Additive manufacturing and sustainability

The Additive Manufacturing and 4D Printing Research group conducts research on novel use of materials, design guidelines and the societal impact of using 3D Printing.

This is a self-funded topic and the objective of this PhD research study is to develop a framework that can assess how good practice and design guidelines can support a more sustainable means to using 3D printing. The study will address the following objectives:

To understand existing state-of-art of the 3D Printing industry
To define established design guidelines in 3D Printing and identify gaps
To integrate design guides into a more holistic approach with sustainability in mind
Demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed framework in an application use case within the context of 3D Printing

Prior knowledge required to undertake the project successfully include having a background in mechanical engineering or computer aided design. Practical knowledge in the use of 3D printing is desirable but not essential.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for the above PhD topic please follow the steps below:

Contact the supervisor by email or phone to discuss your interest and find out if you would be suitable. Supervisor details can be found on this topic page. The supervisor will guide you in developing the topic-specific research proposal, which will form part of your application.
Click on the 'Apply here' button on this page and you will be taken to the relevant PhD course page, where you can apply using an online application.
Complete the online application indicating your selected supervisor and include the research proposal for the topic you have selected.

Good luck!

This is a self funded topic

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. See more information here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-degrees/Research-degree-funding. The UK Government is also offering Doctoral Student Loans for eligible students, and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Eujin Pei -

Academic Background

Eujin is Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences (ADQA-CEDPS), working closely with colleagues to actively monitor and implement quality and standards in relation to academic programmes across the college and providing strategic leadership and management to the faculty. He is the Director for the BSc Product Design Engineering Programme, a Chartered Engineer (CEng), Chartered Environmentalist (CENv) and Chartered Technological Product Designer (CTPD). As a Product Design Engineer during the early days of his career, he developed solutions for companies including Motorola, Inc., LM Ericsson, Sennheiser GmbH & Co. KG, and Rentokil Initial. His research focuses on Additive Manufacturing and 4D Printing. He is the Chairperson for the UK National Standards Committee for Additive Manufacturing - British Standards Institute AMT/8; and UK Head of Delegate for ISO/TC261. He is the Convenor of the International Organisation for Standardisation ISO/TC261/WG4 that develops global Standards for Additive Manufacturing Data and Design; and Convenor of ISO/TC261/JG67 for Functionally Graded Additive Manufacturing. Eujin is a Full Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College as the national agency that assesses proposals for funding Research in Engineering and Physical Sciences. He is a Member of the EPSRC Engineering Prioritisation Panel, and Member of the EPSRC Engineering Fellowship Panel. In 2018, he became a Member of the EPSRC Early Career Forum in Manufacturing Research that involves participating in EPSRC strategic advisory activities. Eujin is the Editor-in-Chief for the Progress in Additive Manufacturing Journal (SpringerNature), Associate Editor for Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing (Springer) and Associate Editor for Assembly Automation Journal (Emerald). He is an Editorial Board Member for Rapid Prototyping Journal (Emerald), and Member of the Editorial Board for International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing (Inderscience). He is a reviewer for Cogent Engineering (Taylor & Francis); Journal of Manufacturing Processes (Elsevier); Manufacturing Letters Journal (Elsevier); Optics and Lasers in Engineering (Elsevier); Materials & Design (Elsevier); Nature Communications (Nature Publishing Group); International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management (Inderscience); Advances in Mechanical Engineering Journal (Sage Publishers); Journal of Engineering Manufacture (Sage Publishers); Journal of Mechanical Design (American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME); Recent Patents on Engineering (Bentham Publishers) and the International Journal of Design (Open Access). He is also reviews for Palgrave Books (Macmillan Publishers Ltd.), Laurence King Publishing Ltd. and SpringerNature AG.

Research

Eujin leads the Additive Manufacturing & 4D Printing Research Group with his interest focusing on Additive Manufacturing and Smart Materials. He is also the Co-Director for the Brunel Centre for Digital Manufacturing. He gained hands-on experience as a Research Fellow at Loughborough University, Brunel University London and at the University of Southampton. He was a Visiting Scientist at Vaal University of Technology and at Central University of Technology in South Africa. His active involvement in professional Memberships enable him to be a step ahead in policies and emerging technologies. He is an active Member of the British Standards Institution TDW4/8 that develops Standards such as BS 8887 for Design for MADE; and BS 8888 for Technical Product Specification. He is a Member of ISO/JTC1/WG12 which develops standardization work for 3D Scanning and 3D Printing within the scope of Information Communication Technology. Eujin also regularly participates in ISO/TC 261/AHG 05; ISO/TC 261/AHG 06; ISO/TC 261/JG 74; and is a Member of ISO/TC 261/CAG Chairman's Advisory Group, and ISO/TC 261/JAG ISO/TC 261 - ASTM F42 Steering group on JG activities. As Convenor for ISO/TC 261/WG4, he oversees the work of ISO/TC 261 - ASTM F42 joint groups including ISO/TC 261/JG 54 Joint ISO/TC 261-ASTM F42 Group for Fundamentals of Design; ISO/TC 261/JG 57 Joint ISO/TC 261-ASTM F42 Group for Specific Design Guidelines on Powder Bed Fusion; ISO/TC 261/JG 64 Joint ISO/TC 261-ASTM F42 Group for Solid Modelling Support; ISO/TC 261/JG 70 Joint ISO/TC 261-ASTM F42 Group for Optimized Medical Image Data; and ISO/TC 261/JG 73 for Joint ISO/TC 261-ASTM F42 Group for Digital Product Definition and Data Management. Eujin is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering Designers (FIED). He is a member of the Engineering Council Registration Standards Committee (RSC) that publishes procedures, routes and requirements for the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC) for registration as Engineering Technician (EngTech), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He is a Member of the Design Research Society (DRS) and Co-Founder of the Inclusive Design Special Interest Group. At Brunel University London, Eujin is a Committee Member for the Innovation Hub which spearheads new initiatives for student entrepreneurs. He has a track record of generating new knowledge and finding solutions for significant impact in the industry. He is active in Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) and worked with BAE Systems Applied Intelligence Ltd. on several industry projects. In 2016, he was nominated for the BAE Systems Chairman’s Award that acknowledged the efforts and achievements of company partners who delivered performance and furthered the company’s values. Through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, he has collaborated with SMEs, such as L'Earth Ltd. to conceptualise, develop and retail new 3D Printing bio-materials, in which the product and packaging were recognised with an International WorldStar Award in 2014 for Design excellence. He continues to advise SMEs including Quinteassential Ltd. and Watson EP Ltd. for New Product Development projects. Between 2013-2014, he collaborated and delivered projects for the Leicester Arts and Museum Service where important historical artefacts from the Anglo-Saxon and Roman period were completely digitised and faithfully reproduced using 3D Printing. He worked with the Leicester Transport Heritage Trust to undertake projects such as to completely reverse engineer a historically important Tramcar that was accurately scaled down and 3D Printed. In 2015, he was invited to lead a Masterclass at the Royal College of Art (RCA) for the Include2015 conference on the use of 3D Printing that could support Design practice.

Professional Design Career

As a Product Design Engineer, Eujin holds numerous Design awards, including the Wearable Master and Field Trial Winner for the Manchester Numbers That Matter Hackathon (2014), International WorldStar Packaging Award (2014), IDSA IDEA Award (2011), Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design 24 hour Inclusive Design Challenge (2011), Motorola Motofwrd (2006), Opus Eyewear (2006), UK Lighting Competition (2006), RSA Design Directions (2005), Popular Science / Core 77 Security Design Competition (2004) and the President's Furniture award (2003). His work has been published in leading international magazines such as Dwell, Icon, FX International and in national newspapers. He has also been interviewed on BBC Radio Leicester and on Power 98FM. Eujin was invited as a judge for the British Promotional Merchandise Association Design competition in 2010. He has exhibited at an international level, including MagicChef at the Panasonic Centre in Tokyo, Japan (2003); and the Clamplight at the NEC Lighting Show in Birmingham, UK (2007). In 2018, his Soundsphere project was exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum which is the only museum in the USA devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary Product Design.

Related Research Group(s)

Additive Manufacturing and 4D Printing - The Additive Manufacturing and 4D Printing Research Group seeks to understand the fundamental aspects and applications of programmable materials through layer-wise methods of production.