Made Smarter Innovation - Research Centre for Connected Factories

Completed

Not Energy Related
Energy Efficiency(Industry)

Basic and strategic applied research

SOCIAL SCIENCES (Business and Management Studies)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Other sociological economical and environmental impact of energy)

Professor SM Ratchev
Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering
University of Nottingham

Standard

EPSRC

30 September 2021

29 March 2025

42 months

£5,091,837

Manufacturing

East Midlands

ISCF – Wave 3 – Manufacturing Made Smarter

Professor SM Ratchev, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham

Professor D McFarlane, Engineering, University of Cambridge
Mr B Morgan, Advanced Manufacturing Res Centre Boeing, University of Sheffield
Dr SWS Pattinson, Engineering, University of Cambridge
Dr S Piano, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham
Professor A Popov, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham
Professor A Tiwari, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University
Dr C Velu, Engineering, University of Cambridge

Project Contact, MakeUK
Project Contact, National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
Project Contact, Cosworth Technology Ltd
Project Contact, BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies Limited
Project Contact, Bosch Rexroth Corporation
Project Contact, Real-Time Innovations
Project Contact, Beckhoff Automation Ltd
Project Contact, Loop Technology Limited
Project Contact, Omron Electronics Ltd
Project Contact, Fanuc Robotics (U K) Ltd
Project Contact, PA Consultancy Services Ltd
Project Contact, BMW Group
Project Contact, Target3D Ltd
Project Contact, Nestle UK Ltd
Project Contact, Airbus UK Ltd
Project Contact, Starrag
Project Contact, The Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd
Project Contact, Siemens plc (UK)
Project Contact, Spirit Aerosystems
Project Contact, GKN Aerospace

The future prosperity of the UK will increasingly depend on building and maintaining a resilient and sustainable manufacturing sector that can respond to changing supply and demand by adapting, repurposing, relocating and reusing available production capabilities. The pandemic which emerged in 2020 has influenced our perspective of future manufacturing operations and, in particular, has brought into focus the capacity challenges of delivering critical products and maintaining production in the face of major disruptions. It also accelerated the emerging trend for more localised, greener and cost-competitive indigenous manufacturing infrastructure with the ability to produce a wider set of complex products faster, better and cheaper. To meet the long-term structural and post-pandemic challenges, we need transformative new methods of building and utilising future factories by embracing complexity, uncertainty and data intensity in a dynamic and rapidly changing world.The "Morphing Factory" Made Smarter Centre aims to deliver a platform for next generation resilient connected manufacturing services. It will allow future manufacturing operations to be delivered by ubiquitous production units that can be easily repurposed, relocated and redeployed in response to changing market demand. This vision will be delivered through 3 closely related strands:(1) An underpinning fundamental research programme to define the principles, methods and models for future morphing factories in terms of architecture, topology, configuration methods, IoT digital awareness, in-process monitoring and AI based autonomous control. (50%).(2) A dynamic challenge-driven applied research programme to address emerging industrial needs and validate and demonstrate the results through a set of application studies including smart machining, production integrated 3D printing and autonomous assembly integrated into a common hyperconnected morphing factory cloud (45%).(3) A programme of networking and engagement activities with other ISCF Made Smarter research and innovation centres, industry and the general public to maximise the impact of the research, encourage accelerated technology uptake and increase the public awareness (5%).

26/11/21