AME technology director targets £5m research fund
1 min read
The technology director of the UK's first dedicated 'faculty on the factory floor' – the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME) – has set his sights on securing up to £5m of funding this year to help develop the next generation of fuel rails and powertrain systems.
James Simester (pictured) joins the £32m AME from Jaguar Land Rover and will be responsible for developing new forming, joining, metrology and simulation processes.
He will also be charged with co-ordinating a team of industry experts and professors to work in partnership with research organisations, including the EU Commission, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Technology Strategy Board.
The long-term aim is to develop cutting edge technologies that can be used to give UK industry a competitive advantage in delivering lighter, cleaner and more efficient vehicles.
"I'm very excited about joining AME and playing a role in creating a world class R&D facility that will use the best automation, the best engineers and the best academic minds to create new production lines for fuel rails and powertrain systems," explained James.
"The initial focus will be on the automotive sector with the intention of applying the cutting edge research and advanced manufacturing and engineering capability to other sectors, such as aerospace, power generation, oil and gas and rail."
He continued: "We have the capacity to deliver over £5m of research projects in the first year and we are already well on the way to securing our first two tranches of funding."
Construction work on the 1,700 sq m manufacturing and R&D space in Coventry has just started and will be the focal point of training 40+ undergraduates and postgraduates in the first year.
One of the technology director's first tasks was to agree more than £2m of investment in the latest machinery to fit out what is being described as the 'UK's first dedicated faculty on the factory floor'.
"We have just signed a deal to equip the new building with the latest robots, CNC tube manipulation, high pressure test rigs and metrology equipment," explained James.
"This should create one of the most advanced manufacturing centres in the UK and a perfect environment for the next generation of engineers to learn on 'live' manufacturing projects that will be immediately used by Unipart and its supply chain."
The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering is a collaboration between Coventry University and Unipart Manufacturing Group.
