In recent years the university has invested heavily in cutting edge technology to allow the school to participate in industry-leading research across our discipline areas. Within the campus, at Bolton Street, there is a wide variety of different spaces and equipment through which the various research activities can be undertaken. Listed below is a selection of our research platforms that are available.
Recently CreateLAB and CREST received joint funding from Enterprise Ireland to acquire metal additive manufacturing equipment from MarkForged. This state of the art metal FFF technology will allow the research groups to work with industrial partners to progress the design and implementation of usable 3D printed components in product and industrial technologies.
Markforged Equipment:
Markforged MetalX:
The Metal X System is an accessible way to fabricate complex metal parts in a wide variety of advanced metals.
The Metal X is a new kind of metal printer. By printing metal powder bound in a plastic matrix, Markforged has eliminated many of the safety risks associated with traditional metal 3D printers. That means no loose powder, no lasers, and none of the traditional safety precautions. It’s safe to use in a shop environment with minimal facility upgrades.
In practice, the Metal X is essentially a very advanced FFF 3D printer.
Markforged MarkTwo:
The Mark Two is a professional carbon fibre composite 3D printer – built around the Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) process to reliably produce strong. The specialist extrusion system enables the Mark Two to print a carbon fibre filled nylon filament.
In addition to more common FFF features, the Mark Two has a fibre reinforcement system that enables it to lay down continuous fibre into part perimeters. Markforged composite printers are capable of printing continuous fibre-reinforced parts.
The school has invested a considerable amount in recent years on advanced manufacturing equipment to ensure that teaching and research activities within the school remain state of the art. This has culminated in the development of the Advanced Manufacturing laboratory which includes a number of robot arms capable of additive manufacturing (extrusion), milling and cutting and welding and additive manufacturing (wire arc).
Contact Bill Reddington for more details.
Materials Research is a prominent research activity that feeds into the learning of Students across many of the programmes offered within the school. The Materials Research Laboratory is a fully equipped space where staff and students can engage with the investigation of material properties and limits within a controlled and up to date research space. In recent years projects involving wear of orthopaedic joint materials, properties of various FDM additive manufactured components and SLA printed components have been tested.
With a traditional emphasis on the manufacture of components and products throughout the educational programmes within the school the investigation of the use and implementation of CNC controlled equipment, especially with industry partners, is a key research area.