centre themes
manufacturing solutions

• Exploiting process consolidation through co-creation of products and EI features, e.g. antennae or electrical interconnect, by means of additive manufacturing and assembly of electronics and sensors to embody light-weight, high performance EI into products, processes and operational environments;
• Enabling cradle-to-cradle approaches for remanufacturing, recycling and re-use, by means of intelligent processes interrogating products at their end of life, identifying through-life history and BOM;
• Developing novel manufacturing solutions, e.g. emerging from nature-inspired propositions. Biomimetics and biomorphism lend themselves to disguising EI devices and systems, to adding multifunctionalities or, to enhancing operational capability by novel processing of substrates; Mechanobiological solutions (e.g. stress-indicating bacteria) and at different scales (e.g. self-assembly nanowhiskers) will push the boundaries of EI devices and systems manufacture beyond traditional approaches.
• EI in processes will allow development of Industry 4.0 features, allowing communications between processes and products during production, providing opportunities for closed-loop optimisation of processes to products and vice versa.

PhD Projects with a focus in the area include:

• Adam Kaye co-sponsored by Printed Electronics "Ink-Jet Printing Antennas on 3D Curved Surfaces"
• Athanasis Pouchias co-sponored by TWI "RTM Process Monitoring and Predictive Analysis"
• Simon Blackwell co-sponsored by Far-UK "Manufacturing cellular solids"