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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.

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