and development in Advanced Manufacturing.<br />
Despite the changes in industry and in<br />
research funding, the research staff of the<br />
IMCRC are ideally placed to secure ongoing<br />
funding across a range of research activities.<br />
The manufacturing and productive industry in<br />
the broader sense, must play a central role in<br />
any re-building of the UK economy. Advanced<br />
Manufacturing Research at <strong>Loughborough</strong><br />
will help meet the challenges faced by<br />
manufacturing and business organisations in<br />
the future.<br />
Prof. Andrew N Baldwin.<br />
Director, IMCRC
Highlights<br />
Prof. David Williams of the<br />
IMCRC was awarded funding<br />
for a new EPSRC funded Centre<br />
for Innovative Manufacturing in<br />
Regenerative Medicine.<br />
Senior government officials<br />
and industrialists visited the<br />
Centre’s Additive Manufacturing<br />
Research Group facilities to<br />
discover the potential that Additive<br />
Manufacturing offers UK industry.<br />
The research project ‘Personalised<br />
Sports Footwear: From Elite to High<br />
Street (E2HS)’ featured on the<br />
Discovery Channel and BBC News 24<br />
Channel.<br />
The IMCRC participated in the EPSRC<br />
Theme Day to review the future<br />
direction of Advanced Manufacturing<br />
Research.<br />
The newly formed Manufacturing<br />
Technology Centre brings together<br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong>,<br />
Nottingham <strong>University</strong>, the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Birmingham and<br />
TWI as research partners tasked<br />
with taking industrial member<br />
needs through from initial<br />
research to prototype. Founder<br />
member companies include<br />
Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Aero<br />
Engine Controls.<br />
A concrete component built by<br />
the Freeform Construction team is<br />
being displayed at the PRINTE3D<br />
exhibition at the Disseny Hub<br />
Museums in Barcelona (16th June<br />
<strong>2010</strong> to 29th May 2011).<br />
An IMCRC project to minimise<br />
footwear waste, enthusiastically<br />
supported by a group of<br />
collaborators which include leading<br />
footwear retailers, has initiated<br />
wide interest through a Footwear<br />
Recycling Action Group established<br />
to share best practices with<br />
industry.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 5
6<br />
‘ For<br />
Advanced Manufacturing Areas<br />
AddiTivE MANUfACTURiNg<br />
some products Additive Manufacturing could offer the perfect manufacturing<br />
solution by creating new UK businesses, employment, wealth generation and<br />
economic growth<br />
’<br />
PRoF. RIChARD hAgUE<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
The Additive Manufacturing<br />
Research Group (AMRG)<br />
has pioneered the use of<br />
layer-based manufacturing<br />
techniques for end-use parts.<br />
< From left to Right: Dr Russ Harris; Dr Chris Tuck;<br />
Prof. Phill Dickens; Dr Neil Hopkinson; Prof. Richard Hague
Background<br />
The Additive Manufacturing Research Group<br />
(AMRG) was the first research group in the<br />
world to undertake systematic research in<br />
the field and has set the agenda in terms of<br />
its research approach, which has now been<br />
recognised and replicated internationally.<br />
Underpinning research has been undertaken<br />
in processes (polymers, metals), design<br />
and design systems, as well as business<br />
implementation effects. Impact has accrued<br />
from each of these generic areas, across a<br />
diverse range of sectors (auto/aero, sports,<br />
construction, consumer, medical, etc) with<br />
industrial exploitation being undertaken in all<br />
areas. The AMRG is now pioneering the use of<br />
layer-based manufacturing for end-use parts.<br />
The group<br />
The group has over 45 dedicated staff<br />
including 5 academics, supported by<br />
post-doctoral research associates, PhD<br />
students and post-graduate research<br />
assistants. The group is also supported by<br />
a team of highly skilled technicians and<br />
the most comprehensive (and recently fully<br />
re-equipped) <strong>University</strong>-based advanced<br />
manufacturing laboratory in the world. The<br />
additive equipment base (polymers & metals)<br />
is supplemented by a suite of analysis<br />
equipment, which is combined in a state of<br />
the art facility.<br />
Impact<br />
The AMRG has pioneered the use of<br />
Additive Manufacturing (AM) for production<br />
components and assemblies. Prior to this,<br />
the AM approach (originally known as<br />
Rapid Manufacturing) was simply used for<br />
prototyping and tooling applications. Since<br />
this shift in approach AM has grown into a<br />
$1 billion industry, largely due to<br />
an increased interest in manufacturing<br />
applications. Its current research activity<br />
is supported by a wealth of international<br />
companies including AWE, BAE Systems,<br />
Bentley, Boeing, Burton Snowboards, EOS,<br />
Econolyst, MTT, Objet, Renishaw, Solidica<br />
and Virgin Atlantic.<br />
Future Research Directions<br />
Though leading the international field, AMRG<br />
research has been focused on single material,<br />
homogenous structures, which at best<br />
exhibit some level of ‘passive’ functionality.<br />
However, to stay at the cutting edge of AM<br />
research, the AMRG has recently undertaken<br />
a strategic review of its current activity and<br />
a comprehensive assessment of global AM<br />
research elsewhere. Following this review,<br />
a decision has now been taken to move<br />
fundamental research activity away from<br />
‘passive’ AM processes and applications,<br />
towards the development of more ‘active’<br />
additive manufacturing systems, materials<br />
and products.<br />
The concept of ‘active’ AM is to use the<br />
‘layer wise’ approach to add value to a<br />
component part during manufacture. This<br />
could be by embedding electronics or optics<br />
into the parts during production, or by using<br />
different materials in the same part to add<br />
functions that cannot be achieved in a single<br />
manufacturing step using conventional<br />
processes. This might be the production of<br />
parts with dissimilar mechanical or thermal<br />
properties, different functional surface<br />
coatings or new Nano-materials that exhibit<br />
increased mechanical, electrical or thermal<br />
properties. Coupled with the design freedoms<br />
inherent in AM, there exists significant<br />
potential for transformative and disruptive<br />
products<br />
to be manufactured, which will sit well with<br />
the UK’s high-value added, knowledge-based<br />
manufacturing sectors.<br />
Additionally, most AM research work is<br />
undertaken at the macro scale. However,<br />
AM processes really make sense for smallcomplex<br />
products. Therefore, combined<br />
with the shift to “active” parts/assemblies,<br />
there exists significant potential to lend<br />
industrialisation to the smaller world –<br />
including a shift to the construction of nanodevices.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 7
8<br />
‘ The<br />
Advanced Manufacturing Areas<br />
SUSTAiNABLE MANUfACTURiNg<br />
real challenge in Sustainable Manufacturing is to come up with the tools,<br />
methods and technologies that make a real difference<br />
’<br />
PRoF. ShAhIN RAhIMIFARD<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
Sustainable manufacturing<br />
is now recognised as a goal<br />
that has to be embraced<br />
by all governments and<br />
all companies across all<br />
business sectors.<br />
< From left to Right: Dr Mike Lee; Ms Yingying Seow;<br />
Mr James Colwill; Dr Helen Wagner; Dr Elliot Woolley;<br />
Prof. Shahin Rahimifard; Dr Sue Morton
Background<br />
Modern manufacturing is under everincreasing<br />
pressure to develop solutions for<br />
highly complex tasks. The next generation of<br />
factories will have to be adaptable not only to<br />
the needs of the market but also the growing<br />
requirements for economic and ecological<br />
efficiency. Such a factory will have to take<br />
into consideration social responsibility and<br />
environmental sustainability.<br />
Whilst seeking to reduce landfill, increase<br />
recycling, and produce more sustainable<br />
products across all manufacturing sectors,<br />
there is a clear need for the development<br />
and validation of new industrial models<br />
and strategies. The term commonly used<br />
is Competitive Sustainable Manufacturing<br />
(CSM). CSM has the potential to be the<br />
basis for UK and European industrial<br />
transformation. CSM models and strategies<br />
will have to aim at achieving long term<br />
economic sustainability through the increase<br />
in added value and improved production<br />
capability, responsiveness, and quality as<br />
well as environmental sustainability through<br />
the decrease in consumption of raw materials<br />
and energy.<br />
The group<br />
The Sustainable Manufacturing Research<br />
Group (www.lboro.ac.uk/smart) within the<br />
IMCRC is led by Prof. Shahin Rahimifard.<br />
The group also includes a number of leading<br />
academics whose skills and expertise provide<br />
it with the ability to realise cutting-edge<br />
research in this field. The knowledge of these<br />
individuals covers technologies, processes<br />
and management within the context of<br />
sustainable manufacturing. The group has<br />
an established track record of industrial<br />
collaboration with a number of leading<br />
manufacturing companies and retailers<br />
that include: Jaguar, Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell<br />
Systems, Clarks, Nike, Next plc, and TESCO.<br />
Impact<br />
Less than 3.5% of the 20 billion pairs of<br />
shoes produced world-wide every year are<br />
currently recycled or reused. This creates<br />
a large waste stream of worn or discarded<br />
shoes which are sent to landfill sites for<br />
disposal. A major IMCRC project is looking<br />
at minimising the end-of-life waste in the<br />
footwear industry by: developing a ‘design<br />
for recycling’ approach to footwear products<br />
to facilitate economical recovery of material<br />
content; investigating novel disassembly<br />
and separation processes tailored to a wide<br />
range of materials used in footwear; and<br />
specifying a number of business scenarios<br />
for the realisation of a sustainable footwear<br />
recycling chain. The project, enthusiastically<br />
supported by a group of collaborators which<br />
include leading footwear retailers, has also<br />
initiated wider interest through a Footwear<br />
recycling Action Group established to share<br />
best practices with industry.<br />
Another current project is seeking to reduce<br />
the carbon and ecological footprint of<br />
packaging by investigating the environmental<br />
benefits of reducing the consumption<br />
of non-renewable resources and their<br />
disposal to landfill. This research has<br />
included a comparison of the materials and<br />
manufacturing routes for non-renewable<br />
and renewable polymer products using<br />
lifecycle assessment to quantify the<br />
expected ecological benefits of a change in<br />
renewable products, and the evaluation of<br />
new materials in the design of packaging<br />
to minimise resource use. The project has<br />
received significant industrial interest and has<br />
already provided an evaluation of: the waste<br />
arising from polymer packaging; current and<br />
future sources of packaging waste and endof-life<br />
processing strategies available to deal<br />
with them; current bio-material development<br />
and manufacture; UK legislative framework<br />
regarding disposal polymers made from<br />
renewable and non-renewable sources; and<br />
recommendations for evaluating packaging<br />
materials that will be used for LCA and case<br />
studies.<br />
Future Research Directions<br />
Research by the Sustainable Manufacturing<br />
Group will focus on industry requirements<br />
for “doing more with significantly less<br />
resource” (so called ‘Factor X’ improvement<br />
in resource efficiency), which will be<br />
an integral part of future manufacturing<br />
applications. It is therefore envisaged that<br />
the future manufacturing paradigm will be<br />
oriented towards the optimization and value<br />
creation of products along their whole life<br />
cycle. In a modern global market, there is<br />
an increasing demand towards customised<br />
products, which have a short delivery time<br />
together with the development of innovative<br />
systems of ‘products and services’ which are<br />
capable of fulfilling specific user demands.<br />
Under this service-oriented perspective, the<br />
analysis of the product life cycle, to identify<br />
best potentials for both the new business<br />
opportunities and the reported environmental<br />
benefits related to ‘dematerialisation’ of<br />
manufacturing activities, is crucial for<br />
the development of successful industrial<br />
applications. To effectively face these<br />
challenges, the production processes need<br />
to be analysed and optimised, considering<br />
the total product life cycle. Sustainable<br />
manufacturing must become the accepted<br />
norm for all products. The Sustainable<br />
Manufacturing Research Group is facilitating<br />
this change.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 9
10<br />
‘ We<br />
Advanced Manufacturing Areas<br />
CONSTRUCTiON<br />
need to adopt lessons from manufacturing and make construction more cost<br />
effective, with a lower carbon footprint<br />
’<br />
PRoF. ALISTAIR gIBB<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
Innovative solutions to design,<br />
build, maintain, adapt and<br />
ultimately recycle buildings<br />
are essential for the survival of<br />
the construction sector in the<br />
21st Century.<br />
< From left to Right: Dr Thanh Lee; Dr Sungwoo Lim;<br />
Prof. Simon Austin; Prof. Tony Thorpe; Dr Richard Buswell;<br />
Mr John Webster
Background<br />
Construction, like other engineering sectors,<br />
is undertaken by a range of professional<br />
disciplines. However, it is unique in its<br />
project-based environment involving the<br />
creation of transient multi-disciplinary teams<br />
to deliver unique products for each client.<br />
This presents discontinuities in both the<br />
processes and product, and undermines<br />
both the quality of the final product and<br />
efficiency of delivery. The last three major<br />
UK government reports into the efficiency of<br />
the construction industry have fixed attention<br />
on the importance of new ways of working<br />
and improving the way in which project<br />
teams are assembled and operate. The recent<br />
report by Constructing Excellence shows that<br />
even after ten years of initiatives and some<br />
improvements, much remains to be done.<br />
The group<br />
The Construction Group within the IMCRC<br />
includes the following internationally<br />
recognised researchers each with a wide<br />
range of research experience and expertise:<br />
Prof. Simon Austin; Prof. Andrew Baldwin;<br />
Prof. Dino Bouchlaghem; Dr Richard Buswell;<br />
Prof. Pat Carrillo; Prof. Andrew Dainty; Prof.<br />
Alistair Gibb; Dr Christine Pasquire; Prof.<br />
Andrew Price; and Prof. Tony Thorpe.<br />
Impact<br />
Current research projects are providing<br />
innovative new construction products<br />
and processes. One such project is the<br />
development and use of pre-fabrication –<br />
moving work from the construction site into<br />
the factory. As a founder member of the<br />
industry-driven Buildoffsite initiative, the<br />
team maintains its strong application focus<br />
for the technologies themselves as well<br />
as their implications for the construction<br />
sector, such as new and emerging skill<br />
requirements, health & safety implications,<br />
and tools for improving the delivery process.<br />
The IMCRC’s research into the use of<br />
Additive Manufacturing techniques is not<br />
just limited to the traditional manufacturing<br />
industries. The Freeform Construction project<br />
is investigating how these techniques may<br />
be applied to construction by developing a<br />
new patentable ‘additive’ process capable of<br />
‘printing’ full scale building components<br />
Apart from finding new ways to produce<br />
buildings, the researchers are looking at<br />
new building design. The Adaptable Futures<br />
project recognises that high value building<br />
assets need to be designed and constructed<br />
for adaptability over the lifetime of the<br />
product. The research team has developed<br />
protocols to support new technical and<br />
management processes together with<br />
underlying human resource solutions, to<br />
promote the cultural change necessary for<br />
their adaption.<br />
Future Research Directions<br />
The Construction Group are leading the<br />
way in exploring step change solutions to<br />
complex design challenges and the delivery<br />
of new products. This includes developing<br />
enhanced teambuilding through modelling<br />
and visualisation technologies and embracing<br />
the process change, which will place<br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong> at the forefront of research<br />
into innovation in construction procurement<br />
and economics. Current and future research<br />
will be to evaluate the energy performance<br />
of occupied buildings. Ongoing involvement<br />
with the ‘HaCIRIC’ project will also provide<br />
an opportunity for the group to embed their<br />
research findings within the healthcare<br />
sector.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 11
12<br />
‘ The<br />
Advanced Manufacturing Areas<br />
SPORTS TEChNOLOgy<br />
Sports Technology Research Group is continually trying to bring high quality<br />
engineering science to deliver an impact in sports goods research and development<br />
’<br />
PRoF. MIkE CAINE<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong> has<br />
an unrivalled track record for<br />
Sports Technology research<br />
and developing cutting edge<br />
technology to boost enterprise<br />
in the sport and leisure sector<br />
and support future British<br />
champions.<br />
< From left to Right: Prof. Roy Jones; Dr Andy Harland;<br />
Dr Ben Halkon; Prof. Mike Caine; Dr Sean Mitchell;<br />
Dr Jon Roberts; Dr Steph Forrester
Background<br />
The sporting goods market is worth £130<br />
billion per annum and is growing at circa 4%<br />
per year. There are approximately 450,000<br />
people in sport-related employment in the<br />
UK. Furthermore, the UK has around 850<br />
companies that specialise in manufacturing<br />
sporting goods. Of the UK sporting goods<br />
manufacturers, there are a small number of<br />
large companies with turnovers in excess<br />
of £1 billion and circa 10,000 employees<br />
as well as many small, niche companies.<br />
Working within the IMCRC, researchers<br />
in sports technology have been pivotal in<br />
developing new technologies for the sports<br />
sector.<br />
The group<br />
The <strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong> Sports<br />
Technology Research Group is a worldleading<br />
research team with a proven<br />
track record in user-driven innovative<br />
manufacturing research within the sporting<br />
goods sector. Sports Technology research<br />
Group members who have led research<br />
projects within the IMCRC include: Prof. Mike<br />
Caine; Dr Andy Harland; Prof. Roy Jones;<br />
Dr Jon Robets, Dr Andy West and<br />
Dr Neil Hopkinson. Their research has<br />
been in collaboration with industry-leaders<br />
including: adidas (Germany), Burton<br />
Snowboards (USA), Callaway Golf (USA),<br />
Dunlop (UK), Head (AUSTRIA), New Balance<br />
(USA), Nike (Netherlands), UK Sport, Reebok<br />
Fitness (UK), Slazenger (UK), Speedo, (UK)<br />
and Umbro (UK).<br />
Impact<br />
Research findings from the Elite to High<br />
Street (E2HS) project have already<br />
contributed to improved performance of<br />
leading athletes. The technical advances<br />
related to this work have been recognised<br />
with a ‘Breakthrough Award’ by the American<br />
Society of Manufacturing Engineers. A<br />
patent is also currently being filed for a new<br />
footwear concept. Work by the research<br />
team has been featured on a UK National<br />
News Channel, while key note lectures<br />
have been given at high profile public<br />
and academic meetings and conferences<br />
including presentations at the National<br />
Science and Engineering week. The team has<br />
also provided research on impact injuries for<br />
television’s History Channel, which produced<br />
a subsequent programme titled ‘Ancient<br />
Discoveries’. A ‘Working in science’ careers<br />
booklet, which was sent to all secondary<br />
schools, included an interview with Dr Ruth<br />
Goodridge about working at <strong>Loughborough</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> on the ‘Scuta’ project (the project,<br />
which is seeking to reduce sports injuries).<br />
Future Research Directions<br />
Successful manufacturers continually<br />
condense new product development cycles<br />
and gain competitive advantage by expedient<br />
commercialisation of emergent technologies.<br />
Efficient and effective modes of new product<br />
introduction and manufacture are essential.<br />
The Sports Technology Research Group<br />
is currently working to assist companies<br />
to devise, develop, test and market new<br />
products.<br />
In addition to supporting a discrete<br />
cohort of the UK’s largest sporting goods<br />
manufacturers in optimising their companies’<br />
product offering via an integrated approach<br />
to new product development, the Sports<br />
Technology Research Group is working to<br />
facilitate product development in the SME<br />
sector. As a result, clusters of non-competing<br />
sporting goods manufacturers are working<br />
with the Sports Technology Research Group<br />
to unite around common manufacturing<br />
challenges and to develop products, which<br />
the rest of the world desires but does not<br />
have the technical capability to produce.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 13
14<br />
‘ Our<br />
Advanced Manufacturing Areas<br />
iNTELLigENT AUTOMATiON<br />
research will fundamentally change the way manufacturing machinery is<br />
designed, operated, supported, upgraded, re-used and retired<br />
’<br />
PRoF. MIkE JACkSoN<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
Intelligent operation and<br />
adaptability are seen as key<br />
features of advanced industrial<br />
automation solutions, which<br />
are essential to keep the UK<br />
economy competitive as the<br />
drive for manufacturing in<br />
low wage cost economies<br />
continues.<br />
< From left to Right: Prof. Mike Jackson;<br />
Dr Rob Harrison; Prof. Rob Parkin
Background<br />
Current automation systems fail to adequately<br />
support all required business objectives.<br />
While they generally offer sufficient<br />
operational performance, they are typically<br />
difficult and complex to service, reconfigure,<br />
integrate, and optimise, particularly in the<br />
face of rapid and often unforeseen business<br />
change. To date, high value manufacturing<br />
industries have applied limited automation<br />
because of the highly skilled nature of the<br />
finishing, inspection and assembly work<br />
inherent in manufacturing processes.<br />
These processes are difficult to automate<br />
because of minor variations in components<br />
that influence interaction between the<br />
processing equipment and the component<br />
being processed. In addition, parts are often<br />
made from expensive materials with many<br />
components/parts requiring careful handling<br />
(e.g. fan blades). These high value industries<br />
need an advanced type of automation that<br />
delivers the precision of computer controlled<br />
machinery with the adaptability of a human<br />
operator, a 24/7 capability, and 100%<br />
quality performance. This has to be delivered<br />
at a reasonable cost and operational speed.<br />
This then is the challenge.<br />
The group<br />
The IMCRC has a number of leading academic<br />
researchers focused on this area of research.<br />
These include: Dr Rob Harrison; Prof. Rob<br />
Parkin; Prof. Mike Jackson; Prof. Steve<br />
Rothburg; Dr Andy West; and Dr Bob Young.<br />
Integral to the work of the group is the<br />
close collaboration that exists with industry.<br />
Research collaborators include: ABB; AEC;<br />
AIRBUS; Bosch Rexroth Limited; COMAU;<br />
Ford Motor Company; GE Aviation; Invotec<br />
Circuits Tamworth Ltd; Jaguar Land Rover;<br />
Rolls-Royce; Schneider Electric GmbH;<br />
Siemens Automation; Siemens PLM; SODA;<br />
Surface Technology International (STI) Ltd;<br />
ThyssenKrupp Krause GmbH; UGS; Emergent<br />
Systems; and UK Sport.<br />
Impact<br />
New engineering tools have been<br />
demonstrated to the engineering teams at<br />
Ford Motor Company in their Virtual-Build<br />
Events, where the stages of engine build are<br />
evaluated digitally prior to construction of the<br />
actual production system. The potential value<br />
of the proposed approach, if widely adopted,<br />
has been estimated by Ford to be in excess<br />
of £20 million per engine programme. If<br />
successfully trialled and adopted, the system<br />
could be utilised by more than 20 companies<br />
in the current automation supply chain.<br />
The approach adopted within the Business<br />
Driven Automation Project is highly generic<br />
and is therefore applicable to virtually all<br />
automation sectors. New sectors to exploit<br />
these tools are currently being evaluated.<br />
The ‘Intelligent User Centric Components<br />
for Harsh Distributed Environments’ project<br />
has produced a step-change in athletic<br />
performance monitoring capability in harsh<br />
environments. This includes the development<br />
of communication protocols to support the<br />
collection and transmission of performance<br />
analysis. These systems are being tested<br />
in collaboration with British Swimming,<br />
providing data from swimmers whilst<br />
in motion including starting, diving and<br />
underwater turning techniques. The usability<br />
and value of the information collected in this<br />
underwater environment have opened up the<br />
potential for new performance monitoring<br />
across this and other new business sectors.<br />
Future Research Directions<br />
Future automation research will address<br />
tasks and processes that include a high<br />
level of variability in the workplace and/<br />
or processes that require a degree of<br />
adaptability. Currently such tasks are<br />
typically undertaken by skilled human<br />
operatives. However, human operatives often<br />
introduce variation in production quality<br />
and component processing times leading to<br />
overly cautious operations, excessive re-work<br />
and many stages of checking to maintain<br />
the required high levels of quality. Intelligent<br />
Automation will enable such tasks to be<br />
undertaken more consistently with greater<br />
traceability.<br />
One area of application is the high-value<br />
manufacturing aerospace sector, where<br />
manual processing of complex components<br />
is still widely applied. The sector is under<br />
pressure to reduce costs and increase volume<br />
whilst maintaining a high level of quality.<br />
Intelligent Automation is seen as the way<br />
forward via mechatronic systems research,<br />
design and realisation. The newly formed<br />
Manufacturing Technology Centre<br />
(www.the-mtc.org) brings together<br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong>, Nottingham<br />
<strong>University</strong>, the <strong>University</strong> of Birmingham and<br />
TWI as research partners tasked with taking<br />
industrial member needs from initial research<br />
to prototype. Founding member companies<br />
include Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Aero Engine<br />
Controls.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 15
16<br />
‘ Our<br />
iMPACT ON ThE AgENdA<br />
research is revealing how adept IMCRC researchers and their industry partners are at<br />
traversing institutional and cultural boundaries when co-creating knowledge ’<br />
PRoF. ANDy DAINTy<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
The government’s spending<br />
review and continuing<br />
preparations for the Research<br />
Excellence Framework has<br />
meant that the drive to assess<br />
the impact of research has<br />
stepped up a gear in recent<br />
months.<br />
< From left to Right: Prof. Andy Dainty; Dr Chris Stokes
Research councils have played an important<br />
role in moving impact assessment of research<br />
forward. This has been driven through<br />
the commission of impact evaluations of<br />
key research strands with the EPSRC, for<br />
example, investigating the impact of physics,<br />
chemistry and energy research and of the<br />
IMRC programme as a whole.<br />
However, the road to consistent research<br />
impact assessment is as yet unclear. Not<br />
the least of the obstacles is the need for a<br />
common method, which is acceptable to<br />
stakeholders, for reducing research in all its<br />
extravagant variety, into a form that can be<br />
easily weighed by assessors.<br />
Within the IMCRC, Prof. Andy Dainty and<br />
Dr Chris Stokes are undertaking leading<br />
research into the assessment of impact in<br />
this context. The project; ‘Diffusion and<br />
Transformational Impact of IMCRC Research<br />
(DTIIR)’, is geared in the first place to<br />
elucidating the impacts of the IMCRC itself.<br />
The resulting impact assessment framework<br />
will help in accurately reporting to the EPSRC<br />
on the impact that the IMCRC has made<br />
throughout its lifetime.<br />
The research has acknowledged the<br />
importance in recognising that impact<br />
may be realised well after the completion<br />
of a research project, may take on many<br />
different forms and benefit various types<br />
of stakeholder (some as unintentional<br />
beneficiaries of the work). It is therefore<br />
essential to examine both the direct and<br />
indirect benefits of research and to recognise<br />
the diverse range of contributions that<br />
are made. Understanding how IMCRC<br />
innovations diffuse within and across<br />
different organisational contexts is key in<br />
building a picture of the ‘whole-centre’<br />
impact, and the capacity to inform and<br />
ultimately transform the firms that the<br />
IMCRC’s research intends to benefit.<br />
Through attention to the forms of<br />
collaboration exhibited by IMCRC projects,<br />
DTIIR has also contributed to the field of<br />
research concerned with the analysis of<br />
research impact in practice. Early work has<br />
revealed patterns of organisation through<br />
which engineering researchers and their nonacademic<br />
partners often manage to crisscross<br />
institutional and cultural boundaries<br />
with an ease that those within other fields<br />
would dearly like to emulate.<br />
The alignment between the DTIIR project and<br />
the EPSRC’s IMRC impact evaluation has<br />
resulted in the appointment of Prof. Dainty<br />
to the EPSRC panel overseeing the impact<br />
evaluation of the IMRC programme. This<br />
has enabled Andy and Chris to feed their<br />
cutting-edge research at <strong>Loughborough</strong> into<br />
the EPSRC’s overall assessment of IMRCs,<br />
ensuring the highest level of analysis.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 17
18<br />
IMCRC Current<br />
RESEARCh ThEMES<br />
Customised Products<br />
This theme seeks to make products that<br />
suit the requirements of customers at a cost<br />
similar to mass-produced goods. Designers,<br />
manufacturers, users, distributors and<br />
world-class academics are together<br />
generating novel design and manufacturing<br />
techniques. The following projects are<br />
included within this theme.<br />
Project 185 - Tailored Injury Prevention and<br />
Performance Improvement for Protective<br />
Sports garments (SCUTA) aims to produce<br />
comfortable, conformable, personal,<br />
protective equipment for athletes taking<br />
part in three different sports. New models<br />
of assessment of impact injuries to the body<br />
are being evaluated and novel material<br />
structures being designed to help dissipate<br />
the impact of the forces incurred within<br />
these sports.<br />
Project 219 – A Unique human grip<br />
Simulator for Robotic Testing of Sports<br />
Equipment, is developing a mechanism<br />
of the human grip to more realistically<br />
simulate the motions of the hand when<br />
gripping and manipulating lightweight,<br />
flexible structures. The project is focusing<br />
on golf, with the ultimate objective to<br />
develop a golf robot capable of recreating<br />
the unique swing profiles of different<br />
golfers.<br />
The IMCRC is renowned for its expertise<br />
in modelling for injury prevention and<br />
engineering design. Project 281 - Rail<br />
Transport Safety for Pregnant occupants<br />
- Preliminary Investigations, aims to have<br />
an impact on safety considerations in<br />
railway transport for pregnant women and<br />
contribute to UK public transport design,<br />
without compromising the safety of nonpregnant<br />
occupants.<br />
Project 254 - Feasibility Study for<br />
Anthropometric Test Device and<br />
Computational Models for Ageing occupants<br />
has been focussed on producing guidelines<br />
for automotive safety engineers and medical<br />
engineers, for the representation of ageing<br />
vehicle occupants in order to minimise the<br />
risk of injuries and fatality as a result of<br />
road traffic accidents.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
healthy & Secure Future<br />
This IMCRC theme is providing enhanced<br />
environments and products to improve our<br />
safety and security, and promote healthier<br />
lifestyles. Research within this theme<br />
includes facilitating healthcare delivery<br />
through the Centre’s involvement in the<br />
cross institutional ‘HaCIRIC’ project and<br />
the transformation of bioscience onto<br />
commercial practice through the ‘Remedi’<br />
Grand Challenge.<br />
Project 248 - The health and Care<br />
Infrastructure Research and Innovation<br />
Centre (haCIRIC) is focussed on<br />
researching the infrastructure needed to<br />
deliver healthcare. This is a collaboration<br />
project with research centres at Imperial<br />
College, <strong>Loughborough</strong>, Reading, and<br />
Salford. <strong>Loughborough</strong>-led aspects of the<br />
research include: the development of a<br />
continuous improvement framework for<br />
the procurement of primary healthcare<br />
facilities; the adoption of disruptive<br />
innovation as a mechanism for change in<br />
the NHS; metrics, models and toolkits for<br />
a sustainable urban environment; proactive<br />
resilient engineering and emergency<br />
mitigation protocols; the innovative<br />
design of well performing built healing<br />
environments; and the design of sustainable<br />
healthcare infrastructure and healthcare<br />
facilities. HaCIRIC now has regular input<br />
into Department of Health and NHS policy<br />
process in healthcare technology and<br />
innovation management.<br />
The grand Challenge project 214 –<br />
Regenerative Medicine: A New Industry<br />
(Remedi) is led by Prof. David Williams<br />
at the <strong>Loughborough</strong> IMCRC. This Grand<br />
Challenge includes two IMRCs, three other<br />
universities and eleven key collaborators,<br />
in a £7 million project over five years.<br />
It aims to demonstrate how established<br />
bioscience can be transformed into profitable<br />
commercial practice and generate affordable<br />
therapies, while developing the science<br />
of manufacture. The <strong>Loughborough</strong>-led<br />
research is focussed on creating process<br />
demonstrators for three products: scaffolds,<br />
cells and tissues, and on SME tools. The<br />
project has already demonstrated the<br />
automated, scaleable culture of: human<br />
bone marrow and umbilical cord blood<br />
derived hMSCs; multiple hESC lines in<br />
serum‐free or feeder‐free conditions; two<br />
‘near to clinic’ commercial cell types, verified<br />
against commercially relevant endpoints;<br />
differentiated otic progenitor cells from<br />
hESCs for application to hearing disorder<br />
therapy; and human endothelial progenitor<br />
cells for drug screening applications.<br />
Project 223 - Complex Bone Surgery<br />
Simulation is engineering tailored bone<br />
phantoms with realistic visual and physical<br />
properties, to simulate surgical practices<br />
and enhance medical training. This research<br />
is already influencing surgical teaching.<br />
Is the quality of life of elderly people<br />
affected by biomechanical changes in the<br />
body? Project 298 - Investigations to Prevent<br />
Falls in the Ageing Population, is a unique<br />
study into the role spine curvature plays in<br />
postural stability and falls in old age.<br />
Project 220 - Understanding the older<br />
Construction Worker, is identifying changes<br />
required in the construction workplace,<br />
and in the tools and equipment used, if<br />
older workers are to remain productive in<br />
the industry. This research is important<br />
for health and safety considerations as the<br />
average age of the construction worker<br />
continues to increase.<br />
The Project 263 - The Relative Value and<br />
Systemic Implications of Counter-Terrorism<br />
Measures, is protecting key components<br />
of the built environment by evaluating the<br />
systemic implications associated with the<br />
use of counter-terrorism measures. The<br />
project is contributing to future legislation,<br />
guidelines and codes of practice.<br />
Project 300 - Link with the <strong>University</strong><br />
of Milan in Commercial Exploitation of<br />
Bioscience was established in order to<br />
form a link with the <strong>University</strong> of Milan<br />
in the area of commercial exploitation<br />
of bioscience. By enabling researchers<br />
to access capabilities and work in<br />
development for activity in micro and<br />
nano-biotechnology at <strong>Loughborough</strong>, and<br />
bio-related processing and microfluidics<br />
capabilities in Milan, an early feasibility<br />
trial for high adhesion electro-less plating<br />
of thermoplastic polymers using a nanocomposite<br />
base layer has been undertaken.<br />
Project 303 - Modelling Complex Sustainable<br />
Urban Environments for 2050, is exploring<br />
the use of systems dynamics for modelling<br />
the effective delivery of infrastructure and<br />
services, together with potential applications<br />
of complexity theories in strategic decisionmaking<br />
for the healthcare industry.<br />
Project 308 - The use of innovative equipment<br />
and techniques to improve construction<br />
safety on the Birmingham New Street Station<br />
Refurbishment project, will investigate<br />
innovative multimedia methods used in the<br />
safety induction process on a major building<br />
refurbishment contract in order to produce<br />
guidelines for effective design induction<br />
processes for construction workers.
185<br />
219<br />
214<br />
223<br />
263<br />
298<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 19<br />
6
20<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
211<br />
210<br />
261<br />
275<br />
187<br />
186<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 6
IMCRC Current<br />
RESEARCh ThEMES<br />
high Value Assets<br />
Examples of high value assets include<br />
military platforms, production systems and<br />
major buildings. The IMCRC is delivering<br />
the tools, techniques and designs to<br />
maximise the utility and return from such<br />
assets whilst ensuring that companies,<br />
governments and the general public gain<br />
maximum benefit from the investments<br />
needed to produce these products.<br />
Project 211 - Business Driven Automation,<br />
is establishing a new end-user, businessdriven<br />
approach to automation systems<br />
development and support. The approach<br />
is highly generic and is applicable to the<br />
automobile industry and virtually all other<br />
automation sectors by providing tools to<br />
support their progressive reconfiguration<br />
and modification.<br />
Project 252 - Lean Construction Data<br />
Laboratory is exploring the use of ‘Lean<br />
Thinking’ to challenge current construction<br />
management and organisational theory and<br />
practice. The feasibility of this approach is<br />
being tested using live project investigations<br />
and case histories. Tools and techniques<br />
developed in the automotive industry are<br />
being evaluated for use in construction.<br />
Fast changing business environments<br />
require building owners to be able to change<br />
the function and performance of their<br />
facilities. Project 210 - Adaptable Futures,<br />
recognises high value building assets need<br />
to be designed and constructed for flexibility<br />
of use over the lifetime of the product. The<br />
aim of this project is to facilitate adaptable<br />
buildings, academic research studies and<br />
practical, real-life application.<br />
Factors leading to performance shortfalls<br />
and failures in buildings designed and<br />
built for energy efficiency are being<br />
studied in Project 271 - Predicted vs In-Use<br />
Performance of Buildings. The research<br />
will produce decision-making guidelines<br />
for designers, contractors and building<br />
operators, which will ensure any facilities in<br />
the future meet the needs of occupants.<br />
Next generation Technologies<br />
This theme provides industry and<br />
commerce with a radical set of technologies<br />
based on new materials, processes, and<br />
information systems which will transform<br />
existing practices and deliver innovative<br />
products to the customer.<br />
Project 215 – The 3D-Mintegration grand<br />
Challenge is destined to revolutionise<br />
the way small, complex products and<br />
components are manufactured by<br />
providing a radical new way of thinking<br />
for the end-to-end design, processing,<br />
assembly, packaging, integration and<br />
testing of complete 3D miniaturised/<br />
integrated (3D Mintegrated) products. The<br />
work of this Grand Challenge (of which<br />
the <strong>Loughborough</strong> IMCRC is one of five<br />
IMRCs involved) will form the basis for<br />
next generation automotive, aerospace,<br />
telecommunications, medical and consumer<br />
products, which will combine significantly<br />
improved performance with higher added<br />
value, sustainability and ecoefficiency.<br />
The 3D-Mintegration project will also<br />
give companies valuable insight into how<br />
evolving practices in this field worldwide<br />
may be adopted and adapted for optimal<br />
exploitation in the UK.<br />
Project 275 - Smart Material Structures<br />
by Ultrasonic Consolidation, builds on a<br />
foundation of Ultrasonic Consolidation<br />
research to investigate the controlling<br />
mechanisms that enable the production of<br />
smart structures with integrated dynamic<br />
control and monitoring ability. This will<br />
permit the technology’s progression to high<br />
value industrial exploitation.<br />
Project 217 - Jetting of 3D Nylon Parts<br />
is investigating the feasibility of a new<br />
manufacturing process for nylon parts and<br />
aims to demonstrate that nylon can be<br />
produced by jetting one droplet of mixture<br />
on top of another, and that these processing<br />
conditions can be controlled to give<br />
reproducible material properties.<br />
Improving the properties and the<br />
repeatability of laser sintered polymers<br />
through advanced materials and processing<br />
research, is the aim of Project 251 -<br />
Advanced Understanding and Control<br />
of Polymer Sintering. This project has<br />
produced the first quantified appraisal of<br />
the repeatability of laser sintering and is<br />
comparing this process with traditional<br />
injection moulding manufacturing<br />
processes.<br />
Project 261 - Topologically optimised<br />
Additively Manufactured Metallic Structures,<br />
is investigating how Additive Manufacturing<br />
of materials compares with conventional<br />
manufacturing of the same materials, and<br />
how design optimisation methodologies<br />
may be utilised in conjunction with Additive<br />
Manufacturing to affect the design and<br />
manufacturing of complex, statistically<br />
optimised, metallic parts.<br />
The multi-disciplinary Project 186 -<br />
Personalised Sports Footwear: Elite to<br />
high Street (E2hS), aims to complete<br />
world-leading research into three different<br />
disciplines, and to use its results to enable<br />
the affordable manufacture of personalised<br />
sports shoes for different end users using<br />
additive manufacturing technologies.<br />
Closely linked to the E2HS project is Project<br />
286 - Engineering gold Medals, a knowledge<br />
transfer project which is designing,<br />
developing, and manufacturing personalised<br />
sprint footwear for training and competition.<br />
Paralympics athletes are collaborating<br />
with the research team on behalf of UK<br />
Athletics.<br />
The IMCRC’s research into the use of<br />
the Additive Manufacturing techniques<br />
is not just limited to the traditional<br />
manufacturing industries. Project 187<br />
- Freeform Construction: Mega-Scale<br />
Rapid Manufacturing for Construction, is<br />
developing a new ‘additive’ process capable<br />
of ‘printing’ full-scale building components.<br />
This process will generate geometric<br />
freedom and lead to the cost-effective<br />
production of bespoke panel systems<br />
including the integration of other features<br />
and reduce the quantity of material used to<br />
realise a given form.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 21
22<br />
IMCRC Current<br />
RESEARCh ThEMES<br />
Next generation Technologies<br />
Project 198 - Intelligent Control of high<br />
Performance Production Machines is<br />
establishing a control architecture that<br />
is appropriate for advanced machinery<br />
operation based on the integration of<br />
complex sensing, decision-making and<br />
actuation. This will enable the adaptive<br />
operation and realisation of optimal<br />
solutions of the machine process and<br />
provide information on the ‘health’ of the<br />
machine.<br />
Project 201 - Intelligent User Centric<br />
Components for harsh Distributed<br />
Environments is investigating the use of<br />
advance automation and ICT to provide<br />
a step-change in athletic performance<br />
monitoring capability in harsh environments<br />
e.g. underwater. This project is developing<br />
novel integrated sensor arrays that<br />
can provide real time information on<br />
performance and on physiological,<br />
mechanical and environmental parameters.<br />
The IMPREST technology transfer project 247<br />
builds on a previous IMCRC project which<br />
developed a decision support tool aimed at<br />
supporting the implementation of Off-Site<br />
Manufacturing within the construction<br />
industry by facilitating cost and value<br />
comparisons, instilling best practice<br />
and enhancing learning. This project is<br />
transferring the findings of the previous<br />
project into the construction industry.<br />
Further research on Project 270 - Embedded<br />
Total Life Components for Product and<br />
Process Control is evaluating new<br />
techniques for product and process quality<br />
control and visualisation to deliver an<br />
embedded observability and traceability<br />
system based on a network of integrated,<br />
distributed components, each supporting a<br />
unique genetic code.<br />
Project 204 - global Automation<br />
Infrastructure to enable Service-Based<br />
Engineering (gAIN) is assessing the<br />
potential for new, more efficient service<br />
relationships, roles and responsibilities, in<br />
the automation supply chain. These new<br />
systems will need to be fully interoperable.<br />
The project has demonstrated to industry<br />
the methods in which Web services can be<br />
applied practically to industrial automation,<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
and how a component-based engineering<br />
approach can be applied to Web servicesbased<br />
systems.<br />
Project 253 - Interoperable Manufacturing<br />
knowledge Systems is making a leading<br />
contribution to radical, new methods for<br />
interoperable manufacturing knowledge<br />
to be shared to support dynamic multidisciplinary<br />
engineering design and<br />
manufacture.<br />
Sustainable materials and manufacturing<br />
processes are now a high priority for all<br />
manufacturing sectors. The Project, 260<br />
- Minimisation of End-of-Life Waste in the<br />
Footwear Industry, is generating eco-design<br />
guidelines and bespoke recycling processes<br />
that will underpin the realisation of a<br />
sustainable product recycling chain for the<br />
footwear sector.<br />
Further research on Project 277 - Reduction<br />
of the Environmental Footprint of Plastic<br />
Packaging based on Renewable Polymer<br />
Materials will reduce the carbon and<br />
ecological footprint of packaging, by<br />
investigating the environmental benefits of<br />
reducing the consumption of non-renewable<br />
resources and their disposal to landfill.<br />
New technologies are being investigated<br />
for the production of printable metallic<br />
inks for decorative packaging and related<br />
functional applications. Project 202 -<br />
Surface Preservation Coatings to Enable<br />
Versatile Metal Particle Deposition and<br />
Sintering, is studying the use of selfassembled<br />
monolayer (SAM) coatings to act<br />
as oxidation-preventing sintering aids for<br />
metallic particles - with sizes ranging from<br />
micro to nano scale.<br />
The related Project 256 - Nano Particle<br />
Preservation and Stabilisation for Large<br />
Volume Production, aims to functionalise<br />
the surfaces of nano particles derived from<br />
a high volume manufacturing process.<br />
In addition, methods of applying organic<br />
coatings to the surfaces will be determined<br />
and their properties investigated.<br />
Project 235 - Rapid Manufacturing IMRC<br />
knowledge Transfer has been focussed on<br />
the expansion of the Rapid Manufacturing<br />
(RM) Consortium, which acts as a<br />
dissemination point for the world-class<br />
research being undertaken in the field of<br />
RM at <strong>Loughborough</strong>. The expansion of the<br />
consortium, with a membership base of<br />
internationally recognised market leaders<br />
in manufacturing, has provided a platform<br />
to augment the world-leading position of<br />
the Rapid Manufacturing Research Group<br />
(RMRG) and significantly contribute to<br />
EPSRC’s metrics.<br />
Project 250 – Rapid Manufacturing<br />
Materials Alliance: knowledge Transfer<br />
is providing Knowledge Transfer (KT) of<br />
the materials properties data generated<br />
through past research activities and new<br />
data generated through the newly formed<br />
‘Rapid Manufacturing Materials Alliance’.<br />
This has specifically focussed on long-term<br />
ageing data for laser-sintering materials,<br />
which was provided for the project partner,<br />
enabling it to facilitate improved delivery<br />
to its clients and the development of new,<br />
improved products.<br />
Project 285 - Development of a Novel<br />
Integrated Large Area Pressure Pad for harsh<br />
Environments aims to research, design,<br />
implement and evaluate a novel pressure<br />
recording system suitable for analysing the<br />
starting and turning performance of elite<br />
swimmers. This work has predominantly<br />
been focussed on the integration of the<br />
pressure system into a complete swimming<br />
performance monitoring system, which<br />
has already provided initial performance<br />
evaluation information on the turns of elite<br />
swimmers.<br />
The aim of Project 304 - Adaptab(ling):<br />
Extending the Life of our Built Environment,<br />
is to gain insights into buildings as a whole<br />
- not just whole in space, but as whole in<br />
time. This pilot project will take advantage<br />
of a range of expertise to provide a holistic<br />
understanding of how buildings perform,<br />
with the overall intent of increasing their<br />
capacity to accommodate change.<br />
Construction provides an especially<br />
challenging sector to identify and foster<br />
innovative practice. Project 307 - The Role<br />
of objects in Building Design is investigating<br />
the ways in which innovation occurs within<br />
the building design process, specifically<br />
the increasing use of pre-configured and<br />
modularized, building components.
201<br />
253<br />
256<br />
260<br />
250<br />
202<br />
AnnuAl AnnuAl RepoRt RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> <strong>2010</strong> 23<br />
6
216<br />
306<br />
278<br />
233<br />
268<br />
241<br />
24<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 6
IMCRC Current<br />
RESEARCh ThEMES<br />
Transforming organisations<br />
This theme addresses learning and<br />
knowledge management, strategic<br />
management and leadership, and business<br />
models for networked organisations so<br />
that they can easily adapt to the changing<br />
business environment.<br />
Project 241 - The Innovation and Productivity<br />
grand Challenge (IPgC) seeks to explore<br />
the implications of the changing 21st<br />
century context of networked, global<br />
and increasingly open innovation. It<br />
involves a network of five UK universities,<br />
working with the Advanced Institute for<br />
Management Research (AIM) to make UK<br />
plc more competitive by converting more<br />
knowledge into innovation. <strong>Loughborough</strong>’s<br />
contribution to the research is to investigate<br />
the resistance to innovation and creativity<br />
that can occur in established companies,<br />
and to review the design and operation<br />
of university/industry relationships for the<br />
effective transmission of innovations.<br />
Project 216 - Understanding Project Failure,<br />
has produced a fresh set of provocations<br />
and imperatives that encourage<br />
practitioners and researchers to question<br />
the limitations and effect of project-based<br />
knowledge and their efficacy in making<br />
sense of project failure. The initial findings<br />
of this research are already shaping<br />
thinking within participating organisations.<br />
Project 244 - NIMBLE practices in<br />
organizations (kNowledge for Improvement<br />
and Moving Beyond Lean Enterprise), is<br />
investigating the relationship between<br />
innovation and motivation and looking into<br />
how innovation and leadership interact<br />
at different levels of an organisation, to<br />
develop and test a set of diagnostics for use<br />
in industry.<br />
New technologies that encourage crossorganisational,<br />
workflow collaboration<br />
are being investigated in Project 278<br />
- Intelligent Business Transaction Agents<br />
for Cross-organisation Workflow Definition<br />
and Execution. The project will build on a<br />
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and<br />
develop intelligent agents to carry out<br />
service matching, and process planning<br />
and negotiation to support transaction<br />
management.<br />
Project 233 - Monitoring the Toyota Retail<br />
System Implementation in Europe, is<br />
monitoring the roll-out and implementation<br />
of the Toyota Retail System across Europe,<br />
highlighting the modes of delivery and<br />
issues raised by different national cultures.<br />
The feasibility study Project 268 - Lean<br />
Commercial Management for Construction,<br />
is identifying opportunities for developing<br />
commercial management approaches for<br />
lean construction through the analysis<br />
of existing and innovative commercial<br />
management practices within the<br />
construction industry and other sectors.<br />
Project 299 - Investigation of the<br />
Diffusion and Transformational Impact<br />
of IMCRC Research aims to explore the<br />
transformational impact and legacy of the<br />
IMCRC Centre at <strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong>,<br />
and to identify synergies which exist<br />
between research groups and projects for<br />
exploitation in future funding applications.<br />
Work has been focussed on identifying the<br />
various kinds of impact IMCRC-funded<br />
projects have, how those impacts arise<br />
in practice and for whom, through the<br />
development of an impact framework<br />
aimed at helping in the process of eliciting<br />
research impacts more fully than is usually<br />
possible.<br />
Project 306 - When Will We Learn? aims to<br />
understand current construction contractors’<br />
practices for recording and disseminating<br />
Lessons Learned, including the current<br />
barriers that exist and the systems used.<br />
From this study will come an understanding<br />
of the needs of project teams in terms of<br />
what sort of lessons are required, the level<br />
of detail needed and how best these should<br />
be made available to organisations.<br />
The IMCRC has also initiated a number<br />
of ‘pathfinder’ projects to develop new<br />
research areas from current research<br />
strengths. These projects include:<br />
• The development of a Research Centre<br />
for Modelling and Simulation for Impact<br />
Injury Protection;<br />
• Establishing a Centre for Competitive<br />
Sustainable Manufacturing;<br />
• A project for Positioning Sports Technology<br />
(to develop new commercial networks for<br />
SME’s);<br />
• Further advancement of the Development<br />
of the Additive Manufacturing Research<br />
group (formerly the Rapid Manufacturing<br />
Research Group); and<br />
• Engineering the Interfaces, a project<br />
reviewing how to improve transdisciplinarity<br />
in construction projects.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 25
26<br />
‘ We<br />
MANAgEMENT ANd ORgANiSATiON<br />
Of ThE CENTRE<br />
believe that collaboration with partners and industry is the key to success<br />
’<br />
Prof. Andrew Baldwin<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
The IMCRC is dedicated to<br />
driving manufacturing and<br />
construction forward to meet<br />
the growing demands of a<br />
rapidly changing economy.<br />
< From left to Right: Mr Mal Rooney; Prof. Andrew Baldwin;<br />
Dr James Bishop
Steering group Membership<br />
external members:<br />
Sir John Gains, Consultant<br />
Mr Richard Archer, Two BC Ltd<br />
Mrs Anne Farrow, EPSRC<br />
Prof. Tim Broyd, Halcrow<br />
Dr Peter Davies, The Pera Foundation<br />
Mr David Green, Consultant<br />
Prof. Peter Deasley, Emeritus Professor,<br />
Cranfield <strong>University</strong><br />
Prof. George Chryssolouris,<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Patras, Greece<br />
Mr David Wallace, emda<br />
loughborough university members:<br />
Prof. Andrew Baldwin<br />
Dr James Bishop<br />
Prof. Alistair Gibb<br />
Prof. Neil Halliwell<br />
Prof. Steve Rothberg<br />
Prof. Jim Saker<br />
Prof. David Williams<br />
Management and organisation of<br />
the Centre<br />
The Centre is managed by an Executive<br />
Board, which oversees the operational<br />
activities, with advice on research direction<br />
and prioritisation being provided by the<br />
Steering Group. This provides a wealth of<br />
experience to help ensure that the Centre<br />
continues to enhance its manufacturing and<br />
construction expertise through a combination<br />
of the highest level of academic research,<br />
and collaboration with market-leading<br />
organisations.<br />
These management and consultation<br />
functions are embedded in a framework<br />
of governance, which: determine the<br />
operational processes; ensure that there<br />
is transparency of processes; and ensure<br />
that sanctions are imposed through normal<br />
university procedures if required. The Centre<br />
also makes use of an International Review<br />
panel to assess the quality and impact of the<br />
research and to advise on any changes that<br />
need to be made to management processes.<br />
Guidance with respect to current research<br />
and future opportunities is also provided<br />
by the Visiting Professors and External<br />
Reviewers assigned to individual projects.<br />
The Centre within the Institution<br />
The Centre plays a prominent role in the<br />
research undertaken across the <strong>University</strong>.<br />
All IMCRC staff are members of academic<br />
departments. The percentage of staff from the<br />
departments involved in the Centre ranges<br />
greatly, from 1% in the Business School<br />
to 30% in Mechanical and Manufacturing<br />
Engineering. The Centre forms a major<br />
part of university research, accounting for<br />
approximately 11% of all research funding<br />
for the university and on average 30% of<br />
the research within the Wolfson School of<br />
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering<br />
and 44% within Civil & Building Engineering.<br />
A total of £0.59 million has been allocated<br />
to research activities by the IMCRC in the<br />
Academic year 2009-10, with eight projects<br />
funded since 1st October 2009. In addition,<br />
Centre Academics are investigators on grants<br />
worth a further £21.7 million, secured from<br />
sources outside the IMCRC during the past<br />
twelve months.<br />
The academics involved in the Centre<br />
are organised into three research units:<br />
Construction, Manufacturing, and Product<br />
Customer Interface and are led by Professors<br />
Alistair Gibb, David Williams and Jim Saker<br />
respectively. These units help to bring<br />
together different perspectives on research<br />
problems without restricting individuals’<br />
areas of research interest. Whilst only<br />
members of the IMCRC may lead research<br />
projects, other researchers can participate as<br />
co-investigators, thereby ensuring both the<br />
influx of new ideas and the dissemination of<br />
research findings.<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 27
28<br />
Appendix 1<br />
PROJECT SUMMARy<br />
* Refers to IMCRC funding only (i.e. no industrial funding included)<br />
Project completed between October 2009 and September <strong>2010</strong> italics<br />
Project Title Start Date End Date Total Funding<br />
3D Mintegration Grand Challenge 10/05 03/10 £482,255*<br />
A Unique Human Grip Simulator for Robotic Testing of Sports Equipment 11/08 09/11 £163,349<br />
Adaptable Futures 07/07 09/11 £1,750,336<br />
Adaptab(ling): Extending the Life of Our Built Environment 01/10 12/10 £67,845<br />
Advanced understanding and control of polymer sintering 11/08 09/11 £729,628<br />
Business Driven Automation 09/07 09/11 £1,773,268<br />
Complex Bone Surgery Simulation 08/07 12/10 £194,861<br />
Development of a Novel Integrated Large Area Pressure Pad for Harsh Environments 01/10 08/10 £250,000<br />
EMBedded totaL lifE coMponents for product and process control: EMBLEM 10/08 09/11 £897,320<br />
Engineering Gold Medals: personalised footwear for elite performance athletes 04/09 12/09 £49,972<br />
Establishing a Centre for Competitive Sustainable Manufacturing 06/09 09/11 £135,409<br />
Feasibility Study for Anthropometric Test Device and Computational Models for Ageing Occupants 08/08 02/10 £109,966<br />
Freeform Construction: Mega-Scale Rapid Manufacturing for Construction 10/06 09/11 £2,131,828<br />
Global Automation Infrastructure (GAIN) to Enable Service-Based Engineering 07/07 09/10 £311,939<br />
HaCIRIC (Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre) 06/06 09/11 £432,518*<br />
IMPREST Technology Transfer Manager 03/09 12/10 £30,000<br />
Innovation and Productivity Grand Challenge 09/05 12/10 £111,540*<br />
Intelligent Business Transaction Agents for Cross-Organisation Workflow Definition and Execution 02/09 09/11 £81,928<br />
Intelligent Control of High Performance Production Machines (ICHP2M) 10/07 09/11 £166,614<br />
Intelligent User Centric Components for Harsh Distributed Environments 05/07 09/11 £366,603<br />
Interoperable Manufacturing Knowledge Systems 10/08 09/11 £906,120<br />
Investigation of the Diffusion and Transformational Impact of IMCRC Research 11/09 09/11 £87,296<br />
Investigations to Prevent Falls in the Ageing Population 08/09 06/10 £48,662<br />
Jetting of 3D Nylon Parts 08/07 09/10 £149,813<br />
Lean Commercial Management for Construction 10/08 12/10 £67,484<br />
Lean Construction Data Laboratory 08/08 07/10 £63,963<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong>
Project Title Start Date End Date Total Funding<br />
Link with the <strong>University</strong> of Milan in Commercial Exploitation of Bioscience 08/09 09/11 £150,934<br />
Minimisation of End-of-Life Waste in the Footwear Industry 10/08 02/11 £384,644<br />
Modelling Complex Sustainable Urban Environments for 2050 11/09 10/10 £67,500<br />
Monitoring the Toyota Retail System Implementation in Europe 10/08 09/11 £189,083<br />
Nanoparticle Preservation and Stabilisation for Large Volume Production 10/08 10/10 £118,074<br />
NIMBLE practices in organizations: kNowledge for Improvement and Moving Beyond Lean Enterprise<br />
09/09 09/11 £508,705<br />
Personalised Sports Footwear: From Elite to High Street 10/06 09/11 £2,170,534<br />
Positioning Sports Technology to secure follow-on IMRC funding 05/09 09/11 £113,072<br />
Predicted vs. in-use Performance of Buildings, an Integrated Study 10/08 09/11 £456,787<br />
Rail Transport Safety for Pregnant Occupants - Preliminary Investigations 12/08 08/10 £106,514<br />
Rapid Manufacturing Knowledge Transfer 03/07 09/11 £89,830<br />
Rapid Manufacturing Materials Alliance Knowledge Transfer 03/07 09/11 £304,634<br />
Rapid Manufacturing Research Group: Route to long term funding post 2011 07/09 09/11 £82,362<br />
Reduction of the Environmental Footprint of Plastic Packaging Based on Renewable Polymer<br />
Materials<br />
08/09 07/11 £183,471<br />
Regenerative Medicine Grand Challenge 07/05 09/10 £1,624,566*<br />
Research Centre for Modelling and Simulation for Impact Injury Prevention 09/09 09/11 £85,055<br />
Smart Material Structures by Ultrasonic Consolidation 06/08 09/11 £656,055<br />
Surface Preservation Coatings to Enable Versatile Metal Particle Deposition and Sintering 11/06 10/10 £174,991<br />
Tailored Injury Prevention and Performance Improvement for Protective Sports Garments 10/06 09/11 £2,130,751<br />
The Relative Value and Systemic Implications of Counter-Terrorism Measures 10/08 09/11 £50,000<br />
The Role of Objects in Building Design 02/10 11/10 £66,862<br />
The Use of Innovative Equipment and Techniques to Improve Construction Safety on the Birmingham<br />
New Street Station Refurbishment Project<br />
01/10 08/11 £67,846<br />
Topologically Optimised Additively Manufactured Metallic Structures 10/08 09/11 £547,070<br />
Transdiciplinary Centre for Construction Innovation: Engineering the Interfaces 04/09 09/11 £123,883<br />
Understanding Project Failure 02/08 01/10 £391,170<br />
Understanding the Older Construction Worker 08/07 10/10 £158,005<br />
When Will We Learn? 02/10 09/11 £65,267<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 29
30<br />
Appendix 2<br />
Phd STUdENTS<br />
*Student graduated between October 2009 and September <strong>2010</strong><br />
Name Start Date PhD Title<br />
Abeer Pharaon Oct-05 Introducing an innovation culture in an industrial organisation<br />
Yiyi Mo Oct-05 Enhancing emotional intelligence for improved project management performance<br />
Izhar Haq Dec-05 A collaborative environment for automation systems lifecycle management<br />
Tze Yang Hin* Jul-06 Optical Wavelengths on flexible substrates<br />
Felix Tsui Oct-06 Biomechanics of impacts during sports<br />
Bradley Williams Oct-06 Use of high speed sintering to produce customised running shoes<br />
Nitishal Chungoora Dec-06 Supporting semantic interoperability for manufacturing knowledge solutions<br />
Pawan Bir Singh* Dec-06 Stem cell therapies<br />
John Wither Dec-06 Innovation Teams<br />
James Webster* Apr-07 Perception and comfort of protective equipment<br />
Anthony Wormald Apr-07 Micro PIV for microfluidics<br />
Saeed Fathi Jul-07 Jetting of Nylon<br />
Ayham Jaaron* Jul-07 Value-adding in the manufacturing sector through the use of call centres<br />
Nitesh Khilwani Jul-07 Developing a platform for semantic based secured enterprise integration<br />
Benedikt Knauf* Jul-07 Inductive heating for microfluidic assembly<br />
Niranjankumar<br />
Ramasubramaniyan<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
Jul-07 A Machine Vision Guided System for Automated Grasp and Pull Weeding Concept<br />
Richard Taylor Jul-07 Visual replication of sinus bone surgery simulation phantoms<br />
Paul Walker Jul-07 Advanced modelling of protective equipment<br />
James Brennan-Craddock Oct-07 Impact Absorbent Rapid Manufactured Structures<br />
Matteo Gatto Oct-07 Physical investigation of sinus bone surgery simulation phantoms<br />
Khosrow Khodabakhshi Oct-07 Reaction of caprolactam for rapid manufacturing<br />
Craig Davidson Dec-07 Investigation of structures for laser sintered running shoe midsoles<br />
Navjot Kaur Dec-07 A service based approach to reconfigurable manufacturing automation<br />
Bazar Raza Dec-07<br />
A knowledge-based approach to integration of products, processes and automation<br />
resources<br />
Matt Head Jan-08 Personalised footwear: a system for facilitating customer choice<br />
Andre Sales Jan-08 A methodology to enable the specification of personalised footwear for rapid manufacturing<br />
Muhammad Fahad Apr-08 Surface roughness control in jetting 3D parts<br />
Anupa Manewa Apr-08 Cost and value aspects of Adaptable Technologies<br />
Andrea Vinet Apr-08 Enhancing sprint performance by tuning the mechanical properties of sprint spikes<br />
Bilal Ahmad Oct-08 Remote expert assistance<br />
Matthew Chamberlain Oct-08 High Level Reasoning for Intelligent Control of High Performance Production Machines
Name Start Date PhD Title<br />
Hannah Edmonds Oct-08 Interlaminar Bonding in Ultrasonic Consolidation<br />
Oluwatosin Otulana Oct-08<br />
Yingying Seow Oct-08<br />
Lise Sissler Oct-08 Advanced Modelling of Tennis Balls<br />
Lee Staley Oct-08 Joint Ventures in the Automotive Industry<br />
Steve Harre-Young Oct-08<br />
The role of organisational resilience in maintaining long-term performance, after major<br />
organisational changes<br />
Reduction of carbon footprint through optimisation of energy consumption in the<br />
manufacturing industry<br />
The relative value and systemic implications of counter-terrorism measures for protecting<br />
built assets in crowded places<br />
Kirsty Ellis Nov-08 A Unique Human Grip Simulator for Robotic Testing of Sports Equipment<br />
Shariful Shikder Nov-08 Virtual Lighting Design through Modelling Simulation and Visualisation<br />
Ross Friel Dec-08<br />
Investigating Shape Memory Alloy Fibres in Aluminium Matrices: Getting Smart via<br />
Ultrasonic Consolidation<br />
Simona Masurtschak Dec-08 Rapid manufacturing: Smart material structures by ultrasonic consolidation<br />
Philips Ogun Dec-08 Real-Time Intelligent Control of High Performance Production Machines<br />
Mohammad Saleem Dec-08<br />
Intelligent Business Transaction Agents for Cross-Organisation Workflow Definition and<br />
Execution<br />
Najam Anjum Jan-09 Verification Methods for Knowledge Sharing across Design and Manufacture<br />
Adedeji Aremu Jan-09 Topological optimization of additive manufacturing structures<br />
Axel Bindel Jan-09<br />
Design of a branch-metric-unit for a parallel hardware-viterbi-decoder in 90nm-CMOS<br />
technology<br />
Bochuan Liu Jan-09 Process optimisation of selective laser melting<br />
Zulfikar Adamu Jul-09<br />
A Study of the Effects of Ventilation Strategies On the Performance and Occupancy<br />
Wellbeing in Healthcare Buildings<br />
Heinz Lugo Jul-09 A novel product and process monitoring system using the EMBLEM project<br />
Zahid Usman Jan-09 “World Models” for Best Practice Manufacturing Knowledge Sharing<br />
Omid Titidezh Feb-09 Assessing and Improving the Transport Implications for Healthcare Facilities Relocation<br />
Tim Gornet Apr-09 Advanced understanding and control of polymer sintering<br />
Masoumeh Nazarian Apr-09<br />
Erica Ricks Apr-09<br />
Sameedha Mahadkar Aug-09<br />
Improving access and circulation in community hospitals through modelling, simulation,<br />
and visualisation<br />
Establishing the value of standard tools and datasets used in the procurement of new and<br />
refurbishment of existing healthcare environment.<br />
Investigation into Flexibility and Adaptability in Healthcare Facility Strategic Asset<br />
Management, Master Planning, Design and Construction<br />
Mike Vasquez Sep-09 Investigating new materials for laser sintering<br />
Jiaming Bai Dec-09 Materials Development for Additive Manufacturing<br />
Graham Kelly Dec-09 Understanding Change and How it can be Feedback<br />
Sri Krishna Kumar Dec-09 Ontology based product-process modelling to realise a collaborative environment<br />
Himayat Ullah Apr-10 Analysis of properties and performance of advanced/micro structured sports materials<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 31
32<br />
PEOPLE<br />
Academic Institutions<br />
Ball State <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Chalmers <strong>University</strong> of Technology, Sweden<br />
Clemson <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Coventry <strong>University</strong>, UK<br />
Cranfield <strong>University</strong>, UK<br />
Ecole Centrale de Lille, France<br />
FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik, Germany<br />
Georgia Institute of Technology, USA<br />
Glasgow Caledonian <strong>University</strong>, UK<br />
Indiana <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Iowa <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
I-Shou <strong>University</strong>, Taiwan<br />
London South Bank <strong>University</strong>, UK<br />
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),<br />
USA<br />
Max Plank Institiute, Stuttgart, Germany<br />
Ohio State <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Pennstate <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Pennsylvania State <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Purdue <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Queens <strong>University</strong> Belfast, UK<br />
Tampere <strong>University</strong> of Technology, Finland<br />
Technical <strong>University</strong> of Radom, Poland<br />
Technische Universiteit Delft, Netherlands<br />
The <strong>University</strong> of Iowa, USA<br />
The <strong>University</strong> of Sheffield, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> College London, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Birmingham, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> of California, Berkeley, USA<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Cambridge, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Colorado, USA<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Liverpool, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Louisville, USA<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Milan, Italy<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Nottingham, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Southern California, USA<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Ulster, UK<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Washington, USA<br />
Utah State <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Victoria <strong>University</strong>, Australia<br />
VTT, Finland<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong><br />
Executive Board Membership<br />
Prof. Andrew Baldwin<br />
Dr James Bishop<br />
Prof. Dino Bouchlaghem<br />
Prof. Phill Dickens<br />
Prof. Alistair Gibb<br />
Mr Steve Hughes<br />
Prof. Rob Parkin<br />
Prof. Ken Parsons<br />
Mr Mal Rooney<br />
Prof. Steve Rothberg<br />
Prof. Jim Saker<br />
Prof. Tony Thorpe<br />
Prof. David Williams<br />
Post-Doctoral Researchers<br />
Dr Lee Bosher<br />
Dr Toru Eguchi<br />
Dr Volkan Esat<br />
Dr Jiling Feng<br />
Dr Jane Glover<br />
Dr Ruth Goodridge<br />
Dr George Gunendran<br />
Dr Wendy Guthrie<br />
Dr Dave Hitt<br />
Dr Laura Justham<br />
Dr Thanh Le<br />
Dr Sungwoo Lim<br />
Dr Bob Litchfield<br />
Dr Candice Majewski<br />
Dr Masoud Malekzadeh<br />
Dr Alan Meadows<br />
Dr Radmehr Monfared<br />
Dr Sue Morton<br />
Dr Paul Oluikpe<br />
Dr Punnuluk Phaithoonbuathong<br />
Dr Emma Rosamund<br />
Dr Daniel Sage<br />
Dr Daniel Toon<br />
Dr Daniel Vera<br />
Technical Staff<br />
Bob Borrell<br />
Phil Brindley<br />
Mark East<br />
Andrew Hallam<br />
Rod Springthorpe<br />
John Webster<br />
Research Associates<br />
Lauren Anderson<br />
David Brackett<br />
Phil Bust<br />
Amit Chandra<br />
James Colwill<br />
Sharon Cook<br />
Ruth Cufflin<br />
Ross Friel<br />
Almudena Fuster<br />
Paul Hourd<br />
Mike Lee<br />
Stuart McLeod<br />
Alan Mossman<br />
May Win Naing<br />
Nikolay Nikolaev<br />
Elizabeth Ratcliffe<br />
Erin Rayment<br />
Rob Schmidt<br />
Shariful Shikder<br />
Chris Stokes<br />
Helen Thomas<br />
Helen Wagner<br />
Andrea Wheeler<br />
Eileen Wright<br />
Daria Zimina<br />
Visiting Professors<br />
Prof. Godfried Augenbroe<br />
Georgia Institute of Technology, USA<br />
Prof. Paul Chinowsky<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Colorado, USA<br />
Prof. Johan Liu<br />
Chalmers <strong>University</strong> of Technology, Sweden<br />
Prof. Paul Wright<br />
<strong>University</strong> of California, USA<br />
Prof. Glenn Ballard<br />
<strong>University</strong> of California, Berkeley, USA<br />
Dr Kim Blair<br />
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),<br />
USA<br />
Prof. Richard Wysk<br />
Pennsylvania State <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Prof. Barbara Flynn<br />
Indiana <strong>University</strong>, USA<br />
Prof. Dongping Fang<br />
Tsinghua <strong>University</strong>, China<br />
Prof. Glenn Ballard<br />
<strong>University</strong> of California, Berkeley USA
COLLABORATORS<br />
Industrial Collaborators<br />
3D Systems<br />
3T RPD<br />
ABB<br />
AEC<br />
Aero Engine Controls<br />
Adidas<br />
Airbus<br />
ARP Pharmaceuticals<br />
ART FORM<br />
Arup<br />
Association of British Healthcare Industries<br />
Asta Development<br />
Auto Desk<br />
AWE<br />
BAE Systems<br />
Balfour Beatty<br />
BAM Construct UK Ltd<br />
BAM Utiliteitsbouw<br />
BDP<br />
Bentley<br />
Bosch Rexroth Ltd<br />
BPB United Kingdom Ltd<br />
British Swimming<br />
British Taekwondo Association<br />
Building Research Establishment (BRE)<br />
Buildoffsite<br />
Buro Happold Ltd<br />
Burton Snowboards<br />
BWB Consulting<br />
Callaway Golf<br />
CallNorthWest<br />
Charnwood Borough Council<br />
CIRIA<br />
Clarks<br />
COMAU<br />
Community Health Partnerships<br />
Critical Pharmaceuticals<br />
Costain plc<br />
DEGW Plc<br />
Development Securities Plc<br />
DH Estates and Facilities Division<br />
DSM<br />
Dunlop Slazenger International Ltd<br />
8Build<br />
East Midlands Development Agency (emda)<br />
East Midlands Innovation Hub<br />
Econolyst<br />
EMCBE<br />
Emergent Systems<br />
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)<br />
EOS<br />
Epigem<br />
European Investment Bank, ECHAA<br />
Faber Maunsell<br />
First Podiatry<br />
Fondazione Filarete<br />
Ford Motor Company Ltd<br />
Foster and Partners<br />
GE Aviation<br />
GKN Driveline<br />
GlaxoSmithKline<br />
Head<br />
Health Estates, DHSSPS<br />
Health Facilities Scotland<br />
Helm X<br />
Highbury Ltd<br />
Highfleet Inc<br />
Highways Agency<br />
Integra<br />
Intercytex<br />
Intrinsiq Materials Ltd<br />
Invotec Circuits Tamworth Ltd<br />
Jaguar Land Rover<br />
John Laing Ltd<br />
Laing O’Rourke<br />
Laser Optical Engineering Ltd<br />
Lawrence M Barry & Co (LMB)<br />
Lean Construction Institute UK Ltd<br />
Leicestershire County Cricket Club<br />
Let’s Face It<br />
MAAP Architects<br />
Mace<br />
Manubuild<br />
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)<br />
MARU<br />
MCP Tooling Technologies<br />
Medilink East Midlands<br />
MGF Laboratories<br />
MJ Medical<br />
Mouchel Parkman plc<br />
MTT<br />
N G Bailey<br />
National Counter Terrorism Security Office<br />
(NaCTSO)<br />
National Cricket Centre (ECB)<br />
National Institute for Biological Standards<br />
and Control<br />
National Physical Laboratories<br />
New Balance Athletic Shoes Ltd<br />
Next plc<br />
NHS Confederation, Future Healthcare<br />
Network<br />
NHS Innovations East Midlands<br />
NHS Leicester and Rutland PCT<br />
Nike<br />
Nottingham City Council<br />
Nottingham <strong>University</strong> Hospitals<br />
Objet<br />
Ontology Works Inc<br />
Parallel<br />
Pentland Group plc<br />
Pira International<br />
Putzmeister UK<br />
Ransomes Jacobsen<br />
Reebok Fitness<br />
Regentec<br />
Reid Architecture<br />
Renishaw<br />
Ricardo UK Ltd<br />
Rolls-Royce plc<br />
Sandwood Construction Ltd<br />
Schneider Electric Ltd<br />
Shepherd Construction Ltd<br />
Sheppard Robson<br />
Shotcrete plc<br />
Siemens Automation<br />
Siemens PLM<br />
Skanska<br />
SODA (Service-Oriented Device & Delivery<br />
Architectures)<br />
Soletec Systems Limited<br />
Solidica Inc<br />
Speedo<br />
Stockport City Council<br />
Stratasys Inc<br />
Stubbs Rich Ltd<br />
Surface Technology International (STI) Ltd<br />
Tamworth Ltd<br />
Terra Plana / Raddisshme Design House<br />
Terrapin Limited<br />
Tesco<br />
Textile Recycling Association<br />
Thatcham MIRRC<br />
The Automation Partnership<br />
The Boeing Company<br />
The Central Office of Information<br />
The Commission for Architecture and the<br />
Built Environment<br />
The European Recycling Company<br />
The Prince’s Foundation<br />
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and<br />
Traders<br />
ThyssenKrupp Krausse GmbH<br />
TNO Industries<br />
Toyota Motor Europe<br />
UGS<br />
UK Athletics<br />
UK Centre of Excellence in Customised Assembly<br />
(CECA)<br />
UK Sport<br />
Umbro<br />
Vanguard Consulting Ltd<br />
VINCI Construction UK Ltd<br />
Virgin Atlantic<br />
Weber Building Solutions<br />
Welsh Health Estates<br />
Willmott Dixon<br />
World Taekwondo Federation<br />
Xaar<br />
Z Corporation<br />
Zytek Group Ltd<br />
AnnuAl RepoRt <strong>2010</strong> 33
For further information contact:<br />
Dr James Bishop<br />
Research Manager<br />
Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre<br />
Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering<br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>Loughborough</strong>, Leicestershire LE11 3TU<br />
Tel: +44 (0)1509 227546<br />
Fax: +44 (0)1509 227502<br />
Email: J.A.Bishop2@lboro.ac.uk<br />
www.lboro.ac.uk/imcrc<br />
Photography: Andy Weekes, Hollis Photography, <strong>Loughborough</strong> <strong>University</strong> Design and Print Services.<br />
P5 image: N.G.Bailey Ltd.<br />
P10 & 11 images: Yorkon Ltd.<br />
Ford photo on p14: David Lewsey, Photographic Dept, Ford Motor Company Ltd.<br />
Project 210 image on p20: courtesy of ‘Make’.<br />
Other image(s): courtesy of iStock and Shutterstock.