Industry Doctorate Programme in Advanced Manufacturing

NMIS-IDP Cohort '1'

Advanced Digital Manufacturing Techniques for Complex Warships

BAE Systems Naval Ships designs and builds complex naval ships for the Royal Navy and for export.

Linking Digital Manufacturing to a Digital Tablet: Simulating Tablet Disintegration Using Discrete Element and Pore-scale Modelling

This project will impact the pharmaceutical industry by realising digital and rapid formulation design and digital manufacturing.

Electroforming of Large Scale Nickel Structures for Leading Edge Energy, Aerospace and Marine Applications

Electroforming is a chemical method of additive manufacturing. In this process clean electricity is used to grow a metallic product on a mandrel – hence this is classified as electrochemical additive manufacturing.

Advanced Manufacturing for Personalised Vascular Grafts

Arterial replacement using synthetic grafts is currently the standard of care for patients with arterial aneurysm.

Digital Manufacturing of Industrial Lasers

This industrial doctorate research challenge is to develop and exploit digitally-enabled manufacturing methods, including laser-based production of micro-optics, laser-welding of glass to metal, and metal additive manufacturing, to design and demonstrate high-power laser sources optimised specifically for 3D additive manufacturing machines.

NMIS-IDP Cohort '2'

Studying Crystallinity Gradients in High Performance Composites Manufactured by Automatic Tape Placement

This PhD project will investigate and develop suitable non-destructive methodologies to measure the crystallinity level and gradient across the thickness of thermoplastic laminates manufactured by ATP.

Development of Advanced Manufacturing Platform for High Integrity Forged Components

One of the main aims of this industry doctorate is to bridge this gap, in good alignment with the AFRC FutureForge programme (£16.5 million project), bringing the largest piece of equipment (2000T hydraulic press) and state of the art forging facility to Scotland.

Investigation and Optimisation of a Design-for-Manufacture Deposition Method for Single Layer Graphene

RD Graphene Ltd (RDG) was incorporated in Scotland in 2016 after winning the prestigious Scottish Higgs Edge prize. The highly experienced and commercially driven innovative business leaders have invented the world’s first patent granted process for the cost-effective generation of graphene single layer in minimized process steps at room temperature, on any surface.

Advanced Manufacturing for Vascular Graft Sealant Technology

Terumo Aortic, based in Inchinnan, Scotland, are a global leader in the design and manufacture of vascular grafts for open surgery, currently producing 120,000 synthetic grafts per year for life-saving arterial replacement to treat patients with aortic disease.

Production of Whisky Using Specialty Malts: An Optimised Process

The proposed project, a collaboration between Heriot-Watt University, Holyrood Distillery, and Crisp Malt, aims to use novel grain roasting technology to optimise the production of specialty malts specifically for the distilling industry and to characterise the production and maturation characteristics of malt whisky produced using specialty malt.

Novel AI Techniques in Dealing with Manufacturing Variations for Automobile Assembly Systems

The project is proposed by the SMeSTech Lab of the University of Strathclyde, working in partnership with PSA (Peugeot), France. The SMeSTech Lab is well positioned to advance research and development of mechatronic solutions for space applications and their terrestrial exploitation.

Investigation of Thermoplastic Composite Forming Processes for Automotive and Industrial Structures Production

This project will perfect the forming of thermoplastic organosheets into complex shapes in compression moulding processes.

Remanufacture of Marine Composite Components based on Improved Service Data and Field Diagnostics

Driving the manufacturing of advanced new grades of polymer composites designed specifically for marine repair applications.

Induced Ductile to Brittle Transition Impact Cut (IDBTIC)

This project is aimed at the development of a new steel cutting technique for in-air and underwater applications based on the innovative concept of induced ductile to brittle transition impact.

NMIS-IDP Cohort '3'

A high yield micro-assembly for wafer scale, hybrid opto-electronic systems manufacturing

This project will focus on the manufacture of large arrays of hybrid optical devices, optimising process yield, characterising statistical device variances, thermal stability and lifetimes.

Complex data analytics in augmented manufacturing environments

The proposed project seeks to investigate improved methods of supporting Augmented Reality (AR) tools so that they can more effectively support manufacturing applications.

Manufacturing packaging and assembly of advanced and highly integrated electronics

Sofant is a technology company incorporated to exploit intellectual property developed at the University of Edinburgh relating to MEMS devices for wireless applications at mm-wave frequencies.

Flow Forming of Materials for Aerostructures

Flow forming is a manufacturing technique whereby a hollow metal blank (pre-from) is mounted onto a rotating mandrel and the material is made to flow axially along the mandrel by the action of one or more rollers.

The Development of Automated Decision Making for Non Destructive Testing of Additive Manufactured Parts

Additive manufacturing (AM) has been receiving significant interest from industry as it offers the attraction of lighter structures, greater part flexibility and increased complexity without the need for multiple manufacturing processes.

Assembling Control Architecture for Integrated Quantum Circuits

This project will address one of the main challenges for scalable quantum technology: how to multiplex large numbers of quantum circuits.

Design, Manufacture and Reliability of Photonic Devices for Satellite Communications

This project aims to tackle the control of both optical mode and RF properties of a high-speed optical modulator with assured reliability over very wide temperature ranges.

Development of Liquid Moulding Process for Aerospace Grade Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

In this project, Spirit AeroSystems and the Advanced Composites Group led by the main applicant at the University of Strathclyde will together develop viable solutions for optimising LCM efficiency and reproducibility of high quality parts.

NMIS-IDP Cohort '4'

Digital Design Strategies for Industrial Crystallisation Development: Considering Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Properties and Crystalliser Hydrodynamics for Process Scale Up

This project between the University of Strathclyde and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd aims to develop a state of the art multiscale modelling framework from the molecule through to the process vessel, and provide a scale-up and technology transfer strategy from the lab to manufacturing.

A Framework for Efficient Design and Manufacture of Multifunctional Composite Materials for Light-Weighting Aerospace Structures

Dr Jones’s research focuses on design of resilient aero-electrical power systems, including integration with composite materials.

Investigation of Innovative Process Control Technologies for Manufacturing of High Precision Optical Film Stacks in Drum-Sputter Coaters

This project brings together the University of the West of Scotland`s Institute of Thin Films, Sensors & Imaging (ITFSI), a centre of excellence in thin film research; Intellemetrics Global Ltd, a Scottish-based designer and manufacturer of optical monitoring solutions for precision optical coatings; and Shanghai Jason Vacuum (SJV), a leading drum-sputter chamber manufacturer.

A Digital Twin for Techno-Economic Modelling and Optimisation of Carbon Bed Systems for Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Abatement in the Pharma Industry

This project will develop computational tools and methodologies to address VOC capture (carbon bed) performance challenges.

Development of Hybrid Compounds for Compression Moulding for Structural Composites

This project aims at increasing the technology readiness level of novel hybrid compression-moulded composites that will allow for shorter production timelines while still retaining outstanding mechanical properties and energy absorption capacity.

Process Developments for Sustainable Electrochemical Machining (SECM)

Research and development work is urgently needed to exploit the ECM process capabilities, especially for the precision manufacturing SME sector to expand and grow their business in advanced sustainable manufacturing.

Towards Lightweight Corrosion-Resistant Impeller for Vertical Chemical Pump Through Novel Composites Additive Manufacturing

In this proposal, we aim to develop a disruptive technology to challenge the conventional way of producing metallic impellers and investigate novel additive manufacturing routes to producing lightweight corrosion-resistant impellers for Weir vertical chemical pumps.

Characterisation of Manufacturing Defects in Composite Pipes

As the volume of advanced composites components for oil and gas applications continues to rise, it is necessary to improve the current understanding on the quality of the materials, processes and design practices that are used to generate those composite pipes and structures.

3D Printing of Micro-Scale Graded Shape Memory Components for In-Vivo Actuated Medical Devices

The overarching challenge is to create a manufacturing process for sub-mm and mm-scale Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) components with functional grading at a scale of 10’s of microns.