VERGE - Valve Edge Matching Refinement for Greater Efficiency

Domin的使命是积极颠覆价值2500亿美元的液压行业，不幸的是，该行业仍在使用上世纪50年代的技术，并且存在一些效率低下的问题。利用增材制造、现代电子和数字控制技术等创新技术，Domin开发了一种伺服阀平台，体积缩小了4倍，但性能是同类产品的2倍。此外，通过采用其节能产品，Domin希望到2030年帮助更广泛的液压行业每年节省10亿吨二氧化碳当量。为了满足不断增长的需求，Domin计划在未来3年内将其伺服阀生产能力扩大10倍。生产过程涉及多个步骤，从金属增材制造到3D打印核心部件（阀歧管和阀芯）。由于增材制造输出的几何变化，Domin开发了一种称为边缘匹配的定制工艺，以匹配每个歧管和阀芯组合。然而，这一过程涉及迭代和耗时的测量和加工步骤，目前是扩大生产的瓶颈。通过VERGE项目，纽卡斯尔大学将与Domin合作，优化边缘匹配过程。利用他们广泛的制造专业知识和最先进的设备和设施，他们将开发创新的测量和制造策略，这可能会以简化且具有成本效益的方式解锁Domin的生产能力。该项目的成果预计将为全球液压行业和更广泛的英国制造业贡献显著的总增加值（GVA）。他们还将为Domin的下一阶段增长发挥重要作用，因为他们计划在项目完成后的三年内增加70多名员工，涉及各种制造、技术和数字角色。对于纽卡斯尔大学来说，该项目拓宽了他们的专业知识，并提供了接触增材制造的机会，有可能在齿轮传动行业开辟新的机会。

Domin are on a mission to positively disrupt the $250B hydraulics industry, which unfortunately still operates using 1950s technology and is plagued by several inefficiencies. Using innovative technologies such as additive manufacturing, modern electronics and digital control techniques, Domin have developed a servo valve platform that is 4x smaller but with 2x the performance of counterparts. Further, through adoption of their energy-efficient products, Domin want to help the wider hydraulics industry save 1B tonnes CO2e/year by 2030\.To address the growing demand, Domin are planning to scale their servo valve production capacity from by 10x over the next 3 years. The production process involves multiple steps, starting with metal additive manufacturing to 3D print core components (valve manifolds and spools). Owing to the geometric variation in the additive manufacturing outputs, Domin have developed a bespoke process called edge matching to match each manifold and spool combination. However, this process involves iterative and time-consuming measurement and machining steps and is currently a bottleneck to scaling up production.Through Project VERGE, the University of Newcastle will partner with Domin to optimise the edge matching process. Leveraging their broad manufacturing expertise and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, they will be developing innovative measurement and manufacturing strategies, that can potentially unlock Domin's production throughput in a streamlined yet cost-effective manner.The project outcomes are expected to contribute significant Gross Value Add (GVA) to the hydraulics sectors globally and the wider UK manufacturing sector. They will also be instrumental for Domin's next stage of growth, as they plan to add 70+ employees across a variety of manufacturing, technology and digital roles over three years post project completion. For the University of Newcastle, the project with broaden their expertise and provide exposure to additive manufacturing, with the potential to open up new opportunities in the gearing industry.