| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/S036717/1 |
| Title: |
Temporal Design for Additive Manufacture: GrowCAD |
| Principal Investigator: |
Thomas-Seale, Dr L |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Birmingham |
| Scheme: |
New Investigator Award |
| Starts: |
01 February 2020 |
Ends: |
31 August 2023 |
Value (£): |
237,591
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Design Engineering |
Manufact. Enterprise Ops& Mgmt |
| Manufacturing Machine & Plant |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Additive manufacture, also known as 3D printing, offers many benefits to industry and medicine such as reductions in weight, material costs and medical implants personalised to the patient. Currently additive manufacture has a relatively low uptake due to a series of technical barriers that are preventing its progression into end-use parts. One of these barriers is design. Design for additive manufacture (DfAM) requires the engineer to think in a different way, one that is the completely opposite to design for traditional manufacturing methods such as milling. Similarly, the majority of software on the market is computer aided design (CAD) which has been developed to support the design of parts using traditional manufacturing methods.
This research approaches this challenge, from a radically different perspective. Growth in animals and plants involves the expansion and multiplication of cells, to incrementally increase the volume of the form. In this way additive manufacture, which bonds material point by point, is analogous to growth. Two novel design techniques will be developed in this project. They are drawn from concepts seen in the development of the fetus and the plant root, and integrated into a software called GrowCAD. The development of GrowCAD will create a software interface which is more intuitive to DfAM. The platform will also incorporate Temporal Design, which will increase creativity in the design of additively manufactured materials. The design approaches will be confirmed against the AM and testing of biomaterials for cardiovascular implants and three industrial applications proposed by the project partners.
This project offers a solution to the challenges that face DfAM, across industrial and medical applications. This research offers benefits to the UK economy by increasing the uptake of additive manufacture, and the inherent upskilling of design engineers through use of the software. In addition, there will be benefits to society through increased creativity in the design of cardiovascular implants, and thus enhanced levels of personalisation in healthcare.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.bham.ac.uk |