£11.44 per hour + £1.38 holiday pay
Advertising End Date
24 Nov 2024

Role & Department Overview

This work will contribute to an ongoing significant investment in digital technology innovation with small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the northwest of England: The Center for Digital Innovation (CDI, https://centrefordigitalinnovation.ac.uk/). As part of this project, you will work closely with an industry partner and receive support from the CDI team within the School of Engineering that is working on R&D challenges that bridge between academia and industry.

This internship is specifically looking for a student who can assist with the investigation of the change in quality and mechanical properties of parts fabricated using selective laser sintering (SLS) using material that has been up-cycled from used or waste material by the company's own process. The material being used is a powdered polyamide (nylon) with glass additive and initial trials resulted in surface quality issues being encountered after 3 months of use. The company wishes to conduct a series of tests using the SLS capabilities of Lancaster University to better understand how and why these issues arise.
 
This internship is offered as part of a programme of opportunities for Lancaster University students and will be supervised by a member of the School of Engineering CDI team. This opportunity is designed to give students experience of contributing to real world research and development in collaboration with businesses.
 
Preferred start date: 2nd December 2024
 
Expected end date: 28th of February 2025
 
Weekly hours: 12 hours per week
 
Location: Lancaster University campus 

Job Description

  • Design a standard SLS build to be fabricated for every fabrication/upcycle stage incorporating parts that will be used to show mechanical properties of the sintered parts, physical and/or chemical properties of the material, dimensional accuracy and surface quality.

  • Plan a schedule of builds that allows time for material handling, sampling and processing between each build.

  • Assist with the SLS machine setup and build preparation activities as well as build removed, part extraction and SLS machine turnaround.

  • Perform tests on fabricated parts to establish the effects on the upcycling process on mechanical properties of the sintered parts, physical and/or chemical properties of the material, dimensional accuracy and surface quality.

  • Analyse the results obtained from part tests to establish at what point degradation in material and mechanical properties begins.

  • Produce a final report that summarises all work completed, and can be used as an effective hand-over document to the Beneficiary.

Person Specification

  • An interest in applied research and development, specifically in the development.

  • Knowledge and understanding of additive manufacturing technologies and design for additive manufacturing principles.

  • Experience of using 3D modelling computer software such as CAD and slicing programs.

  • Practical experience of mechanical testing methods in accordacne with industry standards.

  • Excellent communication skills are essential, both verbal and written.

  • An interest in the commercial application of R&D, especially with small to medium-sized enterprises.

  • Attention to detail with the ability to plan and work autonomously as well as integrate into a small team.
Working in this role will help develop the following skills and experience:
 
  • Collaboration

  • Organisation

  • Knowledge Sharing

  • Research

  • Problem-Solving

  • Time Management

  • Planning and Organisation

  • Written Communication

For any further information please contact Sam Walsh, Project Engineer (Centre for Digital Innovation) at [email protected], 

You are required to submit a cover letter to support your application. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Please note: Unless specified otherwise in the advert wording, this role is only open to individuals living in the UK.

Under the terms of this work, we endeavour to provide the advertised number of hours however, hours are not guaranteed and that work may cease if there is a fall in demand. 

Adverts that display a closing date should be treated as a guide. We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

Apply

Help and advice on making applications can be found on the Lancaster University Careers pages. Visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/careers.

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