Technology Showcase: FSW Tank Manufacture

Tiphaine Louis holds a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from INSA Rennes. She has been the Chief Sales Officer at Stirweld since 2023. Stirweld is an international company headquartered in France with a subsidiary in Detroit. Stirweld provides solutions for Friction Stir Welding (FSW) on existing CNC milling centres and robotic solutions for aluminium and copper applications.

Pablo Coladas Mato has been with GKN's technology function since 2015, where he has been involved in a wide range of projects on metal forming and fabrication, often collaborating closely with prime aircraft manufacturers. He studied Industrial Engineering (Mechanical) in Vigo (Spain) obtained his MSc and PhD in Aerospace in Cranfield University, the latter in collaboration with GKN Aerospace. His work currently focusses on de-risking process interaction in fabrication of advanced aerospace components products.

Calum has a doctorate in Ultrasonics and over 7 years’ experience in Non Destructive Testing (NDT). He joined TWI as a PhD student researching the use of Rayleigh waves in NDT.

After completing his doctorate he became a TWI Project Leader specialising in the application of NDT through the use of robotics. In this role he became the lead contact at TWI for the Rolls-Royce Composite Technology Facility (CTF) and led numerous robotic inspection projects for the Aerospace, Oil & Gas, Nuclear, Renewables and Defence industry sectors.

He is currently the Team Manager for the Software and Robotics group, and has experience of a wide range of inspection techniques, including conventional Ultrasonics, Phased Array, Full Matrix Capture (FMC)-Total Focusing Method (TFM), Virtual Source Aperture (VSA), Plane Wave Imaging (PWI), Eddy Current Testing (ECT), Microwave and Tap Testing.

Elizabeth Hoyos-Pulgarín, PhD, CEng, MWeldI, is a Senior Project Engineer at TWI, specialising in Advanced Manufacturing Processes, particularly Friction Welding and Processing. She supports companies in the adoption of these technologies, acting as both a Consultant and Project Manager throughout product development, prototyping and technology transfer phases. Elizabeth is actively involved in the delivery of Innovate UK-funded projects, alongside TWI Industrial Member projects focusing on Friction Stir Welding and advanced materials processing R&D.

She holds a PhD in Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) accredited by the Engineering Council and a Member of The Welding Institute.