Solheim Manufacturing Science & Technology Laboratory
Overview
Research Focus: Manufacturing Science and Technology Laboratory is committed towards investigating several conventional and non-conventional machining processes to enable the prediction of machinability and manufacturability of difficult-to-cut materials at design stage, and eventually conserve resources – money, time and useful energy. This often requires amalgamation of several aspects, as follows:
Mechanical: The severity of process-induced damages (if any) is reflected in the mechanical properties of the part produced/machined. Depending upon the material, manufacturing process and processing conditions, mechanical testing techniques are one or both of the following:
1. Destructive testing: Fatigue strength, tensile strength, strain to failure, impact and corrosion resistance are investigated.
2. Non-Destructive testing (NDT): Ultrasonic testing, etc.
Material Science: The implications of a manufacturing process are investigated through micro and nano-scale grain properties. The material science point of view helps in understanding the physics of the process which is further translated to the behavior at macro-scale. Besides, machined/bonded surface topography is often studied to understand the process-material interaction.
Environmental: MSTL is committed towards sustainable development of manufacturing processes. With the commingling of machining and aerosol science, the processing conditions are identified which are free from carcinogenic particulates and hence environment friendly.
Process Economics: All the projects at MSTL are geared towards addressing the current and future industrial problems and needs, and cost economics become a vital part in translating the technology from research lab to industry.
Current research activities of the lab focus on the manufacturing of advanced cutting edge materials like ceramics, composites and titanium etc., with an emphasis on material removal, surface treatment, and assembly processes.
- Machining and surface integrity of Advanced composites
- Environmentally Benign machining of composites
