Transforming Additive Manufacturing Via Multiscale Imaging (TAMMI)

A prestigious 10-year Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies (CiET) to Professor Peter Lee.

Funder: Royal Academy of Engineering

Period: April 2019 - March 2029

Description: TAMMI aims to use synchrotron imaging to develop more efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective additive manufacturing technologies. More specifically, by using ultrafast x-ray imaging and diffraction, this project develops additive manufacturing machines that can see inside the 3D-printing process to capture key phenomena. These insights will be used to accelerate the development of new materials, design rules, artificial intelligence (AI) control algorithms and multi-scale predictive models and remove expensive trial-and-error development in 3D-printing. There are 5 themes in TAMMI:

1. Engineering Innovation - Create in situ & operando AM process replicators (ISOPRs) that enable us to see inside AM.
2. Technique Innovation - Develop novel correlative imaging, quantification, analysis and control techniques.
3. Transforming existing AM Processes - Apply innovations in Themes 1&2 to completely disrupt the way existing AM processes are operated.
4. Innovation in Materials - Optimise existing alloys and develop new materials designed for AM.
5. Novel multi-scale/materials AM systems - Develop the next generation of AM machines.

People: Professor Peter Lee

Figure: Schematic of the five themes forming the TAMMI platform. The Themes all interaction, with the long term sustained Chair funding being a core underpinning requirement for achieving the goals. Surrounding this are the various sources of funding which will be to fund individual PDRA’s and PhD students to perform specific projects. All of this will lead to the transformational impacts which form the outer ring.