Duration: 4 years.

Project Summary

New cutting tool materials are being developed to enable faster/cheaper machining of challenging super alloys. The cutting tool industry is worth £250M per annum in the UK, and E6 (Precision Applications) currently invests approximately 10% of turnover on the development of polycrystalline materials for precision machining.

At E6 research facilities in Oxford, prototype tooling materials are subject to a suite of laboratory machining tests simulating end-use and thereby capture tool life, tool wear and failure mechanisms. Such tests are time consuming, expensive and do not always adequately reflect actual conditions of use.

E6’s vision is to reach fully automated tool testing within a lathe type machine tool, whilst complimenting experimental tests with finite element simulations. FE modelling methods offer the potential to reduce the number of destructive tests to be carried out, and systems for process monitoring and automated inspection will need to be developed, such as vision systems, 3D microscopes and vibration sensing.

The content of the project will be in three disciplines as follows:

1. To build a detailed knowledge of chip formation and tool wear mechanisms in turning, which will include finite element modelling of the tool and work-piece interactions for the relevant materials.
2. To design and build a test rig for unmanned cutting tool testing using a lathe, where automatic tool wear inspection, surface finish measurement and process monitoring systems are integrated within the operation.
3. Statistical analysis of experimental data to identify tool wear trends and process robustness from both experimental and model based data.

Further details are available on the IDC website.

Eligibility

Applicants must have, or expect to get, a 1st or good 2.1 degree or Masters (with Merit) in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering or materials science or other relevant subject. 

Due to EPSRC residency requirements, this project is open only to UK/EU applicants resident in the UK for at least 3 years immediately preceding the start of the course.

How to Apply for the Studentship

Applications should be submitted online via the IDC website.

About Element Six

Element Six www.e6.com is a synthetic diamond supermaterials company and a member of the De Beers Group of Companies, its majority shareholder. Element Six is a global leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond supermaterials, and operates worldwide with its head office registered in Luxembourg, and primary manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, US and the UK.

About the IDC in Machining Science

The IDC in Machining Science is a unique collaboration between industry, the University of Sheffield's award winning Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the Faculty of Engineering.

Machining Science is the application of engineering theories to improve the machining of metals, alloys and composite materials. It covers a wide range of operations where material is removed as part of the production process (e.g. hole generation, turning and finishing), and crosses many engineering disciplines including dynamics, vibration, tribology, materials science, control systems, drive and actuation systems, and robotics.

Tax free stipend of £18,000 per year, plus tuition fees paid at UK/EU rates.

Taught elements will take place at the University of Sheffield. Research will mainly take place at the AMRC based at Catcliffe, near Sheffield. There will also be some work undertaken at Element Six’s state-of-the-art innovation centre near Oxford.