Development of new hybrid and digital technologies to complement existing manufacturing processes such as CVD and lithography in late-stage functional

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Large glass products are manufactured around the world, including in the UK, using the floatglass technique and are shipped globally to be found in many sectors, such as automotive andarchitectural. These are functionalised with nanoscale layer deposition techniques to createantimicrobial, anti-reflection, or conductive surfaces before the glass is then formed intocurved shapes.Current manufacturing of float glass and advanced coatings is highly efficient withcontinuous production. However, it is extremely expensive for small batch orders and testing.Thus, the research focuses on late-stage functional customisation of products, exploringnanoscale precision direct-writing techniques, such as inkjet printing, needed for theembedding of sensors, conductive tracks and interconnects and enabling the smart glassmaterials of the future. Additionally, the reliability surrounding printing on curved surfacespresents various challenges, such as the aerodynamic behaviour as the ink when printing. Asa result, an investigation into the printing on curved screens should be performed using theunique high frame rate image capture capabilities in the Fluids in Advanced Manufacturingresearch group to develop a better understand how the reproducibility could be improved foruse in industry.The overarching hypothesis driving this PhD project is that new hybrid and digitaltechnologies are needed to complement existing manufacturing processes such as CVD andlithography, to shape materials of the future, to deliver ultra-precision resolution, to ensurethe advanced functions survive, and to deliver the new methods that will help drivesustainability. The work is also supported by the R&D Incubator at NSG Pilkington, worldleaders in innovating and manufacturing of glass across a range of architectural, automotiveand advanced technical sectors. A wide range of advanced simulation, formulation, fluidflow, laser processing and analysis techniques are anticipated to be employed.