Smart Tooling for Ceramic Profile Extrusion: Interdisciplinary exploration of innovation opportunities

该项目是探索陶瓷挤压工艺创新可能性的领导者联谊会奖项的第二阶段。这种方法在砖瓦等建筑构件的批量生产中已经使用了几十年。这一过程提供了巨大的创造性和商业机会，有可能在许多其他背景和应用中加以利用。尽管这一创新潜力对陶瓷型材挤压的研究还很少，但这项研究试图解决这一知识差距。拟议的研究金的重点是调查数字制造技术如何能够成为通过对该工艺的跨学科应用来开发新方法和材料的基础。该项目建立在最初研究金期间的成功发现基础上，该研究金建立了一系列工具和工艺，以帮助进一步研究和利用陶瓷型材挤压方法。这些工具包括3D打印挤出型材的创新方法，也就是众所周知的“模具”，以及软件脚本的开发，方便非专业人士通过简单的数字控制来设计模具。第一阶段还确立了低成本液压挤压系统的概念。该系统与3D打印挤压模具的软件脚本和方法相结合，构成了一个快速开发的工作流程，使个人从业者以及工业公司能够利用陶瓷挤压工艺进行这一创新。这一第二阶段的奖学金将提供机会，以这些成果非常有希望的潜力为基础，并扩大对混合方法的探索，将可展开的元件引入挤压模具。这些探索将寻求研究混合挤压和模具成型生产方法的潜在创造-从而扩大创新和技术应用的可能性。从第一阶段开始，与行业领先的Wienerberger公司和奥雅纳公司开展成功的研究合作，将有助于将这些工具、材料和工艺应用到商业环境中。此外，该项目将利用第一阶段的知识基础，在全新的跨学科研究伙伴关系中探索知识基础的新背景和应用。其中包括与国家复合材料中心(NCC)合作，探索使用陶瓷挤压工艺和复合材料生产航空航天和核能等部门的高性能应用部件。此外，该项目将探索利用粘土/陶瓷的独特品质来应对与可持续性和低碳建筑相关的挑战，并与普利茅斯大学的CobBauge项目合作，研究将传统建筑材料芯挤压到建筑构件中的可能性。该项目的另一个主要目标是进一步发展Tavs Jorgensen博士提供跨学科研究领导的能力。将通过包括大师班、讲习班和出版研究在内的一系列活动来确保这一点。这一目标将与不同学科的其他研究人员、其他高等院校以及世界领先的行业合作伙伴合作解决。该项目的目标是发展能力，积极提高这一跨学科研究领域的研究环境的质量。该项目旨在形成一种新的知识体系，旨在尽可能广泛地扩展跨学科研究方法，探索陶瓷型材挤压工艺的新应用--特别是寻求利用陶瓷的特定特性来解决设计、制造和施工中的可持续性这一紧迫问题。

This project constitutes a second phase of a Leadership Fellowship award exploring innovation possibilities with the ceramic extrusion process. The method has been utilised for many decades in mass productions of architectural components, such as bricks and tiles. The process presents significant creative and commercial opportunities with the potential to be utilised in many other contexts and applications. Despite this innovation potential ceramic profile extrusion is significantly under researched, this research seeks to address this knowledge gap. The proposed fellowship is centred on investigations into how digital fabrication technologies can be the basis for developing new approaches and materials via interdisciplinary applications for the process. The project builds on successful findings from the initial fellowship period which established a series of tools and processes to aid further research and utilisation of the ceramic profile extrusion method. These tools include innovative methods for 3D printing the extrusion profiles, known as 'dies', as well as the development of software scripts which facilitate non-specialists to design the dies through simple numeric controls. The first phase also established a concept for a low-cost hydraulic extrusion system. This system, combined with the software script and the methods for 3D printing the extrusion die, constitute a rapid development workflow that enables individual practitioners as well as industrial companies to engage in this innovation with the ceramic extrusion process. This second stage fellowship will provide the opportunity to build on the very promising potential of these results and expand the explorations into hybrid approaches introducing deployable elements to the extrusion dies. These explorations will seek to investigate the potential creation of hybrid extrusion and die moulding production methods - thus extending both the creative and technical application possibilities. Exploration of these tools, materials and processes into commercial contexts will be aided by extending successful research collaborations from phase one with the sector leading companies Wienerberger and Arup. In addition, this project will utilise the knowledge foundations from phase one in entirely new interdisciplinary research partnerships to explore novel contexts and applications for the knowledge foundation. These include collaboration with the National Composite Centre (NCC) to explore the use of the ceramic extrusion process with composites for the production of parts for high performance applications in sectors such as aerospace and nuclear energy. Furthermore, this project will explore utilisation of the distinctive qualities of clay/ceramics to address the challenges in relation to sustainability and low carbon construction collaborating with Plymouth University's CobBauge project to investigate the possibility of extruding the traditional building material cob into building components. Another main aim of this project is to further develop Dr Tavs Jorgensen's capacity for delivering interdisciplinary research leadership. This will be ensured through a range of activities including masterclasses, workshops and publishing research. This aim will be addressed in collaboration with other researchers across different disciplines, other HEIs and with world leading industry partners. The ambition is to develop capacity to actively raise the quality of the research environment in this interdisciplinary research area.The project aims to be field-defining research that produces a new body of knowledge with a clear aim of extending the interdisciplinary research approach as wide as possible in the exploration of novel application for the ceramic profile extrusion process - in particular seeking to utilise the specific characteristic of ceramics to address the urgent issue of sustainability in design, manufacturing and construction.