Projects
Developing a Bespoke Incremental Sheet Forming Machine for Cranioplasty
EPSRC research grant: 2014-2018, £299k
Principal investigator: Dr Hengan Ou
Project partners:
- Delcam International plc
- Labman Automation Ltd
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- UCL Hospitals NHS Trust
Project summary: Cranioplasty is a surgical procedure for the repair of deformity of a human skull due to brain tumour, stroke or traumatic injuries. Among all available materials, titanium continues to be a main stream material used in cranioplasty surgeries because of its excellent biocompatibility, resistance to infection, excellent material properties and lightweight. However, in spite of the popular use of titanium in cranial reconstruction, there is a wide variety of methods including casting, manual shaping and rubber press forming commonly used in cranial plate manufacture.
Even with the assistance of advanced CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and manufacture) and computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies, currently the process for manufacturing customised cranial plates by conventional methods normally takes up to two weeks to completion mainly due to the time required for the manufacture of dies and tools.
This project aims to develop an incremental sheet forming (ISF) based process for fast and cost effective manufacture of personalised cranial plates. Our recent work has shown that a typically large size cranial plate can be made satisfactorily by using the ISF process in less than 30 minutes instead of hours or days. The objectives of the project are to
- Develop in-depth understanding of titanium ISF formability, deformation and failure mechanisms and to develop predictive models and novel tool path optimisation algorithms
- Design and build a bespoke desktop ISF machine for cranial reconstruction with clearly defined technical specifications
- Conduct a series of ISF benchmark testing and pre-clinical trials of 3 demonstration case studies
- Disseminate research outcomes and to engage with wider academic and industrial communities as well as end users
Incremental Sheet Forming to Manufacture PEEK Cranial Plates
EPSRC MeDe Fresh Idea grant: 2015-2016, £49k
Principal investigator: Dr Hengan Ou
Project summary: PEEK (polyetheretherketone) has been increasingly used in medical implants including cranioplasty surgeries in recent years. With the support of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Medical Devices Fresh Idea fund, the project aims to develop a heat assisted incremental sheet forming (ISF) to manufacture large scale PEEK cranial plates.
ISF is a flexible sheet forming process requiring minimum use of tooling and is easy for automation. ISF has been proven to be an effective means to manufacture large scale titanium cranial plates. By carrying out extensive PEEK material testing and ISF trials, this project aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility and potential benefits of the ISF process as a novel alternative method for manufacturing PEEK cranial plates. The specific project objectives are to
- Investigate ISF formability and deformation mechanisms of PEEK material
- Develop bespoke ISF tooling and apparatus for ISF processing PEEK cranial plates
- Disseminate research outcomes and to develop further funding programmes for collaborative research and knowledge transfer
FE Simulation and Optimisation of Multi-Stage Deep Drawing Processes for Precision Components
Innovate-UK KTP grant with Advanex Europe: 2017-2019, £151,808
Principal investigator: Dr Hengan Ou
Co-investigator: Prof Atanas Popov
Project summary: Advanex Europe Ltd is a market leader specialising in precision engineering solutions for high value metal and plastic components to supply a diverse range of markets from agriculture and automotive through to medical and aerospace. The main objectives of this Innovate-UK project are to
- Develop advanced FE simulation algorithms to ensure a high level of fidelity and efficiency of FE simulation of multi-stage deep drawing operations
- Develop an integrated optimisation framework that can be used to assist multi-stage deep drawing process design and operations
- Implement the FE simulation capabilities and integrated optimisation tool in actual production with consideration of material and process variability throughout multi-stage operations
New Material Processing Technologies for Sustainable Future
EC/FP7 Marie Curie IRSES (MatProFuture) project: 2013-2017, €739k
Principal investigator: Dr Hengan Ou
Co-investigators: Prof Adib Becker and Prof Wei Sun
Project coordinator: University of Nottingham (UK)
Project partners:
- University of Palermo (Italy)
- University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany)
- University of Sheffield (UK)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China)
- Northwestern Polytechnical University (China)
- Harbin Institute of Technology (China)
- Shanghai JiaoTong University (China)
- Wuhan University of Technology (China)
- South China University of Technology (China)
Project summary: Development of new energy efficient, environment friendly and cost effective material processing technologies for manufacturing of high value products is of considerable importance to sustained economic recovery and growth of Europe and around the globe. Supported by the EC FP7 Marie Curie IRSES (International Research Staff Exchange Scheme) funding, the MatProFuture (New Material Processing Technologies for Sustainable Future, project no: 318968) project assembles 4 EU and 6 Chinese leading universities and aims to establish new research links and to develop new materials processing technologies through extensive research staff exchange and knowledge transfer activities between participating institutions in Europe and China. The overall objectives of the MatProFuture project were to
- Carry out collaborative research and joint activities in the field of new material processing technologies for stimulated creativity and innovative solutions and identified areas for industrial application;
- Exchange experienced staff and talented young researchers at various levels for transfer of knowledge and skills through various forms of activities including organisation of seminars/workshops, summer schools and high profile conferences;
- Disseminate high quality research and to establish long-term collaboration through joint research programmes and collaborative projects with a wider participation of research communities, SMEs and OEMs from different industrial sectors.

MatProFuture project work packages & activities
Since the inception of the MatProFuture project, 113 experienced (ER) and early-stage (ESR) researchers have participated in 299 man-months research staff exchange and secondments between MatProFuture partner institutions. The completed staff exchange and secondment activities are a direct result of collective effort by and active participation of researchers from all MatProFuture project partners. Significant progresses have been made in training of early-stage researchers, generation and dissemination of research outcomes in five focused research areas: new sheet forming processes, precision forging, integrated joining and forming, novel spinning and new hydroforming processes.
During the MatProFuture project, 2 MatProFuture special sessions were organised in international conferences. 6 MatProFuture summer schools and research seminars were organised. To the end of MatProFuture project, a total 45 journal papers have been published and 12 presentations have been given in international conferences. Further 10 journal papers have been submitted under consideration for publication and 7 papers have been submitted to international conferences. These successful collaboration and dissemination activities have had a positive impact for MatProFuture project partners to continue their established links and to develop an excellent platform for long-term collaboration in the emerging field of new and high value materials processing and forming technologies.
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3D Die Shape Optimisation for Net-Shape Forging of Aeroengine Compressor Blades
EPSRC research grant: 2005-2009, £238k
Principal investigator: Dr Hengan Ou
Co-investigator: Prof Cecil Armstrong (Queen’s University Belfast)
Project partners: Rolls-Royce Plc
Project summary: Forging aeroengine components is challenging due to the stringent cost and quality requirements and especially the dimensional and shape specifications. Forging design is still dependent upon the designer's knowledge and iterative forging trials. Even in routine production, considerable post-forging corrections are often required, which causes increased production time and possible scrap.
The aim of the project was to develop a novel 3D die shape optimisation system for net-shape forging of aeroengine blade components. The unique features of this system are a novel computational formulation for accurate quantification of dimensional and shape errors of forged blades, robust and stochastic optimisation methods for optimised die shape design and an integrated optimisation and virtual inspection system for precision forging of aeroengine compressor blades. The work was validated by forging trials and inspections conducted in collaboration with the industrial partner with significant improvement in both the quality and efficiency of forging operations.
Virtual Intelligent Forging
EC/FP6 Co-ordination Action (ViF-CA): 2004-2009, €1,500k
Project coordinator: Prof Jean-Loup Chenot (ARMINES-CEMEF, France)
Institutional PI: Dr Hengan Ou
Project summary: This was a large scale EC/FP6 Coordination Action project coordinated by ARMINES-CEMEF, France with the participation of 49 academic institutes and industrial partners from 17 European countries. The goal of the ViF-CA project was to gather and analyse this scattered knowledge in order to solve some of today's industrial problems and to incorporate into industrial practices the recent advances in virtual production, supply chain and life-cycle management. The strategy was to create a forging knowledge community through several scientific, technological, training and educational activities. These activities were designed to
- Identify current industrial and societal needs, analyse and use the existing knowledge to solve these problems
- Define, validate and use reference benchmarks for virtual process simulations and materials testing
- Create an e-Forging environment
- determine the needs for material data and define a blueprint for an e-Database
- design a structure for the virtual integration of process simulations from raw materials to product design
- promote transversal educational programmes and a roadmap for an e-learning forging platform
- organise workshops for gathering the current necessary knowledge and disseminate the results of the project
- promote programmes for mobility of researchers, students and industrial staff
The deliverables of the ViF-CA project include
- A list of industrial and societal needs in the field of forming and related forming activities, which can be used to construct new research projects, and to identify and meet industrial and societal goals
- Projects for an e-Database and an e-learning platform, which provide blue prints in these fields
- Cold and hot forming benchmarks for process simulations and materials testing, which can be used and are already used as reference cases
- An e-Book of forging, a reference document for educational or communication purposes
- A structure for a virtual supply chain and a validated test case
- Pedagogical analyses for forging activities
- Curricula experimented through two ViF-University one-week sessions
- A large number of seminars, workshops and conferences proceedings
- Available exchange programs for students and academics