IMRC
IMRC - Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre at Cranfield University (UK) is a project funded by the EPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) undertaking research that addresses issues identified in the UK government’s High Value Manufacturing strategy.[1]
Research Themes
The IMRC has two main research themes, Manufacturing Technology and Product-Service Systems (PSS), which provide leadership and support to both academia and industry in their areas of expertise. Manufacturing Technology focuses on precision technologies, welding and composites manufacture. Product-Service Systems examine how organisations innovate capabilities and processes to design and build more integrated product and service offerings.
The Cranfield IMRC outputs have been used to inform and support the new Government manufacturing strategy.
Manufacturing Technology
Manufacturing Technology focuses on developing a research activity that supports high added value UK manufacturing. Main research activities include:
- Precision Technologies – Precision machining including high efficiency machining, ion beam and plasma processes, machine tool design, microengineering and metrology.
- Metal Processing – Welding, laser processing, additive manufacturing, stress engineering, and process modelling
- Composite Processing - Low cost manufacture, high performance lightweight materials, powder processing, nanocomposites and hybridised structures
Product-Service Systems
Product-Service Systems (PSS) are market bundles of customer focused products, services, support, self-service and knowledge development in order to increase the value of core offerings. Cranfield IMRC is working with manufacturers to develop competitive PSS offerings. PSS research projects include:
- Assessing the value created by Product-Service Systems
- Capability based PSS conceptual design
- Operations: Operations strategies to deliver product-service systems
- Networks for Product-Service Systems
- Transformation to servitized organisational forms
References
- ↑ Government Opportunities retrieved 11 Ap 2013