Resource-efficient manufacturing

Reducing waste through flexibility - reconfigurable pilot line

At our specialist technology centre, the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre (LMC) we’re developing a reconfigurable pilot line (RPL) that provides a more flexible alternative to traditional pilot lines, which can be costly and wasteful.

Rather than working from a fixed pilot line for one project or a single component, the RPL will allow one pre-assembled line for several different production types, allowing manufacturers to explore resource efficient manufacturing processes and materials.

As a direct result of the RPL’s flexibility, efficiency can be increased, while waste resulting from pilot line disassembly is also reduced.

Upcycling food waste - Intelligest

The NMIS Design Engineering team is supporting Intelligest to make the food system more sustainable by converting food waste into an upcycled product that can be fed back into the growth and production lifecycle.

Providing guidance on developing and maturing a prototype into a production-ready manufacturable product.

The project’s aim is to identify areas for focus through a comprehensive review and update product requirements, turning them into a product design specification and then into a product ready for market.

A greener alternative to traditional heat treatment - vibratory stress relief

We're exploring an alternative to heat treatments for relieving residual stress, which can be expensive, time-consuming, and energy hungry.

Through collaboration with leading industry experts, the NMIS-AFRC Materials and Residual Stress team have identified vibratory stress relief (VSR) as a greener alternative to heat-treating parts using conventional methods such as in furnaces.

Instead of using heat, a vibration machine is clamped onto the part and the stress within is released by vibration.

The technology is powered from mains electricity, making it a lot less energy intensive than heat treatments, improving the sustainability of the overall manufacturing process.

Reducing waste emissions from sanitary pads by 90% with Floco

In partnership with Ayrshire College and NMIS, Edinburgh-based SME Floco undertook a project to develop and manufacture the thinnest reusable pad on the market that stays in place during use.

Crucially, the Floco product offers a 90% lower carbon footprint than disposable equivalent sanitary pads.

The NMIS Design Engineering team provided guidance and advice on design practices and market acceptance that can be adopted by Floco and Ayrshire College when developing the product, which is now commercially available.

Reducing paper waste through blockchain technology - SICCAR

We partnered with technology company SICCAR to accelerate the use of its blockchain solution, which could eliminate paperwork within the oil and gas sector.

The digital platform, which securely tracks assets in a multi-party supply chain environment is predicted to reduce costs by 5% through eliminating paperwork and administrative expenses, significantly reducing associated emissions.

NMIS approached SICCAR after identifying an opportunity for the technology to be used in the sector, helping build a consortium of partners to assist SICCAR on its route to commercialisation.

Monitoring environmental impact through carbon calculation

Assessing the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life cycle through Life Cycle Analysis is an increasingly hot topic for industry but for many businesses it remains a manual process.

We are building a robust framework that will allow organisations to understand the environmental impact of their operations, allowing for more informed decision making to be made to reach sustainability goals.