IMPC

Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) have supported the setting up of a £6.7M research centre for Innovative Metals Processing (the IMPC) at the University of Sheffield. This venture between the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC) and IMMPEUS (the Institute for Microstructural and Mechanical Process Engineering: The University of Sheffield) will concentrate amongst other things on the processing of titanium and its alloys by powder metallurgy. The IMPC is industrially focussed and is supported by a consortium of industrial partners including; Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Arcam, Arburg, Egide-UK, Materialise, Morgan Advanced Ceramics and the European Powder Metallurgy Association, amongst others.  

The IMPC builds on the recognised excellence of the AMRC in delivering innovative manufacturing technology solutions to the engineering sector and IMMPETUS’ expertise in metals processing and is focused on advanced net-shape processing - with a particular emphasis on metal injection moulding (MIM) and powder based additive and rapid manufacturing technologies.  The centre boasts a range of the latest equipment including two Arburg All-Rounder MIM systems, a Centorr Vacuum Furnace, powder handling and mixing facilities and ARCAM EB12 and EOS M270 powder bed metal processing systems.  This facility is available for use by companies interested in any aspect of these developments. And funding for the centre’s first four years has been secured through a combination of Knowledge Transfer Partnership grants, Engineering and Physical Science Research Council grants, direct funding by the University of Sheffield and in-kind contributions consisting of capital equipment, software, as well as  from Yorkshire Forward and ERDF set-up and support.  After this initial stage, revenue for the centre will come from tiered membership subscription charges, consultancy, research sponsorship and public sector research finance.   

The centre employs academics from the University of Sheffield, technicians and PhD and MSc level students.  Additionally, IMPC sponsor companies are encouraged to place staff in the Centre to collaborate with academic and technical staff on projects.  

All programmes at the IMPC are developed with the priority of transferring knowledge and opportunities into regional companies.  This will be done via direct contact and technology transfer programmes.  Current centre projects include MIM of titanium for aerospace and biomedical device applications, large and hollow sectioned MIM components, mechanical alloying of ferrous metals and development of low cost processes for Ti scrap reclamation.