Research in this area spans a range of scales and applications focusing on enabling society to maximise the value of digitalisation and automation of manufacturing processes.
Innovative manufacturing addresses three research priorities: sustainable and high-added value processing for both new and current materials and products; smart manufacturing systems and digital manufacturing, addressing emerging aspects related to factory design; data-collection and management, enabling mass customisation and involving customers in the manufacturing value chain.
These research priorities address economic, social and environmental challenges and are enabled by expertise in advanced manufacturing processes, namely laser-based processes, additive manufacturing and multi scale manufacturing; mechatronics/automation and modelling and simulation.
Research activities are supported by three research centres conducting both fundamental and applied research, addressing key challenges from industries as diverse as nuclear, aerospace, automotive, tooling, medical, security and domestic appliances.
