Underpinning UK High-Value Manufacturing: Development of a Robotic Re-manufacturing System

摘要

Impact and its measure of outcome is a givenudperformance indicator within academia. Impact metrics and theudassociated understanding play a large part of how academicudresearch is judged and ultimately funded. Natural progression ofudsuccessful scientific research into industry is now an essential tooludfor academia. This paper describes what began over ten years agoudas a concept to automate a bespoke welding system, highlightingudits evolution from the research laboratories of The University ofudSheffield to become a platform technology for aerospace remanufacturinguddeveloped though industry-academiaudcollaboration. The design process, funding mechanisms, researchudand development trials and interaction between roboticudtechnology and experienced welding engineers has made possibleudthe construction of a robotic aerospace turbofan jet engine bladeudre-manufacturing system. This is a joint collaborative researchudand development project carried out by VBC InstrumentudEngineering Limited (UK) and The University of Sheffield (UK)udwho are funded by the UK governments’ innovation agency,udInnovate-UK with the Aerospace Technology Institute, the Scienceudand Facilities Technology Council (STFC) and the Engineeringudand Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).