Precision Engineering Innovation Centre
The University of Huddersfield and TWI formed the Precision Engineering Innovation Centre in December 2024, based on a shared ambition to foster innovation and facilitate knowledge transfer in the field of precision engineering.
The University of Huddersfield has a long standing reputation for producing high quality, international research output with excellent impact, recognising the importance of looking beyond academia to address global challenges and make a real difference.
Precision engineering is a field of engineering that involves the design, development and manufacture of products with high accuracy and repeatability, and used in a wide range of industries such as aerospace, automotive, medical devices and power generation. The Precision Engineering Innovation Centre, therefore, aims to address industrial challenges in the manufacturing sector through cutting edge research and development (R&D) in the key focus areas of automation, metrology, manufacturing equipment, processes and productivity, reverse engineering and non-destructive testing (NDT).
Objectives
- Generate research and technology capability, and develop technical-future research strategy, in the field of precision engineering
- Undertake joint research programmes and secure a portfolio of research funding from external sponsors
- Create a collaborative environment between higher education institution and research and technology organisation with substantial research, impact and adoption by industry (HEI-RTO-Industry)
- Develop the next generation of precision engineering researchers
Core areas
- Manufacturing processes and machinery – design, automation, control, performance assessment, error compensation, process modelling (adaptive finite element analysis), quality improvement
- Dimensional metrology – calibration and use of measuring equipment to quantify physical size and shape of objects
- Surface metrology –measurement and analysis of surface topography at different lengths and spatial frequencies
- Reverse engineering of complex shapes
- Control software design
- Digital technologies including digital twin, machine learning, virtual and augmented reality
- Non-destructive testing (NDT)