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Applications are invited for a self-funded, 3-year full-time or 6-year part-time PhD project. The PhD will be based in the School Mechanical and Design Engineering and will be supervised by Dr Hom Dhakal , Dr Mariana Dotcheva and Dr Krassimir Dotchev.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) method gives the opportunity to produce complex parts from engineering materials in short time directly from 3D CAD data. AM process leads to simplification of planning and manufacturing of intricate parts, which possess the required geometrical forms and dimensions, and the necessary mechanical properties such as strength, hardness, and certain stress behaviour. As this technology becomes more industry popular, applications will widen so design and process planning tools are required for making the process reliable and efficient

Despite the studies of many researchers, the AM practice is still in development stage with no clear recommendations and rules. It relies mainly on the staff experience and is based on the method of trial and error. Consequently, in many cases part design and building process is not efficient. This project is motivated by the limitations of the existing practices in design of parts for Direct Manufacturing (DM) and by the desire to use the full capabilities of the Layer Additive (LA) processes. The design process needs to encompass the specifics of LA process and its capabilities and to be able to use the design freedom provided by DM technologies.

The project aims to develop a novel design practice for Direct Manufacturing (DM) of metal functional parts/products. The emphasis in project objectives will be on the advantages that AM can bring to the products (new and existing) as new functions, new innovative design, better performance, reduced time to market and achieving the required accuracy. The project will develop a new design approach and collaborative decision-support tools in order to inspire SMEs around new product innovation research. Various design techniques will be investigated in the light of their suitability for AM applications and a new design strategy will be cultivated and verified through industrial case-studies.

The findings of this research will be embedded in a design and process planning platform for AM. Work will be undertaken using the equipment of the Future Technology Centre (FTC): Metal Laser Melting 3D Systems ProX300 system, high performance CAD/CAM systems and various test facilities like Zeiss 3D micro CT imaging. A successful applicant will hold a 1^st or upper second degree in mechanical or manufacturing engineering or relevant discipline. Knowledge of solid modelling software and 3D printing is desirable.

Fees and funding

Visit the research subject area page for fees and funding information for this project.

Funding Availability: Self-funded PhD students only

PhD full-time and part-time courses are eligible for the  (UK and EU students only).

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr Mariana Dotcheva: (mariana.dotcheva@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code ENGN4660219.