Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT)
About
Our lives depend on manufactured goods; whether they are for housing, medical care, steel for cars and bicycles, aluminium alloys for airplanes, or precision machine design. Almost all human activity relies on manufactured goods and manufacturing automation in one form or another. The Engineering Manufacturing Strength at UOW combines the strengths of the major research groups listed below and carries out research to improve manufactured products and manufacturing processes in a never-ending quest for greater accuracy, greater economy and higher quality.
For example, researchers in this strength are involved in:
- Research in computational and experimental mechanics, metal forming biomechanics, structures, thermo-fluids and engineering systems
- Researching new manufacturing methods for the next generation of aircraft
- Assisting industry with its materials handling problems
- The development of fine machines and controls to assist surgeons in operations
- The improvement of more accurate and 'intelligent' robots
- Developing methods to maintain the quality of electricity supply for manufacturing processes.
Research
The research is supported strongly by research grants from Industry and from Federal Government competitive research grants and National Cooperative Research Centres. It also interacts with a number of universities and research institutes internationally. In addition to its academic members, the strength involves over twenty full-time research engineers and 65 postgraduate research students. Its research covers the full spectrum of disciplines, requiring Physics and Mathematics to understand and describe the fundamental theory underlying practical problems, and Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical and Computer Engineering used to design and develop the mechanisms and high speed controls and computer systems necessary for modern manufacturing.