Materials

1) Metal joining- new ways of joining metals- especially lightweight metals such as aluminium or titanium and joining dissimilar metals through
a) Riveting - medium fast, can join a number of thick sections, dissimilar metals. ( this is not your B&Q pop rivet)
b) Spot welding- well known, limited versatility but new processes
c) Gluing- not fast but very versatile
d) Laser welding- up to 4 kW( enough to cut a body [steel or human] in two!) can be very fast, expensive to set up but cheap once set up)

Industries/ Application: Seating, vehicles, enclosures, fabrication, ductwork, prototyping

2) Testing/ evaluation- equipment to test new materials for strength, durability, failure, compatibility, structure
a) Taking sections of a metal and seeing why it failed/worked
b) Taking sections of a joint and seeing why it failed/ worked
c) X-raying – X-ray tomography to look inside metal assemblies such as switchgear( car, power transmission, gearboxes, machine housings etc)
d) Other test methods- acoustic, laser, flow, tensile testing.
e) Testing materials for crashworthiness, durability

Industries/ Applications First and 2nd tier suppliers to automotive, process and electrical suppliers

3) Visualisation- 2 and 3D
a) Rapid Prototyping, 2 and 3D modelling
b) Soundscapes ( to manage vehicle and city/ building noise etc
c) Rapid development
d) Concurrent design
e) “Soft” design factors- colours, tactility etc, not fashion advice.
Industries/ applications Manufacturing and design, architects, safety, transport ( bikes to buses)

4) Medical- measurement of inputs/outputs for humans
a) Effectiveness of Personal Protective Equipment ( PPE)
b) Performance of suits, fabrics, masks.
c) Trials of drugs, treatments, patient equipment
d) Novel environments

Industries/ Applications Defence, cold stores, safety, outdoor equipment, suppliers of PPE, drug companies, cosmetics, Facilities management and design and build companies, cosmaceuticals
5)Polymers and plastics
a) analysis, performance, compatibility, durability.
b) fabrication
c) processing, moulding, selection and performance
Industries/ Applications Moulders, material suppliers, designers, NPD, consumer product suppliers
6)Surface Treatment/ Chemistry/ Surface Analysis
a) Plating
b) Bonding/ gluing/ moulding
c) Cleaning
d) Cleaning products/ processes
e) Soldering/gluing.
Industries/ Applications Platers, powder coaters, assembly operations, contract manufacturers
7) Biosciences
a) New products/ new materials
b) Plant derived products
c) Bio compatibility
d) Legislation
e) Clinical and subclinical trials
Industries
Medical and surgical devices, drugs and drug monitoring, legislation, water, local authority, national quality and compliance bodies
8) Energy
a) Energy Management
b) New Energy sources- Hydrogen/ solar/ motion/ chemical/ biological
c) Energy storage/ monitoring
d) Battery technology- Li-ion/Ni Cad.
e) Hybrid Power
f) Performance- solar/ wind
Industries/ Applications Vehicles- cars, bikes, scooters, trolleys, vans. Phones/ personal entertainment, agriculture,

New materials- carbon fibre, nano-materials, composites, opportunities.
a) Development
b) Weight saving
c) Handling
d) Applications
e) Performance
f) Properties of new materials- compatibility, ease of use.
Industries/ Applications Aerospace, furniture, automotive, plastics, toys.
10)Virtualisation- rendering products and experiences digitally
a) Reverse engineering
b) Haptic( touch) and acoustic environments
c) Assistive technologies
d) Virtual reality
e) Visualisation
Industries/ Applications- automotive, design, healthcare, housing, education, construction, safety, planning.