SEKE Full Brochure - University of Portsmouth
Transcript of SEKE Full Brochure - University of Portsmouth
south east knowledge exchange
...for product development
Each of the partners in the South East Knowledge
Exchange (SEKE) brings specific centre-of-
excellence skills to the programme and together
they form a virtual centre for concept-to-rapid
manufacture, best practice, advice and support.
The partners are:
University of PortsmouthUniversity of BrightonBuckinghamshire Chilterns University College
Partners’ Capabilities
Each partner provides the Exchange with a
complementary range of skills, specialisms,
experience and organisational strengths:
University of Portsmouth Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry
l Entrepreneurship and Start-Ups
l Design and Performance of Materials
including Composites
l Creative Technologies and Electronics
l Product Prototyping and Workshops
l Manufacturing Processes and Strategy
University of Brighton Centre for Design Technology
l Art and Creative Design
l Creative Problem Solving
l Industrial and Product Design
l Medical Products Innovation
l Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College Centre for Rapid Design and Manufacture
l Computer Aided Design
l Computer Aided Analysis
l Rapid Prototyping
l Rapid Tooling
l Initial Batch Production
Through virtual systems and campus-based
facilities, the partners offer fascinating visits,
events and taster sessions, as well as assistance
with design and prototyping projects, advice on
engineering and performance analysis, and services
in rapid processes for the realisation of products.
They are also experts in working with clients to
prepare proposals to secure project funding,
particularly in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
(KTPs). These are projects, part-funded by the
Government, to help businesses get the benefit of
top quality expertise by matching their needs with
the knowledge available in universities, colleges and
research institutions.SEKE is a regional Centre for Knowledge
Exchange within the HEFCE* national
programme of 22 centres that range across
many skills and market sectors. It has been
established to work with schools, colleges,
entrepreneurs, small and large companies and
organisations to enhance the profile of design
and manufacturing in the sustainable economic
development of the SE region.
(*Higher Education Funding Council for England )
From Concept to Rapid Manufacture...the South East Knowledge Exchange for Product Development aims to enhance the competitiveness of our design and innovation industries.
As large amounts of high volume, low added-value manufacturing are relocated from the
UK to low-cost economies around the world, it is important that we create new, high value-
added markets in order to sustain our economic prosperity into the future.
In the South East we cannot hope to compete on the same terms as countries whose
cost basis is less than a hundredth of ours. However, one of the ways we can gain global
competitive advantage is by nurturing our thriving design and innovation industries.
Typically these are characterised by successful companies manufacturing in relatively low
volumes and with high rates of new product development.
The purpose of the South East Knowledge Exchange (SEKE) for Product Development is
to provide information and resources to entrepreneurs and organisations working in such
industries to enable them to exploit their ideas more effectively, bring them to market more
rapidly and maintain product “churn” rates. As well as promoting the application of new
concepts and technologies in the workplace, SEKE is also targeting schools and further
education establishments in order to encourage young people to seek careers in the
engineering and manufacturing sectors.
“New workplace concepts and technologies enhance skills”
Nick Bennett
SEKE project manager
Professor Nick Bennett is
Director, Regional Centre
for Manufacturing Industry
(RCMI) at the University of
Portsmouth.
“The future prosperity of
the South East region is
increasingly dependent on
the effective application
of creativity, innovation
and good practice in new
product and process
developments, in the
exploitation of state of the
art technologies and in
the development of skills
in key sectors. SEKE aims to lead in this endeavour
with the promotion of ethical, sustainable and
exciting technological innovation.
“Our theme ‘From Concept to Rapid Manufacture’
encapsulates the essence of SEKE expertise and
resources. It can be difficult for individuals and
organisations to identify the best sources of advice
and services for novel design and manufacturing
studies. What we aim to do is provide fast feedback
on enquiries with suggestions for possible routes
forward. Each partner specialises in different, but
linked, aspects of the theme, hence inputs from one
or more partners can produce a robust solution.
“It is also vital that young people are well
informed and enthusiastic about high-value
employment opportunities. As part of SEKE’s
programme, therefore, we are keen to assist
secondary and further education students and
staff in understanding new technologies and their
applications, whether through open days, taster
visits, prototyping support for project work or
demonstrations.”
direct contact: [email protected]
“Our design solutions are based on sound engineering principles”
David White
David White is Business Development Manager,
Centre for Design Technology at the University
of Brighton.
“Innovation and creativity
have already become the
means of business survival
for many industrial sectors.
Other sectors will be put under
increasing pressure as the
global market factors continue
to grow.
“The South East Knowledge
Exchange is intended to give
businesses the tools they
require to maintain and grow their market by using
best practice techniques and services.
“The University of Brighton has long been
recognised as a leader in the area of innovation and
creativity. Our unique mix of traditional engineering
and the creative arts has led to a natural growth of
creativity in design engineering as well as styling.
“We work with companies to design new products
or improve existing products, and demonstrate best
practice to help them grow.
“We have developed a number of tools and
methodologies that help us look at a range of design
solutions based on customer needs. This cuts
across the age-old questions: ‘what is good design?’
or ‘what is creative compared to innovative?’ It could
be that the answer lies in the market or the customer
needs; alternatively it could be an idea that is so
good it will create its own market.
“The design solutions we develop at Brighton cover
all these issues. Because they are based on sound
engineering foundations, they can easily be taken
into the rapid prototyping, tooling and manufacturing
phases in which our partners are extremely
proficient.”
“We can compress the product development timetable”
Graham Bennett
Graham Bennett is Head of Department, Centre
for Rapid Design and Manufacture (CRDM), at the
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College.
“Bringing a new product to market involves a
sequence of events and processes, from the original
idea, its design, marketing and pre-production
prototyping right through to manufacturing – all of
which takes time. SEKE can help to compress this
timetable, saving money and helping our clients get
to market first and beat the competition.
“What’s unique about SEKE is the breadth of
resources and expertise available. No-one else has
the range that this grouping provides.
“When clients approach any of the three
organisations, we work out together how practical
their ideas are, what their needs may be and what
we recommend as being the right combination of
skills and facilities available across the three centres
to turn their ideas into manufactured items.
“Here at the CRDM for example, we have the biggest
range of rapid prototyping machinery under one
roof in the UK. About half of the work we carry out
here for business clients is prototyping, whether it is
products, parts or tools. This is often done because
an actual example of the product is needed for
raising funds. We also have a great deal of expertise
in manufacturing techniques and methods.
“Another aspect of our operation here is that the
environment is very close to a real
industrial place of work, so we can give
students and schoolchildren a taste of
what it’s like to work in product design
and engineering. During school visits,
the children show amazing versatility,
using our CAD tools and rapid
prototyping equipment to produce
remarkably sophisticated end results.”
case study
(Product Innovation)
DANLITE Ltd
Daniel Beard, a young engineer working in
London, is acutely aware of the hazards of
riding bicycles in congested traffic. His interest
in solving technical problems, especially those
with an environmental bias, led him to invent an
innovative device that would provide an extra
safety factor – the Danlite.
The idea is disarmingly simple – Danlite is a
battery powered light extension, which extends
from the handlebars and gives forward and rear
beams, encouraging passing motorists to give
cyclists a wide birth.
Having come up with the concept, he decided
to review some of his ideas with the Wessex
Innovation Service and the University of
Portsmouth.
Wessex Innovation Service responded by setting
up a virtual company, involving three final year
students based in the University of Portsmouth’s
Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry
(RCMI). They agreed to create computer-
aided visuals and build several prototypes
of the working Danlite, including aesthetic
form analysis, electronics and assembly
methodologies.
Danlite Ltd was then able to patent the idea
and secure almost £50,000 of funding for
development work and tooling. Danlite is now in
full production and even won a mention on the
weblog of that well-known London cyclist Boris
Johnson who called it “a magical device”.
As Daniel explained:
“We managed to overcome some major challenges in sourcing raw materials from overseas, ironed out some design difficulties and learnt how to sweat blood!”
The University of Portsmouth
The Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry
(RCMI) at the University of Portsmouth is a
designated Centre of Excellence that draws on
engineering design, computing, rapid prototyping,
workshop and testing facilities. A research
environment in materials engineering, mathematics,
computing applications and manufacturing systems
engineering ensures a world-class pool of expertise
relevant to SEKE aims.
As well as delivering services in design and
manufacturing innovation, the RCMI collaborates
with schools, further education colleges, training
providers, entrepreneurs and industry to support
creativity, innovation and the application of high-
technology design and prototyping facilities.
It has completed more than 400 proof-of-concept
and rapid prototyping studies and its facilities
are available for school and college workshop
visits, including activities with regional Education
Business Partnerships (EBP), and for the teaching
of undergraduate and postgraduate students, thus
linking leading-edge activities into the learning and
skills agenda.
Work-based learning and the Masters degree
programmes attract people from around the world.
The University of Brighton
The University of Brighton has a strong regional
profile in creativity and design linked to product
and industrial studies. Within the Centre for Design
Technology, the University’s new Creativity Centre
harnesses the skills of students and staff to deliver
innovative designs for individuals and across
industry.
As a Centre of Excellence for creativity in teaching
and learning, it is one of a select band of similar
facilities in England. The Centre draws on
excellence in engineering design from within the
School of Engineering combined with excellence in
craft based design from the School of Architecture
and Design.
The University has a track record of delivering
innovative solutions that have resulted in business
success. Its reputation extends across a network of
design-based companies that use the resource and
provide input into projects. It is also recognised for
its interface with traditional engineering companies
and manufacturers.
The Collaborative Training Centre is experienced in
formulating and managing projects with industry and
has achieved award-winning results in the region.
Over the last ten years it has supported more than
100 companies and achieved a total knowledge
transfer programme value of more than £8million.
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College
is home to the Centre for Rapid Design and
Manufacture (CRDM). This Centre, which offers
prototyping facilities and associated advisory
services amongst the most advanced in Europe, was
the 2005 host of the National Conference on Rapid
Design, Prototyping and Manufacturing.
The Centre’s track record includes leadership of
a “Copernicus” funded programme to investigate
methods of producing tooling using electroforming,
and technical leadership in another EU funded
programme, FASTOOL, to design and develop a
completely automated tool room. The Centre is
also undertaking a project with the Manufacturing
Engineering School of Cambridge University to
examine methods of improving sintered tooling.
As well as short courses, taster days and schools
events, CRDM is able to provide rapid product
development services to schools, colleges,
entrepreneurs and companies through SEKE
learning and skills or commercial routes.
Complementary Skills Working in Partnership
The three SEKE Partners are complementary
in the capabilities that they bring to the SEKE
collaboration.
“One Stop Shop” Meets Strategic Need for Innovative Industries
With creativity and innovation identified as the key
drivers in developing the markets and products of
the future, the Higher Education Funding Council
for England, has earmarked funding for a national
network of Knowledge Exchange Centres that will
contribute to knowledge and wealth creation across
the community.
The initiative for the establishment of the SEKE for
Product Development grew out of the joint and
separate experience of the three Partners in dealing
with their business clients’ needs. As a result, it has
been organised in such a way as to deliver a more
customer-focused and comprehensive “one-stop
shop” service, particularly to the high growth start-
ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs who characterise the
design and innovation sector.
It has been influenced by national and regional
reports by agencies such as the DTI’s Office of
Science and Innovation (OSI) and the South East
England Development Agency (SEEDA) which
provide a clear strategic view for achieving success
in sustainable prosperity for Britain and the South
East region.
The DTI strategy document: ‘Prosperity for All’ (Sept
2003) states that faster change needs “…highly
skilled employees, high calibre managers, forward
looking unions and knowledgeable consumers
working together to produce ever smarter goods and
services” and that the DTI’s job is to “… help create
the conditions for sustainable success – promoting
competition and enterprise; setting standards
for workplaces and products; fostering science,
technology and innovation; and raising skills.”
The 2003 Lambert Review of Business-University
Collaboration also described the need for
Universities to play “…a much more active role in
the regional and national economy”. It stated that
“Universities will have to get better at identifying
their areas of competitive strength in research” and
that “Business will have to learn how to exploit the
innovative ideas that are being developed …”
The South East Knowledge Exchange for Product
Development embraces these concerns and is
designed to make a significant impact on regional
competitiveness.
Inclusiveness, learning and skills and the ability
to collaborate to achieve greater capabilities are
central to SEEDA’s regional economic strategy.
SEKE plays a major role in this agenda by helping
to generate enthusiasm and understanding among
young people and by creating value-added activities
in technology businesses.
case study
(Product Innovation)
Moss Traffic Ease Ltd
Thomas Moss and Patrick Simmons are two
Portsmouth based entrepreneurs with a classic
bright idea. They wanted to develop a new
concept in the way portable traffic lights were
designed and deployed.
Their vision was to develop a product that
would help ease congestion around temporary
obstacles, such as minor road works or incidents
that are an everyday occurrence on British and
European Roads. Of great importance was the
need to provide a portable traffic light system
that could be easily transported in most vehicles,
be deployed by a single person in an instant and
be cost effective, so as to enable all Authorities
and Contractors to maintain an inventory of
portable traffic lights that could be readily
available when needed.
Working with the inventors and the Highways
Authority in a SMART Feasibility Study, the
University of Portsmouth’s Regional Centre
for Manufacturing Industry (RCMI) turned the
concept into reality through the development of
a prototype using advanced computer aided
design and rapid prototyping systems.
This prototype went on to undergo trials with a
number of emergency services throughout the
UK. During this time RCMI refined the concept
to meet pan-European legislative compliance
thereby opening up the European market to
Moss Traffic Ease Ltd.
The first Moss Traffic Ease prototypes went on
display at the UK Police Emergency Equipment
Exhibition Hendon and at the Innovations
Exhibition Earls Court. Licence arrangements
in EC for volume manufacture have been
progressed.
case study
(Research, Development
& Testing)
Ably Shelters Ltd
Ably Shelters is a respected and experienced
company specialising in the design, hire and
sale of a unique range of covering systems and
relocatable buildings for industrial, commercial
and military use.
The objectives of the SEKE project were to
provide manufacturing strategy, analyse product
quality attributes, and carry out product integrity
trials and certification.
The work was successfully carried out in parallel
with varying specification requirements to
suppliers in order to achieve a final, optimised
product design. The result was enhanced
product performance and substantially increased
sales volume and market share.
SEKE involvement and liaison continued into
new areas of composites and the provision of
education and training for company employees
in the form of work-based learning and short
courses. Ably Shelters has now progressed to
new product sales and a NATO design study
promises large additional business potential.
How You Can Benefit From SEKE
The case studies included in this brochure give
some idea of the range of benefits that individuals
and organisations can gain by becoming involved
with SEKE. These include valuable opportunities for
updating staff, student placements for businesses,
guidance and resources for entrepreneurs and the
creation of funded projects for strategic product
and organisational development, as well as the
stimulation of learning and teaching support for
schools and colleges.
The SEKE team has substantial experience in
identifying appropriate solutions in the “concept-to-
rapid-manufacture” value chain. They are happy to
discuss the needs and aims of each enquirer and to
recommend the best way in which SEKE research
and knowledge transfer can help.
Join the Club to Share Ideas
One of the ways entrepreneurs and small companies
can benefit from SEKE is by becoming part of a
network of people using the technology at each
of the sites. Networking and cluster creation
can be highly beneficial, especially for smaller
organisations, on the basis that the sum of a
grouping can often be greater than its constituent
parts.
Treated as “clubs” these groupings cover a
number of technology themes including design for
manufacture, reverse engineering and rapid tooling.
They are a good opportunity for users to meet their
peers at events, discuss applications and problem
solving, review new technologies and seek advice
on an informal basis from SEKE partners.
Worldwide Links Enable Best Practice Benchmarking
Design and manufacturing innovation is a constantly
evolving area. One of the ways that the SEKE team
is able to “level the playing field” for companies with
limited research and development resources of their
own is to keep them updated with the latest solutions
available.
Through links with academic and industrial
conferences and dissemination events, working
links with other centres of excellence around the
world and through professional and trade societies
and journals, SEKE experts are able to benchmark
best practices in all the disciplines relevant to users’
needs.
This valuable information also feeds into the
knowledge transfer work that SEKE conducts
with clients, enabling the team to apply global
research and scientific advances to the Region’s
manufacturing challenges. This capability is
a unique benefit of such university/business
collaborations.
Reflecting this research-led approach, training
activities available at partner campuses are
designed to create continuous improvement and
to exploit change. They also cover the updating
and certification training of staff in such areas as
rapid prototyping operations, tooling design, CNC
programming and problem solving.
(Product Concept &
Prototyping)
Odyssey Training Ltd
Odyssey Training Ltd is a company specialising
in management training and consultancy
to the maritime sector worldwide. It helps
ship operators, port operators, passenger
transport organizations, and many other related
companies, to develop their personnel and
improve their performance.
When the company wanted advice on its
innovation needs in order to diversify into product
development and licensing, it was introduced
to SEKE by Business Link Wessex. Knowledge
transfer in product development processes was
successfully achieved by working closely with
Odyssey over several months.
This work has resulted in a partnership approach
to Business Link Wessex for guidance on
innovation funding, which in turn has resulted
in a SMART (Pocket) award strategy being
agreed, in liaison with the Defence Diversification
Agency (DDA) for technology transfer for patent
content. It has also led to dialogue with marine
technoloy collaborators about potential joint
product development and support for volume
manufacture.
case study
Stewart Plastics
Stewart Plastics has been a leading
manufacturer of plastic domestic and
catering food storage and food preparation
products since 1945. In addition to its Home
and Professional Catering Division, Stewart
Plastics also has a Gardening Division (the UK’s
leading supplier of a wide range of injection and
rotationally moulded plant containers supplying
the garden centre and DIY market place)
and also has a long established Promotional
Packaging Division.
Stewart Plastics first engaged with the University
of Brighton’s Knowledge Exchange programme
when it was looking for assistance to develop
new variations for its storage products. The brief
for the design group, based at the University of
Brighton, was to develop new products without
the need for extensive re-tooling.
The end result was that eleven creative solutions
were selected by Stewart Plastics to progress
further, and the relationship with the University
has moved to a more formal basis and a much
closer working partnership.
Lee Mowle, Managing Director, said,
“We were looking to work with a dynamic team with fresh ideas and open minds to develop a totally new range of food storage products - to literally think outside the box. So impressed were we with the work done by the designers on our original brief that we are now working closely with the University’s design team on a whole range of ideas across not only our food storage and preparation offering but our gardening and packaging ranges as well.”
case study
Students Get Hands-on Learning Experience:
SEKE offers educational visits to each partner site
by prior arrangement. These visits, which are very
popular with students and teachers, are designed to
be relevant to syllabuses being studied at secondary
and further education levels. They may for example
include short workshops on concept development
and creative sketching, computer aided design,
rapid prototyping and production processes.
One of the most exciting aspects of such visits is the
opportunity for students to see their ideas realised
in the form of models created on rapid prototyping
machines or in design studios and workshops.
SEKE has developed several case studies relevant
to GCSE, A Level and FE syllabuses that can add
that extra dimension to teaching and learning and
have been shown to be effective in “teasing out”
pupil participation.
Getting The Most Out Of SEKE...
SEKE offers many different ways by which
entrepreneurs, companies and students can work
collaboratively to generate benefits not just for the
participants themselves but for the wider regional
community. These include student projects and
work placements, postgraduate studies, seminars
and workshops, collaborative research, work-
based learning, commercial testing and prototyping
services, consultancy and a range of projects
that can be developed and submitted to funding
agencies.
What Costs And Charges Are Involved?
As a general rule, educational experiences for
student visitors are undertaken at no cost. SEKE will
however wish to recoup the direct costs involved
in university student studies, they will advise on
adequate support levels for student placements
and will charge market rates for professional
development education and commercial services.
In the case of funded project proposals the partners
will normally assist in bid development free of
charge on the basis that projected income will result
from the work. Intellectual property, licensing and
equity arrangements can apply in other joint venture
and collaborative work.
Please Get In Touch For More Information
If you are interested in finding out how you can
take advantage of this unique programme, please
contact the team through the central project office
based at the University of Portsmouth. The SEKE
team will respond quickly to all enquiries and, in the
case of companies, will visit by prior arrangement if
required.
Contact Details
South East Knowledge Exchange
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Technology, Portland Building
Portland Street, Portsmouth PO1 3AH
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 2600
Fax: +44 (0)23 9284 2584
Email: [email protected]
www.port.ac.uk/seke
General: www.nationalcke.co.uk
(Lean Manufacturing)
Rimor Precision Engineering Ltd
Rimor Ltd has an excellent reputation for high
precision, low volume, high value manufacture,
with particular emphasis on modular build. It
serves customers in the oil and gas, autosport,
electronics, aerospace, clean room and high
precision industry sectors.
To help meet the exacting demands of its
customers, Rimor worked with University
of Portsmouth’s RCMI (Regional Centre for
Manufacturing Industry) on a programme to
implement Lean manufacturing processes
throughout the company. Using Kaizen seminars
– based on the involvement of everyone, from
management to shopfloor, in a cycle of continuous
evaluation and improvement - the focus of the
programme was to inform staff on current Lean
concepts and thinking and to create, in each
seminar, a process of feedback to form the
basis of identifying perceived strengths and
weaknesses in internal processes.
The programme included management
seminars illustrating the expectations of leading
multinationals in Lean processes and staff
seminars involving prizes for suggestions on how
to achieve improvements.
The resulting performance enhancements have
already led to successful Lean benchmarking
audits for Rimor by major client companies and
valuable new orders.
A DTI-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership
(KTP) is extending these achievements to all
factory and office process value chains.
case study case study
Hotchkiss Ltd
Hotchkiss Limited is the leading
contractor for ductwork and associated
technologies in the United Kingdom.
When Giles Wooley, Hotchkiss Group MD,
attended a local University of Brighton event,
“Engineer Your Business”, the presentation on
the Knowledge Exchange caught his attention
as a possible solution to a production problem
within one of his subsidiary companies. In a
short timeframe, prototypes were produced in a
completely new way and are now being tested in
a production environment.
Giles commented
“We needed a fast and cost effective way to produce prototypes. The particular items concerned are difficult to produce by conventional machining techniques. The fast prototyping really was fast, the quality was good and the cost was competitive. We will certainly be using the service again in the future.”
case study
(Rapid Prototyping Services)
Spinlock Ltd
Spinlock Ltd, the Cowes-based
designers and manufacturer of
nautical rope-holding products, has successfully
exploited three dimensional design and rapid
product development techniques to create a high-
performance product range that has moved the
company to a market leader position in their sector.
The University of Portsmouth’s Regional Centre for
Manufacturing Industry assisted the design team
at Spinlock Ltd to develop a clear competitive
Engineering Education Scheme (EES) held at
the University of Brighton in December 2005”,
said Bronagh. “We had ten schools and
engineers from their sponsoring companies
participating, and the event was so
successful that the Regional Director for EES
has requested that we accommodate twenty
schools next year. It would have been difficult to
run the event were it not for the direct involvement
of the Knowledge Exchange team.
“The planned outreach to schools in Sussex during the coming year is exciting as it will provide pupils with a real experience in modern product design.”
(Rapid prototyping
services)
HMD / Kontro Seal-less Pumps (part of Sundyne Corporation)
When HMD / Kontro, the leading manufacturer of
seal-less pumps took over production of a pump
previously made in Italy, they only had a basic
drawing for one complicated component and
production tooling details had been lost in the
transfer of the business to the UK.
During a “knowledge exchange” visit to
Buckinghamshire Chiltern University College
members of HMD’s design team realised that they
could solve the problem of the missing information
by using rapid prototyping technology.
Simon Purbrook, senior product development
engineer at HMD/Kontro said, “Following the visit
arranged by the University of Brighton, with whom
we had been working for several years, I used this
technology to solve our short-term problem, but
subsequently we have made it an integral part of
our production process and have produced savings
of over £24,000 on the production of only 30 items.”
case study
case study
(Rapid Product Development)
CTI International Ltd
CTI International is a local micro-
enterprise, specialising in automotive multi-functional
antennae. The company requested the University
of Portsmouth’s Regional Centre for Manufacturing
Industry to work on new antennae developments.
They engaged a postgraduate student project team
working in HEROBC, (Higher Education Reach-Out
to Business and the Community) to test the concept
to ensure that it was reliable and fit for purpose. CTI
supplied the students with the relevant test standards
and a thorough programme of testing and evaluation
was carried out against these.
A range of prototypes for the automotive antennae
was developed and tested, and significant changes
were made to the company’s original model.
Subsequent production of a number of prototypes
enabled CTI International to take their product to a
number of automotive companies and win contracts
to supply Mercedes Benz, Renault and an automotive
design house in Detroit.
These major international contracts have now resulted
in CTI International growing from a company with only
5 employees to its current position of a workforce of
thirty-five.
case study
(Product Analysis & Test)
Elta Fans Ltd
Elta Fans Ltd is a world leader
in the design and manufacture of quality industrial
and commercial fans. SEKE’s first contact with the
company involved design project work associated
with the assembly of complex, multi-component,
mixed-flow fan impellers.
Since then further projects have been completed
and reported including analysis of the geometric
characteristics of imported, low-pressure die cast
hubs and studies using a Mitutoyo 706 co-ordinate
measuring machine, touch trigger probing and
software capable of analysing variances between
specified geometry and actual product geometry.
The work has provided Elta’s engineering team
with accurate production engineering data
on which to base their designs. Production
developments have advanced to further computer
aided design and fatigue testing of impellor
assemblies for installation in new capital ships.
Ardingly College
Mark Harrison, Head of Design Technology
for Ardingly College in Sussex commented:
“University of Brighton has been tremendously
supportive to our students who are currently
studying their ‘A’ levels in Design and Technology.
“As well as giving individual help in
particular to two of our students, they
have also given time to support and
advise our students in the design
stages of their projects and have
helped with the manufacturing of the
individual prototypes.
“Without their help, our students would have
found it difficult if not impossible to progress their
projects. We are fortunate to have a university so
close at hand that is able to support in this way.”
advantage through close working on rapid
prototyping using the stereolithography and thermojet
processes. The company is an exemplar in terms
of the adoption of new design and rapid product
development technologies underpinning product and
business growth.
Commenting on the process, Professor Nick Bennett,
Director of the Regional Centre for Manufacturing
Industry at the University of Portsmouth said:
“In the case of Spinlock, they are leading the way in high performance rope holding product innovation in embedding advanced 3D CAD linked to rapid prototyping technologies.”
Engineering Education Scheme
Bronagh Liddicoat is the
manager of SETPOINT Sussex,
the focus for teachers, business and industry to
obtain information about resources, schemes and
initiatives concerned with science, technology,
engineering and maths.
As part of the organisation’s remit to promote and
organise schools activities it communicates with
678 schools via direct email shots and through its
website (www.setpointsussex.org.uk) which has
between 60,000 - 100,000 hits per month.
“The Knowledge Exchange was an integral part
of the planning, organising, and running of the
case study
case study
South East Knowledge Exchange
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Technology
Portland Building
Portland Street
Portsmouth PO1 3AH
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 2600
Fax: +44 (0)23 9284 2584
Email: [email protected]
www.port.ac.uk/seke
General: www.nationalcke.co.uk