Public Funding for Granta Design Limited

Electrification of vehicles is key to achieve global legislative requirements for CO2 emissions reductions. Zero emissions within cities, higher quality and higher performance electrified vehicles (EVs) is also making them more attractive. \>2 million EVs were sold globally in 2018, 68% were battery electric vehicles (BEV) and 31% were plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), with an annual growth rate of 57%. Pack costs are expected to reduce from €155/kWh today to €90/kWh in 2030, through technological advancements and economies of scale. However, several issues currently limit further exploitation. High-volume EV production is still in its infancy in the UK and even the leading manufacturers lack the knowledge to design systems that can be readily manufactured by processes suitable for volume production. These EV systems are assembled, and must finally all be connected together (individual cells, to modules, to battery packs to motors, to complex PEMD systems), with potentially 10,000 -- 100,000+ welds per EV power train required. However, numerous complex issues are associated with the joining processes required to achieve these connections. EV producers, SME through to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) level, struggle to select compatible materials and joining processes, to specify and design the required EV systems and to select suitable manufacturing processes. _The EV-Join project will provide a user friendly software tool that addresses major issues faced by companies developing EV systems_, namely: * A selection process that allows feasible joint designs to be created, taking into account materials to be joined and required geometries. * A selection of suitable joining processes for the materials combinations and joint geometries. * Assistance with a calculation of production rates and costs to aid a user in selecting a production process. * Assistance for planning of production line processes taking into account the requirements and limitation of each joint combination and production process. This will include requirements for critical upstream and downstream processes. * In service joint properties, manufacturing process requirements to achieve those properties. With this, EV-Join will unlock, for manufacturing as a whole: * Reduced time-to-market for all sizes of manufacturing businesses in the UK supply chain. * More efficient selection of the joining process, taking into account materials to be joined, productivity and geometries requirements. * Improved - and maintained - weld quality. * Increased productivity and reduction in repairs and scrap. * Reduced and potentially eliminated need for expensive and time-consuming post-weld Non-Destructive-Testing (NDT).

Vital to any NDT inspection is pinpointing the precise location of the defects found. Advanced inspections, such as phased array or full matrix capture, need the precise location of the sensor as it is moved during the inspection. This is to allow the data collected to be viewed as a map or 3D segment. The odometry of the robot or probe is handled by an encoder. An encoder is a transducer that sense the position or orientation for use as a reference or even as a feedback to control position. If these advanced techniques are to be used in potentially explosive environments, such as the oil and gas industry, then ATEX certification is a pre-requisite. ATEX certification demonstrates component/system suitability for use in an explosive environment. Current ATEX encoders are not suitable for NDT applications as they are bulky and have a very high torque that necessitates some force to enable the shaft to rotate and the encoder to record precise position. They can also be prone to slippage which may affect the position of the robot or probe, especially in an environment where hydrocarbons are present. ATEX environment: explosive atmospheres can be caused by flammable gases, mists or vapours or by combustible dusts. In these environments the smallest source of ignition such as a spark or a hot surface can cause an explosion resulting in significant damages, serious injuries and loss of life. Using the correct equipment can prevent this. In some circumstances, these environments must be entered to work or inspect. The equipment used in these environments must be ATEX certified -- designed and certified to prevent any explosions and not become a potential source of ignition. The goal of the project is to develop an ATEX-certified contactless magnetic encoder. Physically, the new encoder will much shorter than the conventional designs. Eliminating of the need for a mechanical coupling (via a shaft) further reduces overall package size and will considerably reduce the encoder torque. That means it will be much easier to integrate the new encoder into applications where space is an important factor, it will be appropriate to NDT applications, the potential for accidental damage to the encoder in challenging industrial environments will be significantly reduced.

Responding to the growing battery manufacturing market and significant technical challenges, IDMBAT will address a substantial gap in the market by developing software solutions for battery manufacturers to reduce fabrication and development costs while improving key batteries metrics. This will be achieved by combining the proven benefits of a systematic, enterprise approach to materials information, with new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for predicting optimum process parameters from complex interdependencies. The consortium is led by Granta Design (Granta) , the world largest company and R&D organisation operating in the materials information technology market. University of Birmingham (UB, Prof. Emma Kendrick) brings in battery technical leadership and will host a small-scale manufacturing facility to generate data. Intellegens (INT), a fast-growing micro SME, will develop cutting edge artificial intelligence algorithms for process parameter prediction. The proposed feasibility study endeavours to: -De-risk scaling up innovative technologies across the battery value chain (including cell materials and components, cells, modules and packs, manufacturing processes) by means of intelligent, systematic information management approach which reduces future costs of reproducibility by ensuring full traceability and enables predictions and comparisons; -Remove technical and commercial barriers to cell manufacture in the UK (advancement in battery metrics, reduced costs of trials and experimentation, reduce use of materials resources); -Support the overall goal of the Faraday Battery Challenge to make the UK the go-to place for the research, development, scale up and industrialisation of cutting-edge battery technology by building upon existing UK industrial and academic leadership.

"Battery pack designs vary significantly depending on applications and requires careful consideration of the selection of suitable cells as well as materials to make packs such as housings and coolant systems. The increasing diversity of cell chemistries and the already expansive material selection choices for structural components, means that the design space for battery packs is extremely broad. There are several computation tools which aid detailed design of battery packs, however, there are seldom tools which have a holistic view of the battery pack design process from chemistry selection to pack design. The MAT2BAT project will combine Granta's experience of developing material selection design tools with Imperial College London's and Denchi Power's battery knowledge to develop a holistic design tool to explore a growing design space to enable innovative designs. In a time when there is a lack of skilled battery engineers, the MAT2BAT tool will aid in the accelerated development programmes of battery packs for both students and non-battery engineers alike to fill the skills gap."

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (AM) process that is capable of producing metallic parts in a layer-by-layer fashion directly from CAD data. SLM can produce complex parts with near-full density and mechanical properties comparable to those provided by conventional casting and forming. Although there has been significant research into the entire SLM supply chain, one of the key challenges to the widespread adoption of SLM is the inability to achieve repeatable, high-quality parts from every SLM build. The reduction of distortion in SLM components is critical for ensuring a right-first-time SLM build. The DREAM project will address this challenge through a multidisciplinary digital approach, coupling real-time data acquisition, advanced modelling, cloud-based computing, and adaptive machine process parameter control to achieve zero-distortion builds. The project approach will be independent of powder supplier and machine manufacturer. The software, hardware, and cloud-based solution will allow internet-enabled machines and systems to identify distortion during the build process and make real-time decisions and forecasts about process parameter controls to mitigate and control distortion during the build process. The outcomes will result in cost reduction, higher material utilisation, improved quality assurance, and reduced design cycle times in the SLM process chain.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has the potential to revolutionise the way aerospace components are manufactured and re-invent supply chains. This technology can assist the aerospace sector to produce lightweight parts, which will lead to a reduction in emissions and fuel consumption. The AM process will also maximise the buy-to-fly ratio, with significantly less waste than using traditional subtractive methods. To enable the UK’s established aerospace OEMs and the supporting supply chain to take a leading position in the exploitation of AM, a mechanism for production system development is required to effectively deliver new and enhanced end-use components, ensuring cost and quality targets are achieved. The UK currently has a strong R&D base in AM and a number of businesses developing its commercial industrialisation. The UK has a powerful aerospace manufacturing sector - second in the global rankings with over 4,000 companies employing about 230,000 people. The UK aerospace sector has the largest number of small and medium sized enterprise (SME) companies in Europe. The economic forecast indicates that by 2025 AM could deliver £410m GVA to the UK economy. Currently there are high costs and risks associated with setting up AM processes, buying equipment and developing AM process chains for UK aerospace supply chain companies. Aims of the DRAMA project DRAMA (Digital Reconfigurable Additive Manufacturing facilities for Aerospace) is a three year, £14.3m collaborative research project and part of the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute’s (ATIs) programme, which started in November 2017. The consortium is led by the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) – home to the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing and includes ATS, Autodesk, Granta Material Intelligence, Midlands Aerospace Alliance, NPL, Renishaw and the University of Birmingham. The project will help build a stronger AM supply chain for UK aerospace by developing a digital learning factory. The entire AM process chain will be digitally twinned, enabling the cost of process development to be de-risked by carrying it out in virtual environment. The facility will be reconfigurable, so that it can be tailored to fit the requirements of different users and to allow different hardware and software options to be trialled. During the three years of the project an additive manufacturing Knowledge Base will also be created, to allow faster adoption and implementation of this transformative technology by UK businesses. Reduce the cost and risk of set-up • De-risk deployment of AM processes and equipment for the UK aerospace sector, by building reconfigurable pre-production facilities, where supply chain companies and OEMs can come to learn, model and validate end-to-end AM process chains. Reduce the time and cost of planning and validation • Digital twin of the facilities, manufacturing processes and plant • Digital toolsets for process and plant simulation • Data analytics and optimisation • A knowledge base Develop capability across the UK aerospace supply chain • This world-first, digitally twinned reconfigurable AM facility, will be at the forefront of AM technology and can be used by UK companies across the aerospace supply chain. MTC to lead £14m additive manufacturing aerospace project The Manufacturing Technology Centre will lead on major aerospace R&D project to grow innovation in the sector. Following the launch of the Industrial Strategy white paper on Monday November 27, Business Secretary Greg Clark announced £53.7 million of funding for seven R&D projects. This funding is part of government’s work with industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) to tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and grow high value jobs. Unveiled at the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Conference 2017, one of those seven projects is The DRAMA (Digital Reconfigurable Additive Manufacturing facilities for Aerospace) led by the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) with partners ATS Global, Autodesk, Granta Design, Midlands Aerospace Alliance, National Physics Laboratory, Renishaw and the University of Birmingham. DRAMA will establish leading additive manufacturing ‘test bed’ facilities for the aerospace industry and its supply chain at the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (based at the MTC in Coventry) and the Renishaw AM Solution Centre in Stone. The project will showcase the use of digital technologies to drive productivity and reliability in AM, leading to increased adoption of AM technologies by the aerospace sector and, in the long term, other industrial sectors. It will also deliver the world’s first digitally-twinned reconfigurable AM facility and establish the UK as a global leader in additive manufacturing technology. The project, part of the ATI programme, has received a grant of £11.2 million through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “In November, we launched our ambitious Industrial Strategy which builds on our significant economic strengths, while looking at innovative ways to improve our productivity and will ensure government continues to work closely with industries including our UK aerospace sector. “The UK aerospace sector is one of the most successful in the world, which is why we are today announcing £53.7 million of investment in seven aerospace research and development (R&D) projects across the UK. “This investment, part of the £3.9 billion government and industry committed to this sector by 2026. The Aerospace Technology Institute plays a crucial role in helping to direct this investment and maintain UK excellence in the sector.”

The automotive industry faces major challenges to meet targets for emissions, efficiency, performance and cost; light weighting of parts using composites enables all of these to be addressed, except for cost. A key driver of cost of composites is the limited ability & capacity in the joining technology available. In project Light-Join, JLR, Nissan and their Tier 1 suppliers aim to develop a number of solutions that will enable cost effective integration of high performance composite components into volume car production. Light-Join aims to enable replacement of specific metal vehicle components with composites, specifically focussed on developing rapid joining solutions, raising the manufacturing maturity to produce a small scale demonstrator component (MRL5) and assessing the potential for scale-up to MRL9A. This project will develop a solution leading to 30% weight reduction for all-aluminium construction (for JLR) and 60% compared to an all steel construction (for Nissan). Critically this approach will have industry wide applicability, allowing a lower risk introduction of lightweight composite components to the mass market.

A novel hot-isostatic pressing (HIP) process route will be developed to enable net-shape, high-integrity components to be produced from high-performance materials. An innovative manufacturing route will be developed to produce high-precision, low-cost tools, allowing the HIP process to produce complex-shape parts at lower-cost and higher throughput. An advanced powder-handling system will be developed to ensure minimal contamination to the processed powders. The process is supported by a digital process selection tool to assess the viability of the process for a selected component against competing technologies. Key innovations include a new route to produce complex-shaped components using HIP, a novel powder handling system to ensure high-purity components and a CAD-based process selection tool.

To develop a tool for the Built Environment and Construction sectors with a focus on cost, environmental, and performance metrics to allow resource efficient selection of materials and components in design practice for products and buildings.

European legislation (REACh regulations) requires the elimination of hexavalent Chromium (Cr6+), which is carcinogenic, by September 2017. Existing sacrificial coatings, used for corrosion protection in aerospace, all contain Cr6+ and, therefore, must be replaced. Currently available alternatives do not give acceptable performance, so new replacement materials are needed. A complete supply chain consortium, plus academic and CATAPULT support, has been brought together to address this issue. This project aims to formulate a new sacrificial coating for corrosion protection of steel aero-engine components that is free from hexavalent chromium and demonstrate the technology to TRL5. In addition, improved, cost-effective application methodology will be developed, incorporating automation where appropriate, to increase manufacturing rate and capacity and reduce waste. Furthermore, in a field traditionally developed on an empirical basis, this project aims to provide an improved science based understanding of the coating behaviour, which will underpin the innovative sacrificial coating technology being developed.

Cr6+ chemistry dominates the field of corrosion protection; however, its elimination by 2016 as currently recommended by REACH, requires new alternates to be found. Some alternatives have been proposed, but there is no wide acceptance of them and the acceptance criteria and test regime to support new developments, other than salt fog testing, which is widely seen as inadequate, do not exist. This is of particular concern to the aerospace industry as critical aerospace applications require the use of “paint finishes to protect the base metal from corrosion for up to 40 years to ensure the safety of passengers” (ASD position paper to ECHA, dated 13 September 2011). The development of valid, industry wide test methodologies, application of these to the development of REACH compliant replacements suitable for rapid deployment before 2016 is thus required. A consortium has been brought together to address this issue over 2 years.

The SAMULET Project 3 programme is defined to develop transmissions and structures turbo-machinery technologies. This project will deliver novel technology enabling cost effective design for manufacture, component life analysis, part optimised manufacture and inspections. The overarching challenge within the lifecycle management activities within the project is to feed the design decision-making process with good quality, sufficiently accurate and timely information to maximise value, develop lifecycle knowledge and understand the environmental impact of the product. The project utilises the capabilities of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centres (UTCs) coupled with Rolls-Royce’s expertise to develop transmissions and structures technology technologies to support the engine architectures of the future. These include new aerospace gear materials for increased engine duty; advanced aerospace structure manufacturing techniques and technologies; fluids system modelling of aero-engine bearing chamber performance; dynamic modelling of advanced sealing; lifecycle knowledge and environmental impact management systems.