Partners
CAV Advanced Technologies (Project Lead Partner)
CAV Advanced Technologies (CAVAT) is part of the CAV Aerospace group with a sister company CAV Ice Protection (www.caviceprotection.com). CAVAT was formed in 2009 to provide a specialised and innovative product to major aircraft manufacturers. CAVAT designs and manufactures its own Laser processing systems for drilling and cutting. CAVAT uses this technology to supply products direct to OEM’s for the aerospace market. CAVAT also manufactures certain components that form parts of the ice protection systems produced by CAV Ice Protection. The work undertaken by CAVAT is a continuation of product development dating back over 5 decades which has resulted in a team with unique understanding of topics including the numerous facets of ice protection, together with a very strong project management capability.
The Welding Institute (Project Partner)
The Welding Institute (TWI) is a world-leading research and technology organisation. From bases in the UK, North America, South East Asia, China, Australia, Central Asia, India and the Middle East, over 800 staff provide technical support in joining and allied technologies including material science, structural integrity, NDT, surfacing, additive manufacture, electronic packaging and cutting. TWI's services include generic research, contract R&D, technical information, consultancy, standards drafting, training and qualification, offering a single, impartial source of service for joining engineering materials. TWI is internationally renowned for its multidisciplinary teams that implement both established and advanced joining technologies into manufacturing - from initial design, materials selection, production and quality assurance, through to service performance, monitoring, repair and life extension.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (Project Partner)
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) has been established to prove innovative manufacturing processes and technologies in an agile environment in partnership with industry, academia and other institutions. The MTC houses some of the most advanced equipment in the world, creating a high quality environment for the development and demonstration of new technologies on an industrial scale. This provides a unique opportunity for manufacturers to develop new and innovative processes and technologies. The areas of MTC's expertise are appropriate to both large and small companies and are applicable across varied industry sectors. The MTC's members include global manufacturing companies from multiple sectors. Research partners include the UNiversity of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, Loughborough University and TWI Ltd. The MTC is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult which is supported by Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board).
Queen's University Belfast (Project Partner)
Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is one of the UK's leading research-intensive universities. As a celebrated institution, world-class academics deliver world-class education and engage in importnat research that has a significant impact around the globe. The University is a global player with over 1,000 researchers and collaborations with over 250 universities across the world. The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering brings together 45 staff including 6 professors. The School provides undergraduate programmes in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and PRoduct Design Engineering. At post-graduate level, a taught masters in Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Aerospace Engineering are available. The School has approximately 900 registered undergraduate and postgraduate students, including 60 phD students. Research within the School is defined across 6 highly interconnected research themes which have been set up to promote and encourage collaboration: Adavanced Manufacturing Processing, Future Aircraft, Composite Materials and Structures, Simulation technologies, Clean Energy and Biomaterials, and Biomechanics. In terms of Reserach Intensity in the most recent Research Excellence Framework, REF 2014, 88% of research output from the School was rated as 'internationaly excellent' or 'world leading'. From the University, key to enabling industrial engagement with various manufacturing sectors is the Northern Ireland Technology Centre (NITC). For almost 50 years, the NITC as one of QUB's industry facing 'technology and innovation' centres have been "bridging the gap" between academia and industry, specialising in developing technology from medium TRL to industrial implementation.
TISICS Ltd (Project Partner)
TISICS Ltd is an SME based in Farnborough. The company was formed in 2005 from a management buyout of the QinetiQ metal matrix composite group. TISICS operates a silicon carbide monofilament production plant which is unique in Europe and one of only a few worldwide. It also operates facilities for the layup and processing of metal matrix composites, based on aluminium and titanium matrix alloys. TISICS technology is world leading, with the company having expansive expertise in the development and manufacture of monofilament and composites. The core team has been involved with the development of this technology since the 1980s. Since 2005, TISICS has continued to explore new markets and applications with its current strategy centred on the high performance, high value components for space. Its strategy also targets expansion of existing capabilities from pilot development to industrial production of high volume aerospace components.
Leonardo MW Ltd (Project Partner)
Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in aerospace, defense and security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo has over 45,600 employees. With its offices and industrial plants, the Company is present in 218 sites worldwide, with a significant industrial presence in four domestic markets (Italy, the UK, the US and Poland) as well as strategic partnerships in the most important high potential markets. Leonardo's structure is organised into seven divisions, although the company also operates through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Leonardo's Helicopter Division performs research, design, development, production, customer support and marketing of the company's extensive range of modern helicopters for commercial, public service, and security and defence applications.
IPG Photonics (Project Partner)
IPG Photonics is the leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance fibre lasers and amplifiers for diverse applications in numerous markets. IPG Photonic's diverse lines of low, medium and high-power lasers and amplifiers are used in materials processing, communications, entertainment, medical, biotechnology, scientific and advanced applications. Their products are displacing traditional technologies in many current applications and enabling new applications for lasers. IPG's highly vertical-integrated development and manufacturing capabilities enable the Company to meet customer requirements, accelerate development, manage costs and improve component yields, while maintaining high performance and quality standards. IPG is a global company with manufacturing facilities across the world. The Company sells its products globally to OEMs, system integrators and end users in a wide range of diverse markets that have in-house engineering capability to integrate IPG's products to their own systems.