south east knowledge exchange

...for product development

Each of the partners in the South East Knowledge

Exchange (SEKE) brings specific centre-of-

excellence skills to the programme and together

they form a virtual centre for concept-to-rapid

manufacture, best practice, advice and support.

The partners are:

University of PortsmouthUniversity of BrightonBuckinghamshire Chilterns University College

Partners’ Capabilities

Each partner provides the Exchange with a

complementary range of skills, specialisms,

experience and organisational strengths:

University of Portsmouth Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry

l Entrepreneurship and Start-Ups

l Design and Performance of Materials

including Composites

l Creative Technologies and Electronics

l Product Prototyping and Workshops

l Manufacturing Processes and Strategy

University of Brighton Centre for Design Technology

l Art and Creative Design

l Creative Problem Solving

l Industrial and Product Design

l Medical Products Innovation

l Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College Centre for Rapid Design and Manufacture

l Computer Aided Design

l Computer Aided Analysis

l Rapid Prototyping

l Rapid Tooling

l Initial Batch Production

Through virtual systems and campus-based

facilities, the partners offer fascinating visits,

events and taster sessions, as well as assistance

with design and prototyping projects, advice on

engineering and performance analysis, and services

in rapid processes for the realisation of products.

They are also experts in working with clients to

prepare proposals to secure project funding,

particularly in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

(KTPs). These are projects, part-funded by the

Government, to help businesses get the benefit of

top quality expertise by matching their needs with

the knowledge available in universities, colleges and

research institutions.SEKE is a regional Centre for Knowledge

Exchange within the HEFCE* national

programme of 22 centres that range across

many skills and market sectors. It has been

established to work with schools, colleges,

entrepreneurs, small and large companies and

organisations to enhance the profile of design

and manufacturing in the sustainable economic

development of the SE region.

(*Higher Education Funding Council for England )

From Concept to Rapid Manufacture...the South East Knowledge Exchange for Product Development aims to enhance the competitiveness of our design and innovation industries.

As large amounts of high volume, low added-value manufacturing are relocated from the

UK to low-cost economies around the world, it is important that we create new, high value-

added markets in order to sustain our economic prosperity into the future.

In the South East we cannot hope to compete on the same terms as countries whose

cost basis is less than a hundredth of ours. However, one of the ways we can gain global

competitive advantage is by nurturing our thriving design and innovation industries.

Typically these are characterised by successful companies manufacturing in relatively low

volumes and with high rates of new product development.

The purpose of the South East Knowledge Exchange (SEKE) for Product Development is

to provide information and resources to entrepreneurs and organisations working in such

industries to enable them to exploit their ideas more effectively, bring them to market more

rapidly and maintain product “churn” rates. As well as promoting the application of new

concepts and technologies in the workplace, SEKE is also targeting schools and further

education establishments in order to encourage young people to seek careers in the

engineering and manufacturing sectors.

“New workplace concepts and technologies enhance skills”

Nick Bennett

SEKE project manager

Professor Nick Bennett is

Director, Regional Centre

for Manufacturing Industry

(RCMI) at the University of

Portsmouth.

“The future prosperity of

the South East region is

increasingly dependent on

the effective application

of creativity, innovation

and good practice in new

product and process

developments, in the

exploitation of state of the

art technologies and in

the development of skills

in key sectors. SEKE aims to lead in this endeavour

with the promotion of ethical, sustainable and

exciting technological innovation.

“Our theme ‘From Concept to Rapid Manufacture’

encapsulates the essence of SEKE expertise and

resources. It can be difficult for individuals and

organisations to identify the best sources of advice

and services for novel design and manufacturing

studies. What we aim to do is provide fast feedback

on enquiries with suggestions for possible routes

forward. Each partner specialises in different, but

linked, aspects of the theme, hence inputs from one

or more partners can produce a robust solution.

“It is also vital that young people are well

informed and enthusiastic about high-value

employment opportunities. As part of SEKE’s

programme, therefore, we are keen to assist

secondary and further education students and

staff in understanding new technologies and their

applications, whether through open days, taster

visits, prototyping support for project work or

demonstrations.”

direct contact: nick.bennett@port.ac.uk

“Our design solutions are based on sound engineering principles”

David White

David White is Business Development Manager,

Centre for Design Technology at the University

of Brighton.

“Innovation and creativity

have already become the

means of business survival

for many industrial sectors.

Other sectors will be put under

increasing pressure as the

global market factors continue

to grow.

“The South East Knowledge

Exchange is intended to give

businesses the tools they

require to maintain and grow their market by using

best practice techniques and services.

“The University of Brighton has long been

recognised as a leader in the area of innovation and

creativity. Our unique mix of traditional engineering

and the creative arts has led to a natural growth of

creativity in design engineering as well as styling.

“We work with companies to design new products

or improve existing products, and demonstrate best

practice to help them grow.

“We have developed a number of tools and

methodologies that help us look at a range of design

solutions based on customer needs. This cuts

across the age-old questions: ‘what is good design?’

or ‘what is creative compared to innovative?’ It could

be that the answer lies in the market or the customer

needs; alternatively it could be an idea that is so

good it will create its own market.

“The design solutions we develop at Brighton cover

all these issues. Because they are based on sound

engineering foundations, they can easily be taken

into the rapid prototyping, tooling and manufacturing

phases in which our partners are extremely

proficient.”

“We can compress the product development timetable”

Graham Bennett

Graham Bennett is Head of Department, Centre

for Rapid Design and Manufacture (CRDM), at the

Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College.

“Bringing a new product to market involves a

sequence of events and processes, from the original

idea, its design, marketing and pre-production

prototyping right through to manufacturing – all of

which takes time. SEKE can help to compress this

timetable, saving money and helping our clients get

to market first and beat the competition.

“What’s unique about SEKE is the breadth of

resources and expertise available. No-one else has

the range that this grouping provides.

“When clients approach any of the three

organisations, we work out together how practical

their ideas are, what their needs may be and what

we recommend as being the right combination of

skills and facilities available across the three centres

to turn their ideas into manufactured items.

“Here at the CRDM for example, we have the biggest

range of rapid prototyping machinery under one

roof in the UK. About half of the work we carry out

here for business clients is prototyping, whether it is

products, parts or tools. This is often done because

an actual example of the product is needed for

raising funds. We also have a great deal of expertise

in manufacturing techniques and methods.

“Another aspect of our operation here is that the

environment is very close to a real

industrial place of work, so we can give

students and schoolchildren a taste of

what it’s like to work in product design

and engineering. During school visits,

the children show amazing versatility,

using our CAD tools and rapid

prototyping equipment to produce

remarkably sophisticated end results.”

case study

(Product Innovation)

DANLITE Ltd

Daniel Beard, a young engineer working in

London, is acutely aware of the hazards of

riding bicycles in congested traffic. His interest

in solving technical problems, especially those

with an environmental bias, led him to invent an

innovative device that would provide an extra

safety factor – the Danlite.

The idea is disarmingly simple – Danlite is a

battery powered light extension, which extends

from the handlebars and gives forward and rear

beams, encouraging passing motorists to give

cyclists a wide birth.

Having come up with the concept, he decided

to review some of his ideas with the Wessex

Innovation Service and the University of

Portsmouth.

Wessex Innovation Service responded by setting

up a virtual company, involving three final year

students based in the University of Portsmouth’s

Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry

(RCMI). They agreed to create computer-

aided visuals and build several prototypes

of the working Danlite, including aesthetic

form analysis, electronics and assembly

methodologies.

Danlite Ltd was then able to patent the idea

and secure almost £50,000 of funding for

development work and tooling. Danlite is now in

full production and even won a mention on the

weblog of that well-known London cyclist Boris

Johnson who called it “a magical device”.

As Daniel explained:

“We managed to overcome some major challenges in sourcing raw materials from overseas, ironed out some design difficulties and learnt how to sweat blood!”

The University of Portsmouth

The Regional Centre for Manufacturing Industry

(RCMI) at the University of Portsmouth is a

designated Centre of Excellence that draws on

engineering design, computing, rapid prototyping,

workshop and testing facilities. A research

environment in materials engineering, mathematics,

computing applications and manufacturing systems

engineering ensures a world-class pool of expertise

relevant to SEKE aims.

As well as delivering services in design and

manufacturing innovation, the RCMI collaborates

with schools, further education colleges, training

providers, entrepreneurs and industry to support

creativity, innovation and the application of high-

technology design and prototyping facilities.

It has completed more than 400 proof-of-concept

and rapid prototyping studies and its facilities

are available for school and college workshop

visits, including activities with regional Education

Business Partnerships (EBP), and for the teaching

of undergraduate and postgraduate students, thus

linking leading-edge activities into the learning and

skills agenda.

Work-based learning and the Masters degree

programmes attract people from around the world.

The University of Brighton

The University of Brighton has a strong regional

profile in creativity and design linked to product

and industrial studies. Within the Centre for Design

Technology, the University’s new Creativity Centre

harnesses the skills of students and staff to deliver

innovative designs for individuals and across

industry.

As a Centre of Excellence for creativity in teaching

and learning, it is one of a select band of similar

facilities in England. The Centre draws on

excellence in engineering design from within the

School of Engineering combined with excellence in

craft based design from the School of Architecture

and Design.

The University has a track record of delivering

innovative solutions that have resulted in business

success. Its reputation extends across a network of

design-based companies that use the resource and

provide input into projects. It is also recognised for

its interface with traditional engineering companies

and manufacturers.

The Collaborative Training Centre is experienced in

formulating and managing projects with industry and

has achieved award-winning results in the region.

Over the last ten years it has supported more than

100 companies and achieved a total knowledge

transfer programme value of more than £8million.

Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College

Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College

is home to the Centre for Rapid Design and

Manufacture (CRDM). This Centre, which offers

prototyping facilities and associated advisory

services amongst the most advanced in Europe, was

the 2005 host of the National Conference on Rapid

Design, Prototyping and Manufacturing.

The Centre’s track record includes leadership of

a “Copernicus” funded programme to investigate

methods of producing tooling using electroforming,

and technical leadership in another EU funded

programme, FASTOOL, to design and develop a

completely automated tool room. The Centre is

also undertaking a project with the Manufacturing

Engineering School of Cambridge University to

examine methods of improving sintered tooling.

As well as short courses, taster days and schools

events, CRDM is able to provide rapid product

development services to schools, colleges,

entrepreneurs and companies through SEKE

learning and skills or commercial routes.

Complementary Skills Working in Partnership

The three SEKE Partners are complementary

in the capabilities that they bring to the SEKE

collaboration.

“One Stop Shop” Meets Strategic Need for Innovative Industries

With creativity and innovation identified as the key

drivers in developing the markets and products of

the future, the Higher Education Funding Council

for England, has earmarked funding for a national

network of Knowledge Exchange Centres that will

contribute to knowledge and wealth creation across

the community.

The initiative for the establishment of the SEKE for

Product Development grew out of the joint and

separate experience of the three Partners in dealing

with their business clients’ needs. As a result, it has

been organised in such a way as to deliver a more

customer-focused and comprehensive “one-stop

shop” service, particularly to the high growth start-

ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs who characterise the

design and innovation sector.

It has been influenced by national and regional

reports by agencies such as the DTI’s Office of

Science and Innovation (OSI) and the South East

England Development Agency (SEEDA) which

provide a clear strategic view for achieving success

in sustainable prosperity for Britain and the South

East region.

The DTI strategy document: ‘Prosperity for All’ (Sept

2003) states that faster change needs “…highly

skilled employees, high calibre managers, forward

looking unions and knowledgeable consumers

working together to produce ever smarter goods and

services” and that the DTI’s job is to “… help create

the conditions for sustainable success – promoting

competition and enterprise; setting standards

for workplaces and products; fostering science,

technology and innovation; and raising skills.”

The 2003 Lambert Review of Business-University

Collaboration also described the need for

Universities to play “…a much more active role in

the regional and national economy”. It stated that

“Universities will have to get better at identifying

their areas of competitive strength in research” and

that “Business will have to learn how to exploit the

innovative ideas that are being developed …”

The South East Knowledge Exchange for Product

Development embraces these concerns and is

designed to make a significant impact on regional

competitiveness.

Inclusiveness, learning and skills and the ability

to collaborate to achieve greater capabilities are

central to SEEDA’s regional economic strategy.

SEKE plays a major role in this agenda by helping

to generate enthusiasm and understanding among

young people and by creating value-added activities

in technology businesses.

case study

(Product Innovation)

Moss Traffic Ease Ltd

Thomas Moss and Patrick Simmons are two

Portsmouth based entrepreneurs with a classic

bright idea. They wanted to develop a new

concept in the way portable traffic lights were

designed and deployed.

Their vision was to develop a product that

would help ease congestion around temporary

obstacles, such as minor road works or incidents

that are an everyday occurrence on British and

European Roads. Of great importance was the

need to provide a portable traffic light system

that could be easily transported in most vehicles,

be deployed by a single person in an instant and

be cost effective, so as to enable all Authorities

and Contractors to maintain an inventory of

portable traffic lights that could be readily

available when needed.

Working with the inventors and the Highways

Authority in a SMART Feasibility Study, the

University of Portsmouth’s Regional Centre

for Manufacturing Industry (RCMI) turned the

concept into reality through the development of

a prototype using advanced computer aided

design and rapid prototyping systems.

This prototype went on to undergo trials with a

number of emergency services throughout the

UK. During this time RCMI refined the concept

to meet pan-European legislative compliance

thereby opening up the European market to

Moss Traffic Ease Ltd.

The first Moss Traffic Ease prototypes went on

display at the UK Police Emergency Equipment

Exhibition Hendon and at the Innovations

Exhibition Earls Court. Licence arrangements

in EC for volume manufacture have been

progressed.

case study

(Research, Development

& Testing)

Ably Shelters Ltd

Ably Shelters is a respected and experienced

company specialising in the design, hire and

sale of a unique range of covering systems and

relocatable buildings for industrial, commercial

and military use.

The objectives of the SEKE project were to

provide manufacturing strategy, analyse product

quality attributes, and carry out product integrity

trials and certification.

The work was successfully carried out in parallel

with varying specification requirements to

suppliers in order to achieve a final, optimised

product design. The result was enhanced

product performance and substantially increased

sales volume and market share.

SEKE involvement and liaison continued into

new areas of composites and the provision of

education and training for company employees

in the form of work-based learning and short

courses. Ably Shelters has now progressed to

new product sales and a NATO design study

promises large additional business potential.

How You Can Benefit From SEKE

The case studies included in this brochure give

some idea of the range of benefits that individuals

and organisations can gain by becoming involved

with SEKE. These include valuable opportunities for

updating staff, student placements for businesses,

guidance and resources for entrepreneurs and the

creation of funded projects for strategic product

and organisational development, as well as the

stimulation of learning and teaching support for

schools and colleges.

The SEKE team has substantial experience in

identifying appropriate solutions in the “concept-to-

rapid-manufacture” value chain. They are happy to

discuss the needs and aims of each enquirer and to

recommend the best way in which SEKE research

and knowledge transfer can help.

Join the Club to Share Ideas

One of the ways entrepreneurs and small companies

can benefit from SEKE is by becoming part of a

network of people using the technology at each

of the sites. Networking and cluster creation

can be highly beneficial, especially for smaller

organisations, on the basis that the sum of a

grouping can often be greater than its constituent

parts.

Treated as “clubs” these groupings cover a

number of technology themes including design for

manufacture, reverse engineering and rapid tooling.

They are a good opportunity for users to meet their

peers at events, discuss applications and problem

solving, review new technologies and seek advice

on an informal basis from SEKE partners.

Worldwide Links Enable Best Practice Benchmarking

Design and manufacturing innovation is a constantly

evolving area. One of the ways that the SEKE team

is able to “level the playing field” for companies with

limited research and development resources of their

own is to keep them updated with the latest solutions

available.

Through links with academic and industrial

conferences and dissemination events, working

links with other centres of excellence around the

world and through professional and trade societies

and journals, SEKE experts are able to benchmark

best practices in all the disciplines relevant to users’

needs.

This valuable information also feeds into the

knowledge transfer work that SEKE conducts

with clients, enabling the team to apply global

research and scientific advances to the Region’s

manufacturing challenges. This capability is

a unique benefit of such university/business

collaborations.

Reflecting this research-led approach, training

activities available at partner campuses are

designed to create continuous improvement and

to exploit change. They also cover the updating

and certification training of staff in such areas as

rapid prototyping operations, tooling design, CNC

programming and problem solving.

(Product Concept &

Prototyping)

Odyssey Training Ltd

Odyssey Training Ltd is a company specialising

in management training and consultancy

to the maritime sector worldwide. It helps

ship operators, port operators, passenger

transport organizations, and many other related

companies, to develop their personnel and

improve their performance.

When the company wanted advice on its

innovation needs in order to diversify into product

development and licensing, it was introduced

to SEKE by Business Link Wessex. Knowledge

transfer in product development processes was

successfully achieved by working closely with

Odyssey over several months.

This work has resulted in a partnership approach

to Business Link Wessex for guidance on

innovation funding, which in turn has resulted

in a SMART (Pocket) award strategy being

agreed, in liaison with the Defence Diversification

Agency (DDA) for technology transfer for patent

content. It has also led to dialogue with marine

technoloy collaborators about potential joint

product development and support for volume

manufacture.

case study

Stewart Plastics

Stewart Plastics has been a leading

manufacturer of plastic domestic and

catering food storage and food preparation

products since 1945. In addition to its Home

and Professional Catering Division, Stewart

Plastics also has a Gardening Division (the UK’s

leading supplier of a wide range of injection and

rotationally moulded plant containers supplying

the garden centre and DIY market place)

and also has a long established Promotional

Packaging Division.

Stewart Plastics first engaged with the University

of Brighton’s Knowledge Exchange programme

when it was looking for assistance to develop

new variations for its storage products. The brief

for the design group, based at the University of

Brighton, was to develop new products without

the need for extensive re-tooling.

The end result was that eleven creative solutions

were selected by Stewart Plastics to progress

further, and the relationship with the University

has moved to a more formal basis and a much

closer working partnership.

Lee Mowle, Managing Director, said,

“We were looking to work with a dynamic team with fresh ideas and open minds to develop a totally new range of food storage products - to literally think outside the box. So impressed were we with the work done by the designers on our original brief that we are now working closely with the University’s design team on a whole range of ideas across not only our food storage and preparation offering but our gardening and packaging ranges as well.”

case study

Students Get Hands-on Learning Experience:

SEKE offers educational visits to each partner site

by prior arrangement. These visits, which are very

popular with students and teachers, are designed to

be relevant to syllabuses being studied at secondary

and further education levels. They may for example

include short workshops on concept development

and creative sketching, computer aided design,

rapid prototyping and production processes.

One of the most exciting aspects of such visits is the

opportunity for students to see their ideas realised

in the form of models created on rapid prototyping

machines or in design studios and workshops.

SEKE has developed several case studies relevant

to GCSE, A Level and FE syllabuses that can add

that extra dimension to teaching and learning and

have been shown to be effective in “teasing out”

pupil participation.

Getting The Most Out Of SEKE...

SEKE offers many different ways by which

entrepreneurs, companies and students can work

collaboratively to generate benefits not just for the

participants themselves but for the wider regional

community. These include student projects and

work placements, postgraduate studies, seminars

and workshops, collaborative research, work-

based learning, commercial testing and prototyping

services, consultancy and a range of projects

that can be developed and submitted to funding

agencies.

What Costs And Charges Are Involved?

As a general rule, educational experiences for

student visitors are undertaken at no cost. SEKE will

however wish to recoup the direct costs involved

in university student studies, they will advise on

adequate support levels for student placements

and will charge market rates for professional

development education and commercial services.

In the case of funded project proposals the partners

will normally assist in bid development free of

charge on the basis that projected income will result

from the work. Intellectual property, licensing and

equity arrangements can apply in other joint venture

and collaborative work.

Please Get In Touch For More Information

If you are interested in finding out how you can

take advantage of this unique programme, please

contact the team through the central project office

based at the University of Portsmouth. The SEKE

team will respond quickly to all enquiries and, in the

case of companies, will visit by prior arrangement if

required.

Contact Details

South East Knowledge Exchange

University of Portsmouth

Faculty of Technology, Portland Building

Portland Street, Portsmouth PO1 3AH

Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 2600

Fax: +44 (0)23 9284 2584

Email: seke@port.ac.uk

www.port.ac.uk/seke

General: www.nationalcke.co.uk

(Lean Manufacturing)

Rimor Precision Engineering Ltd

Rimor Ltd has an excellent reputation for high

precision, low volume, high value manufacture,

with particular emphasis on modular build. It

serves customers in the oil and gas, autosport,

electronics, aerospace, clean room and high

precision industry sectors.

To help meet the exacting demands of its

customers, Rimor worked with University

of Portsmouth’s RCMI (Regional Centre for

Manufacturing Industry) on a programme to

implement Lean manufacturing processes

throughout the company. Using Kaizen seminars

– based on the involvement of everyone, from

management to shopfloor, in a cycle of continuous

evaluation and improvement - the focus of the

programme was to inform staff on current Lean

concepts and thinking and to create, in each

seminar, a process of feedback to form the

basis of identifying perceived strengths and

weaknesses in internal processes.

The programme included management

seminars illustrating the expectations of leading

multinationals in Lean processes and staff

seminars involving prizes for suggestions on how

to achieve improvements.

The resulting performance enhancements have

already led to successful Lean benchmarking

audits for Rimor by major client companies and

valuable new orders.

A DTI-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership

(KTP) is extending these achievements to all

factory and office process value chains.

case study case study

Hotchkiss Ltd

Hotchkiss Limited is the leading

contractor for ductwork and associated

technologies in the United Kingdom.

When Giles Wooley, Hotchkiss Group MD,

attended a local University of Brighton event,

“Engineer Your Business”, the presentation on

the Knowledge Exchange caught his attention

as a possible solution to a production problem

within one of his subsidiary companies. In a

short timeframe, prototypes were produced in a

completely new way and are now being tested in

a production environment.

Giles commented

“We needed a fast and cost effective way to produce prototypes. The particular items concerned are difficult to produce by conventional machining techniques. The fast prototyping really was fast, the quality was good and the cost was competitive. We will certainly be using the service again in the future.”

case study

(Rapid Prototyping Services)

Spinlock Ltd

Spinlock Ltd, the Cowes-based

designers and manufacturer of

nautical rope-holding products, has successfully

exploited three dimensional design and rapid

product development techniques to create a high-

performance product range that has moved the

company to a market leader position in their sector.

The University of Portsmouth’s Regional Centre for

Manufacturing Industry assisted the design team

at Spinlock Ltd to develop a clear competitive

Engineering Education Scheme (EES) held at

the University of Brighton in December 2005”,

said Bronagh. “We had ten schools and

engineers from their sponsoring companies

participating, and the event was so

successful that the Regional Director for EES

has requested that we accommodate twenty

schools next year. It would have been difficult to

run the event were it not for the direct involvement

of the Knowledge Exchange team.

“The planned outreach to schools in Sussex during the coming year is exciting as it will provide pupils with a real experience in modern product design.”

(Rapid prototyping

services)

HMD / Kontro Seal-less Pumps (part of Sundyne Corporation)

When HMD / Kontro, the leading manufacturer of

seal-less pumps took over production of a pump

previously made in Italy, they only had a basic

drawing for one complicated component and

production tooling details had been lost in the

transfer of the business to the UK.

During a “knowledge exchange” visit to

Buckinghamshire Chiltern University College

members of HMD’s design team realised that they

could solve the problem of the missing information

by using rapid prototyping technology.

Simon Purbrook, senior product development

engineer at HMD/Kontro said, “Following the visit

arranged by the University of Brighton, with whom

we had been working for several years, I used this

technology to solve our short-term problem, but

subsequently we have made it an integral part of

our production process and have produced savings

of over £24,000 on the production of only 30 items.”

case study

case study

(Rapid Product Development)

CTI International Ltd

CTI International is a local micro-

enterprise, specialising in automotive multi-functional

antennae. The company requested the University

of Portsmouth’s Regional Centre for Manufacturing

Industry to work on new antennae developments.

They engaged a postgraduate student project team

working in HEROBC, (Higher Education Reach-Out

to Business and the Community) to test the concept

to ensure that it was reliable and fit for purpose. CTI

supplied the students with the relevant test standards

and a thorough programme of testing and evaluation

was carried out against these.

A range of prototypes for the automotive antennae

was developed and tested, and significant changes

were made to the company’s original model.

Subsequent production of a number of prototypes

enabled CTI International to take their product to a

number of automotive companies and win contracts

to supply Mercedes Benz, Renault and an automotive

design house in Detroit.

These major international contracts have now resulted

in CTI International growing from a company with only

5 employees to its current position of a workforce of

thirty-five.

case study

(Product Analysis & Test)

Elta Fans Ltd

Elta Fans Ltd is a world leader

in the design and manufacture of quality industrial

and commercial fans. SEKE’s first contact with the

company involved design project work associated

with the assembly of complex, multi-component,

mixed-flow fan impellers.

Since then further projects have been completed

and reported including analysis of the geometric

characteristics of imported, low-pressure die cast

hubs and studies using a Mitutoyo 706 co-ordinate

measuring machine, touch trigger probing and

software capable of analysing variances between

specified geometry and actual product geometry.

The work has provided Elta’s engineering team

with accurate production engineering data

on which to base their designs. Production

developments have advanced to further computer

aided design and fatigue testing of impellor

assemblies for installation in new capital ships.

Ardingly College

Mark Harrison, Head of Design Technology

for Ardingly College in Sussex commented:

“University of Brighton has been tremendously

supportive to our students who are currently

studying their ‘A’ levels in Design and Technology.

“As well as giving individual help in

particular to two of our students, they

have also given time to support and

advise our students in the design

stages of their projects and have

helped with the manufacturing of the

individual prototypes.

“Without their help, our students would have

found it difficult if not impossible to progress their

projects. We are fortunate to have a university so

close at hand that is able to support in this way.”

advantage through close working on rapid

prototyping using the stereolithography and thermojet

processes. The company is an exemplar in terms

of the adoption of new design and rapid product

development technologies underpinning product and

business growth.

Commenting on the process, Professor Nick Bennett,

Director of the Regional Centre for Manufacturing

Industry at the University of Portsmouth said:

“In the case of Spinlock, they are leading the way in high performance rope holding product innovation in embedding advanced 3D CAD linked to rapid prototyping technologies.”

Engineering Education Scheme

Bronagh Liddicoat is the

manager of SETPOINT Sussex,

the focus for teachers, business and industry to

obtain information about resources, schemes and

initiatives concerned with science, technology,

engineering and maths.

As part of the organisation’s remit to promote and

organise schools activities it communicates with

678 schools via direct email shots and through its

website (www.setpointsussex.org.uk) which has

between 60,000 - 100,000 hits per month.

“The Knowledge Exchange was an integral part

of the planning, organising, and running of the

case study

case study

South East Knowledge Exchange

University of Portsmouth

Faculty of Technology

Portland Building

Portland Street

Portsmouth PO1 3AH

Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 2600

Fax: +44 (0)23 9284 2584

Email: seke@port.ac.uk

www.port.ac.uk/seke

General: www.nationalcke.co.uk