Advanced Manufacturing - Paths to Validation

Rob graduated from Cardiff University in 2005 with an MEng in Mechanical Engineering and joined Leonardo as an Operations Graduate in their Machined Components Centre, Basildon.

From 2009-2012 he was Project Manager for Leonardo’s Electronic Warfare products, primarily on Eurofighter Typhoon. He then moved to the Luton site in 2012 as Industrial Engineering Manager, gaining his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Rob became a Chartered Engineer in 2015 and took on the role of Head of Mechanical Engineering. In 2019 he was made a Fellow of the IMechE, before re-joining the Operations function as Head of Manufacturing Process Capability.

In 2021, Rob joined the Customer Service & Support Solutions team as Head of Operations. During this time he helped to establish Leonardo Electronics UK’s “Future Factory” Digital Transformation Programme. He then returned to Engineering in 2022 as VP Mechanical Engineering.

Rob lives in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands with his wife and two children.

James Redman joined TWI in September 2012 and is a Principal Project Leader in the Thermal Processing Technologies (TPT) section. James has 9 years of working experience as a materials engineer, as well as a MEng (Hons) from The University of Sheffield in this field.

James has been carrying out diffusion bonding projects and research for the last 3 years, and led the research programme for the development and patenting of the surface preparation technology that enables aluminium diffusion bonding. James leads TWI’s diffusion bonding technology offering (of which TWI has over 60 years experience) and has investigated a multitude of different alloys and joining techniques. In addition, James works heavily in the field of vacuum brazing, ranging from the manufacture of complex components, to research into dissimilar materials joining, including ceramics.

Kate Franklin is the Section Manager of the Friction and Forge Processes team. Kate has a degree in Materials Science and a Ph.D. in Structural Metallic Systems for Gas Turbine Applications from the University of Birmingham. Kate’s research was undertaken in collaboration with Rolls-Royce Plc and focused on friction welding of nickel super alloys for aero engine applications.

Kate joined TWI as a Senior Project Leader, in this role she was responsible for leading numerous friction welding projects employing a variety of materials for a range of industrial applications. Kate has been responsible for numerous projects in the aerospace and space industry, from Friction Stir Welding tanks for hydrogen storage to Linear Friction Welding aero and space structural components. As well as working with clients to research and develop friction welding processes for novel applications, she also considers design for manufacture and joint integrity. As the Section Manager Kate oversees Rotary, Linear, and Friction Stir Welding technologies at TWI as well as the revolutionary CoreFlow™ technology.

Dr Melissa Riley has a B.Med.Sc degree in Biomaterials, and PhD in Metallurgy and Materials from the University of Birmingham, in magnetic materials for medical and dental applications. Melissa is a Consultant within TWI’s Surfacing, Corrosion and Interface Engineering team. She has worked at TWI for over 21 years on a wide range of projects for TWI’s Industrial Members relating to the development and application of thermal spray coatings, and other coating technologies.

Her work has included application and performance evaluation of wear and corrosion resistant coatings, ceramic coatings, bearing materials and more novel coatings and applications, including leading TWI’s work on the development of coatings on composites, where she has led development of coatings for lightning strike protection, EM shielding and functional coatings such as metasurfaces for aerospace and defence applications. She has also been instrumental in setting up a number of new facilities to support TWI Members in the upscaling and manufacturing development of surface engineering technologies for industrial applications and assess coating performance.

Melissa is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Dr. Jhonattan Gutjahr is the Team Manager of the Laser Additive Manufacturing Section at TWI Ltd., specializing in Laser Directed Energy Deposition (DED) and Extreme High-Speed Laser Application (EHLA). With 13 years of experience in laser processes, he has extensive expertise in machine design, system integration, processing, and material characterization. He holds both a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, with a focus on Laser-Based DED and Additive Manufacturing. A Chartered Engineer (CEng) and member of The Welding Institute, Dr. Gutjahr has led numerous successful industrial DED projects and has made significant academic contributions through publications in international journals.