Advanced manufacturing

Within the advanced manufacturing sector, key themes, opportunities and challenges are emerging for the UK. Industrial Digitalisation offers manufacturers, large and small, the opportunity to become connected and digitally smarter both in the factory and across the supply chain. It provides significant opportunities for the UK manufacturing sector to improve its productivity and competitiveness on the global stage. At the same time, other priorities for UK manufacturing include responding to global environmental and energy challenges, through cleaner, more efficient or novel processes and products. Addressing the manufacturing productivity gap is also key to achieving economic improvements across the UK regions.

NPL is working with partners across industry and academia to accelerate the understanding, adoption and embedding of new skills and technologies within the range of manufacturing sectors and across their supply chains to address these challenges and opportunities. Good measurement strategies and skills can provide innovative solutions such as:  

• In-situ measurement methods to accelerate process development and improve quality control
• Non-destructive testing and evaluation methods for quality assurance
• Robust measurement for characterisation of materials
• Validated simulation and modelling tools to enable digitalisation of manufacturing

NPL's priority actions are based on the needs and long-term challenges of UK industry. We will deliver the science and engineering that the UK requires to accelerate maturity of technology and drive commercialisation in significant global markets.

The three leading programmes of work include:

• Digital Enabled Supply Chain (DESC): We're delivering a programme that will help establish the UK's manufacturing supply chains in a world-leading position, enabling businesses to become highly flexible, efficient and responsive to customer needs
• Additive Manufacturing: We're developing new standards for additive manufacturing to unlock the benefits of reduction of wastage, increased flexibility and efficiency for industry
• Hybrid Propulsion: We're helping to develop new methods for novel manufacturing of propulsion systems and components in both the automotive and aerospace sectors