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IfM Services Contact DetailsJo Riches Tel: +44 (0)7854 210837
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IfM News - 2005
MET I Student George Hutchinson receives STEP AwardNovember 2005 George Hutchinson from Rossendale, a Manufacturing Engineering student at The University of Cambridge, was placed at Weston EU Ltd, a manufacturing solutions company based in Colne. George was assigned to examine the frequency checking of turbine blades manufactured for Rolls Royce aircraft engines. He produced work instructions for the process and other related procedures to meet with quality standards. He also undertook an investigation into the possibility of reworking blades that failed frequency tests. His findings will provide a significant reduction in costs and have resulted in the company saving £13K per annum. George's project was supported by Pendle Enterprise Trust. "George represented a true pioneering spirit and his success is testament to his hard work and self motivation in an area in which Weston EU had no prior experience. It is important to emphasise that the difference he has made in his eight weeks with us was not just about the cost savings that he generated. As important was his approach and the dedication with which he went about a task that required the ultimate in dedication and drive." (Karl Patterson, HR Manager of Weston EU Ltd) STEP (Shell Technology Enterprise Programme) website Dr O'Neill elected a Director of the Laser Institute of America2 November 2005 Dr Bill O'Neill of the IfM has been elected a Director of the Laser Institute of America (LIA). The election results were announced at the 24th International Conference on the Applications of Lasers and Electro Optics in Miami, USA on Wednesday 2nd November 2005. The LIA is the world's largest society of laser professionals dedicated to developing and fostering laser technology and applications, serving the industrial, medical, research and government communities. Dr O'Neill said "This is a fantastic opportunity to be a part of this influential organisation that will steer and develop worldwide operations in this field. In the context of UK manufacturing, my aim is to develop a greater range of dissemination and technology transfer activities to enable deeper penetration of enabling electro-optics in the industrial base". Further information on the LIA can be obtained from http://www.laserinstitute.org/. Dr O'Neil is also presenting at the prestigious Mountbatten Memorial Lecture at the IEE, Savoy Place on Wednesday 9th November. The event is chaired by The Duke of Kent and delivered to an invited audience of distinguished guests. The title of Dr O'Neill's lecture is "Working at the Speed of Light: Making and Breaking things with Photonics". Link to streaming video of Mountbatten Lecture Further information can be found at http://www.iee.org/events/mountbatten2005.cfm. Professor Mike Gregory CBE is appointed as UK Executive Director of the Cambridge-MIT Institute1 November 2005 Professor Mike Gregory CBE, will take up his appointment, as the new UK Executive Director of CMI with effect from 1st November 2005. Prof Gregory will combine this with his role as Head of the Institute for Manufacturing. Microsoft Word .doc press release. Click on image for hi-res [242k] version. Faraday Packaging Partnership 'Associate of the Year' award joint winner28 October 2005 David Beeton of the Centre for Technology Management was recently named joint winner of the Faraday Packaging Partnership 'Associate of the Year' award. The award was open to all undergraduates, postgraduates and post doctorates who had worked on one of the Faraday Packaging Partnership's projects over the preceding year and judged on the basis of the innovative contribution made to the science and engineering underpinning modern consumer packaging. David was presented with a cash prize at a gala dinner held at St. William's College in York on 12th October. Professor Mike Gregory to Speak at The Manufacturer LIVE 2005 Event27 September 2005 Professor Mike Gregory is speaking at The Manufacturer Live Event 2005 as part of the DTI Manufacturing Forum. The workshop will take place in the Leadership and Strategy Zone at the event on Wednesday 28th September from 11.15am. The Manufacturing Forum was established in December 2004, bringing together key figures from Government, Academia, Industry, Trade Unions, Regional Development Agencies and other stakeholders to implement and develop the Government's Manufacturing Strategy. The forum focus its research on three main issues: skills, public procurement and image of manufacturing. The Manufacturer LIVE is an annual two-day event which aims to spread manufacturing best practice through seminars, lectures, industry forums and debates taking place in seven themed zones. The Manufacturer LIVE 2005 will take place between 28th - 29th September at The International Centre, Telford, UK
IfM announces launch of Global Manufacturing Networks Forum20 September 2005 The IfM announced it will be launching the Global Manufacturing Networks Forum in January 2006. This is an industry-driven forum bringing together key industrialists to identify leading practice in the development of global manufacturing networks. Deciding which products to make in which types of plants in which countries is increasingly important to the success of international manufacturing organizations. Establishing the right manufacturing network structure and coordination system is directly linked to achieving strategic objectives in areas such as cost, service, agility, innovation and risk. The IfM's Centre for International Manufacturing has led academic research in this field for over 11 years. Recent application of research findings has identified the opportunity for leading companies to share from each other's experiences and to benchmark their business processes. The IfM is setting up such a forum to promote cross-fertilisation and to enable partner companies to identify gaps in processes and performance, and action plans for implementing an enhanced approach. The forum will consist of up to 12 participating companies and will run for 15 months. Companies joining the initiative will gain a range of benefits including peer exchange, benchmarking, research updates and access to innovative tools. The deadline for applications is 18th November 2005. For further information about the forum, please contact Paul Christodoulou at the IfM on +44 (0)1223 766141 or email pac46@eng.cam.ac.uk
Ex-MET student design wins British Standards Institution 2005 Environmental Design Award7 September 2005 Peter Brewin, recently an MET student here at the IfM and now a design student at the UK's Royal College of Art has designed a shower which recycles water and promises to save householders money and energy.
Cambridge Auto ID Labs launches Aerospace ID Technologies Research Programme with blue-chip aerospace companies and solutions providers5 September 2005 Cambridge Auto ID Labs today announced the formation of a global partnership with leading blue chip aerospace organisations, key standards bodies, solution providers and universities to address barriers to wide scale adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and other ID technologies in the aerospace sector. Press release document [MS Word, 48k ] Brochure about Aerospace ID Technologies Programme [676k] IfM Research Student wins Departmental photographic competition6 May 2005 This photograph, taken by Kathryn Jackson, is the winning entry for the Engineering Department's photography competition. It is a plan view of a cone shape formed by incremental sheet forming (ISF). The cone has a diameter of 150mm and depth of 75mm and was formed on a 360 x 360 mm sheet of aluminium. It was produced by a mobile indenter with a hemispherical tip which followed contours of the cone incrementing vertically downwards by 4mm at the end of each revolution, which produced the seam that can be seen at the 6 o'clock position. The yellow and red light was produced by coloured plastic shades on lamps at either side of the sheet, which highlights the wavy surface that is characteristic of incremental sheet forming. The cone was produced as part of a qualitative study into the effect of vertical pitch on the surface waviness. Incremental sheet forming can be used to form more complicated asymmetrical geometries with a smoother surface finish by reducing the vertical pitch between contours: a pitch of 0.2mm gives a surface which has no visible 'waviness'. The process is an attractive alternative to pressing for small production sizes because no specialised tooling is required. In addition, the mechanics of the deformation is such that failure is suppressed and much higher strains can be achieved in ISF than conventional metal forming processes. There are also ecological benefits: the project requires less energy and materials in comparison to pressing because of smaller tool forces and no need for specialised tooling. The process is therefore being developed as a sustainable manufacturing technology and has generated significant industrial interest since the project started in October 2004. The project is based on a machine commissioned in October 2004 at the Institute for Manufacturing (Manufacturing and Management Division). The aim of Kathryn's research is to improve the process capabilities by developing effective ways to control the deformation and improve geometric accuracy, as well as building an understanding of the mechanics of the deformation. Kathryn's projects will include measurement and prediction of tool forces in ISF, development of real-time process control using force and position feedback to improve geometric accuracy and experimentation with modifications to the process set-up to localise the deformation. Click here for further information about the project
Lord Broers' Reith Lecture broadcast4 April 2005 Lord Broers gave the second of the BBC's prestigious Reith lectures
at the Department of Engineering last month. The lecture chaired by Sue
Lawley will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 13 April at 8.00pm
then repeated on Saturday 16 April at 10.15pm.
You can listen again or read a full transcript on the BBC website after each broadcast. Lord Broers chose the Department as a venue, because it represents home turf. He studied and conducted his first research in the Department of Engineering. He later returned to be the Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department (1984-96) and then the Head of Department (1993-96), before becoming the University's Vice Chancellor (1996-2003). In the five lectures, entitled 'The Triumph of Technology', he sets out his belief that technology can and should hold the key to the future. In the Cambridge lecture, Lord Broers showed how collaboration lies at the centre of technological innovation. He explained that the era has passed when individuals could achieve significant advances while working in isolation. Technology research needs team work to engage the full spectrum of expertise and if breakthroughs are to be achieved then very often these teams must be international. Lord Broers says: "I have chosen technology as the subject of my
Reith Lectures because it is exciting and fast moving and because it shapes
our lives. Lord Broers was succeeded by Professor David Newland, and then by Professor Keith Glover as Head of the Department of Engineering. Professor Glover published the Department's new strategy last year, which features three major themes: engineering for life sciences; cognitive systems engineering; and sustainable development. Implementation of this strategy is well underway. It includes the creation of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE), which embodies the Electrical Engineering Division. Professor Bill Milne, the Director of CAPE, has worked with his colleagues to secure substantial funding from the Government for the new laboratory on the West Cambridge Site, strategic partners from industry, and an exciting portfolio of research projects. CAPE is already up and running. It will move into its new building at the beginning of 2006. Department of Engineering strategy
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