MAPP reports success of First International Conference
February 12, 2018
From left to right front: Professor Carolin Körner, Professor Tresa Pollock, Professor Javier Llorca, Professor Iain Todd, Professor Barbara Previtali. From left to right back: Professor Jin Ooi, Professor Fabrice Rossignol and Dr Richard France Senior Business Development Manager
MAPP (EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hub in Manufacture using Advanced Powder Processes) has reported that its First International Conference was a success. Held in Sheffield, UK, from January 30-31, 2018, the conference is reported to have attracted some 180 delegates and speakers from America, France, Germany, Spain and the UK, from over thirty-five companies and twenty universities.
Taking place one year after MAPP’s official launch, the event was targeted at bringing together experts in particulate and powder science across a wide range of manufacturing processes, with a particular focus on in-situ process and performance characterisation, advanced characterisation, and modelling, optimisation and control. The conference programme included an expert panel chaired by Sophie Jones, General Manager, Added Scientific, titled ‘From Research to Results: Is powder research responding to industry’s needs?’
The panel featured Dr Kate Black, University of Liverpool, Dr Candice Majewski, University of Sheffield, Dr Hoda Amel, Manufacturing Technology Centre and Dr Nicola Jones, LPW Technology. This wide-ranging discussion included a look at the importance of companies sharing information about what didn’t work as well as information about successes, the importance of training and the relationship between industry and academia.
Professor Iain Todd, MAPP Director and RAEng Chair, University of Sheffield, stated, “The talks at the conference were really fantastic – it was a great start to the Year of Engineering. Together with our partners at the Universities of Leeds, Manchester, Oxford and Imperial College London, we are working towards the application of new technologies to drive ‘right first-time’ manufacturing for advanced powder processes.”
“This conference provided a great opportunity to share new insights across both academia and industry to overcome the challenges facing adoption of these advanced processes,” he concluded.
The keynote presentations were given by:
- Professor Carolin Körner, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, ‘Towards self-regulating AM systems via combining SEBM and SEM.’
- Professor Javier Llorca, IMDEA Materials Institute, Madrid, ‘A roadmap for multiscale modelling of processing and properties of metallic alloys.’
- Professor Jin Ooi, University of Edinburgh, ‘Computational modelling of powder processes from model conceptualisation to industrial application’
- Professor Tresa Pollock, University of California, ‘3D analysis of structure and defects at the scale of the melt pool.’
- Professor Barbara Previtali, Polytechnic of Milan, ‘Temporal beam shaping in Selective Laser Melting: Molten pool sensing during continuous and pulsed wave laser processing.’
- Professor Fabrice Rossignol, French National Centre for Scientific Research, ‘Additive Manufacturing of complex microreactors for intensified catalytic processes: the case of H2 production by steam methane reforming.’
While industry speakers included:
- Neil Harrison, LPW Technology Ltd, ‘Measurement, control and prediction of metal powder evolution with serial laser powder bed fusion processing’
- Stefanie Freitag, Carl ZEISS Microscopy GmbH, ‘Advanced 3D Correlative x-ray and FIB-SEM study on selective laser molten gear wheel parts’
The conference also highlighted the work of early career researchers through an impressive selection of Flash Presentations and Poster Presentations, judged independently by the delegates at the show. The following researches received prizes sponsored by Freeman Technology for their presentations:
- First place Flash Presentation – Felicity Freeman, University of Sheffield, and runner up Chu Lun Alex Leung, University of Manchester
- First place Poster Presentation – Luke Fox, University of Sheffield, and runner up Mozhdeh Mehrabi, University of Leeds
The conference was delivered in partnership with Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network and sponsored by Retsch, BeAM, Materialise, AFRC-University of Strathclyde, The University of Nottingham, Olympus, Sandvik, Freeman Technology, Granu Tools, Inovar Communications and Johnson Matthey.
MAPP states that its vision is to deliver on the promise of powder-based manufacturing processes to provide low energy, low cost and low waste high-value manufacturing routes and products to secure UK manufacturing productivity and growth.
Led by the University of Sheffield, MAPP brings together leading research teams from the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and Oxford, and Imperial College London, together with an initial group of 17 industry partners and six of the UK’s High-Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) centres. MAPP is funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC).
