International. The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) in Britain and nine other European partners are collaborating on the design, expansion and construction of a pilot high-energy milling plant (HEBM) for the production and validation of innovative nanostructured powders.
These advanced powders would be available for use in a number of high-value manufacturing applications, such as cutting tools, medical implants, and a range of automotive and aerospace components.
The project is underway and has already experienced excellent results in terms of the performance of advanced powders for use in abrasive tools and in the development of the pilot plant.
The €5.3 million project, which is partially funded by the European Union's Framework Program Seven (FP7), consists of ten partner organisations across seven countries, bringing together various capabilities such as process engineering, materials research, product development and prototyping, characterization, application testing and process economics.
PilotManu is manufacturing nanostructured powders using a high-energy mill ball technology developed by lead partner MBN Nanomaterialia. The technology will enable the manufacture of innovative advanced powders with ultrafine crystalline structures, meaning products can be optimized to improve strength, reduce weight or provide excellent resistance to wear, corrosion or thermal conditions.
The project's achievements will create a number of new product opportunities, not only in the automotive and aerospace sectors, but also in other high-value markets, such as health and energy, among others.
