DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING
M.Sc.
in Integrated
ProductDevelopment
Development
M.Sc.
in Integrated Product
The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics, Accounts and Management (FEMA) is offering for the fifth time the M.Sc. in Integrated Product Development (IPD). The M.Sc. IPD is aimed for engineers or scientists, who have recently graduated in either mechanical or electrical engineering or who have already achieved experience in industry. This postgraduate programme is intended to fortify skills and to maximize performance and success in the
industry by integrating all the aspects of product development including product function and design, product materials and
manufacturing, product use and environmental impact, product marketing and costing, entrepreneurship and business management.
Further information on the M.Sc. IPD course can be found on the website: http://www.eng.um.edu.mt/~dmeu/msc/. Application
details for the M.Sc. IPD course beginning in October 2011 can be obtained from the Office of the University Registrar on Tel: 2340
2848 or by email: info.registrar@um.edu.mt . For any information regarding the M.Sc. IPD course kindly contact the course coordinator, Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia on Tel: 2340 2045 or by email: pjfarr@eng.um.edu.mt
Testimonials from M.Sc. IPD students:
Laura Pace: "The M.Sc. IPD Program enables me to pursue further my career within the manufacturing industry
whilst at the same time, enhancing my theoretical knowledge both in the engineering and managerial world".
Kenny Muscat: "An advantage of the M.Sc. IPD is that apart from engineering itself, it focuses on
areas such as management and marketing. The content of the degree has helped me to work more
effectively at my workplace. It has also helped to understand and appreciate more that really lies
behind the development of a product, no matter how simple it might appear".
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering
with Industrial and Materials Engineering
The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (DIME) together with the Department of Metallurgy and Materials
Engineering (DMME) are offering the Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), in Mechanical Engineering with Industrial and Materials
Engineering, degree. This Industrial Engineering Degree (IED) is a four-year interdisciplinary program created to meet the requirements of today’s industry. By spreading the course over a period of 4 years, the technical and management skills imparted allow
the graduates to be able to also take up management-, entrepreneurial- or technically-oriented jobs. B.Eng.(Hons.) graduates will
be able to deal with the conceptual, methodological and technological tools used by industrial and service companies in the design, processing and implementation of products and processes. Due to their interdisciplinary training, they will be in an excellent
position to engage in a range of Industrial R&D activities, to take up technical managerial posts and will also be eligible to embark
on postgraduate degrees offered by the faculty including the M.Sc. in Integrated Product Development.
Prospective students and employers can learn more about this new exciting career by visiting http://www.eng.um.edu.mt/
~dmeu/indeng. Those interested in learning more about this career are asked to contact either Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg (Head
DIME) or Dr Ing. John C. Betts (Head DMME) by phoning 2340 2061 or 2340 2056 respectively.
University of Malta
Introducing to the 13th Edition of our Annual
Newsletter
Mark-A. Bonnici: ''Being enrolled in the Industrial Engineering Course,
helps me to get a further perspective regarding specific subjects, such as
a deeper insight on Material Science, Manufacturing and also on graphical software programs, which I'm sure that a good Engineer will require in today's Industry''.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Page 12
DIME Newsletter 2011
Message from the Head of Department
I wish to welcome you to the 13th Edition
of the Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing
Engineering
(DIME)
Newsletter. For those of you new to this
publication, inside you will find a
summary of activities held by the DIME.
From European and National sponsored
research projects, final year student projects, visiting
international lecturers, the numerous conferences attended,
and new equipment being installed in our laboratories you
can see that the past year has truly been a busy year for all
staff members.
It is the belief of the members of our department that
manufacturing and industry play a very important and vital
role in the Maltese economy, as outlined by government’s
Vision 2015. Hence the work carried out by the members of
this department looks towards supporting industrial
stakeholders and amplifying their competitiveness. This has
been accomplished by supporting them directly through
industrial based research projects, and by preparing future
engineers to work in industry. More than half the final year
projects carried out this year by students supervised by staff
members of our department were held in collaboration with
industrial partners.
Last but not least in this newsletter you will also find some
information about the undergraduate and postgraduate
courses which are offered by the department. I wish you a
good read, and ask you to contact us should you require any
further information.
I am indeed pleased to once again
see the array of academic activities
carried by our Department and its
contributions at the national scale
to amplify competitiveness in
Manufacturing. In this respect, as
reflected in the content of this
newsletter, DiME has been slowly
upgrading its infrastructure through
the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment funded by
ERDF. Our staff have also been exposed to relevant
training overseas whilst our academics have been busy
presenting their research results at international
conferences.
Nevertheless, as engineers we are driven by the
mentality of ‘continuous improvement’ and for this
reason, we are looking towards expanding not only our
equipment and facilities but also towards increasing our
human resources. This will help us prepare our future
engineering workforce with respect to Government’s
vision 2015 has still not been catered for. We are
hopeful that this will be addressed before the start of
the next academic year as our aim as a Department is to
improve not simply the quantity but more importantly
the quality of tertiary training and research services we
offer to our students.
Ing. Emmanuel Francalanza
I believe that the content of this newsletter is proof of
the overall work carried out by our very small
department and that thus an investment in DiME will
reap much more benefits for both the University and
Malta’s economy.
Editor
Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg
Testimonials from 3rd Year B.Eng. students:
Bonnie Attard: “I chose this course, since it offers an interesting and in depth view of the
industry, its processes, systems and methods. Apart from that the course is also based on
material science which is a very interesting and useful field in itself. Site visits given during the course have also
been of great value in further understanding the subject”.
July 2011
Issue No. 13
Highlights of this issue:
Editor : Ing. Emmanuel Francalanza
Printing : Ms Therese Caruana &
Ms Sharlene Cachia (Secretaries)
Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering,
University of Malta, Msida MSD2080.
Tel : +356 2340 2061
Direct: +356 21 346 761
Web: www.um.edu.mt/eng/ime
Fax: +356 21 343 577
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Externally Funded Projects
Page 2, 3
Conferences attended by DIME staff
4, 5
Recent Research Publications
6
Student Projects
7
Academic Staff Appointment & Miscellaneous
7
Upgrading DIME Facilities
8
Staff Training
9
Public Lecture
10
U/Graduates and P/Graduates courses
12
Page 1
DIME Newsletter 2011
Externally Funded Projects
Public Lectures
ERDF 083 Research Tender:
Amplifying Innovation in Manufacturing
The ERDF 083 Project – Research Services for Amplifying Innovation in Manufacturing is composed of three manufacturing
research projects, all of which contribute towards Europe’s Strategic Vision for Manufacturing for 2020. The projects are:
Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing
ICT in Manufacturing
Innovation in Manufacturing
The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering is responsible for the third project – Innovation in
Manufacturing. This project started in April 2010 for a duration of 2 years and has as its main aim the amplification of
innovation in product design and manufacturing. This research project is composed of two initiatives:
1st Initiative: Development of “An Industrial Collaboration Framework” for Amplifying Innovation in Manufacturing (IC-FAIM)
The overall goal of this research initiative is to amplify innovation and creativity in manufacturing through improved product
development stakeholder collaboration.
2nd Initiative : A “Life-Oriented Product Development Simulation Framework” for Amplifying Innovation in Manufacturing (LSFAIM)
The overall goal of this research initiative is to amplify innovation and creativity in manufacturing via the prediction of
consequences through the simulation of product life phases and the visualization of product and manufacturing system
performance measures during manufacturing system design.
Both initiatives fall within what has been termed as an Innovation Cloud. Within this cloud is a product development process
that involves multiple experts (e.g. designers, production managers, suppliers, etc.) from different areas who collaborate
together in developing new innovative products and
production systems. These ideas are developed within
IC-FAIM. One of the main stumbling blocks when it
Performance
comes to the implementation of innovative ideas is
Metrics
the justification of possibly new capital expenses in
the short term and prediction of long term profits/
returns and other performance metrics such as
LS-FAIM Project
IC-FAIM Project
assembly time, environmental impacts, product
Simulation
quality etc. Therefore LS-FAIM is aimed at carrying
Collaborative
Framework
Framework
out simulations that can help predict the
consequences of the innovative ideas generated
Candidate Innovative
Product Solution &
whilst comparing their feasibility from a different
Manufacturing System
Design
performance metric perspective.
Innovation Cloud
This lecture provided a good introduction to the world of polymer testing and troubleshooting, both of which are of utmost importance for quality control in plastic manufacturing industry. For the realization of excellent polymeric high-tech products, polymer engineering skills are required. It is therefore a must for the product developer to take into consideration polymer design
rules as well as adequate manufacturing techniques, including suitable processing conditions otherwise a manufactured product
of inferior quality will results, leading to serious problems in its application. Important design and testing techniques adopted in
plastic production were presented together with strategies for the prevention of possible plastic part failure.
Prof Stefan Dimov
Research Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC),
School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Between the 3rd and 5th May, the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering hosted Prof Stefan Dimov . He is Professor of Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Research Director of the Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) at School
of Engineering, Cardiff University.
Professor Dimov obtained his Diploma Engineer and Doctoral degrees from Moscow State University of Technology. Subsequently, he carried out postdoctoral research on feature‐based design support systems, rapid manufacturing, laser ablation and
hybrid tooling methods. His recent research encompasses the wider areas of micro and advanced manufacturing technologies.
To date, Prof Dimov has published more than 180 papers and co‐authored 2 books. He is the recipient of the Thomas Stephen
Group Prize awarded by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 2000 and 2003. He leads the MEC Micro and Nano Manufacture Programme that includes a portfolio of projects funded by the EC, the UK Research Councils and Welsh Assembly Government. Prof Dimov initiated the European Network of Excellence in Multi‐Material Micro Manufacture (4M), and now is a mem‐
ber of the Executive Boards of the 4M Association (www.4massociation. org) and FP7 European Infrastructure in micro and nano
manufacturing, EUMINAfab (www.euminafab.eu).
Besides delivering two undergraduate lectures on laser ablation , he also delivered a Public lecture entitled “Micro and Nano
Manufacturing: Challenges & Opportunities”. The talk discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with the manufac‐
ture of such multi‐function multi‐material products, and the need for technology convergence in order to benefit from a range of
available or emerging technologies for low cost volume manufacture. It also reviewed the main findings and results of the MEC
micro and nano manufacturing programme that were validated in feasibility studies and pilot applications in the last five years.
In particular, special attention was given to investigations into tool/master‐making technologies, micro electro‐discharge ma‐
chining, laser machining, micro milling and focused ion beam, together with replication processes for serial manufacture, micro
injection moulding and nano imprint lithography.
Industrial partners:
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
Public Lectures
AUTOMATE project concludes successfully
Prof Dr Ing. Peter Leibl
Department of Precision and Micro Mechanics, Munich,
University of Applied Sciences, Germany
The research project entitled “A rationalisation of industrial automation requirements and service provision in Malta, with a focus on the development of new modular reconfigurable industrial automation systems”, acronym AUTOMATE, closed officially on
30 November 2010. The project was funded under the national research and innovation program 2006, receiving approximately
€140,000 through the Malta Council for Science and Technology.
On Wednesday the 17th of November 2010 the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Malta,
held a Public Lecture on Creativity in Engineering Design at the Faculty of Engineering.
The Public Lecture was presented by Prof Dr Ing. Peter Leibl, a professor at the Department of Precision and Micro Mechanics,
Munich, University of Applied Sciences, Germany. His research interests are Product Design, Design to Cost, Machine Elements
and Innovation management. Prof Leibl has industrial experience in various areas of design and is responsible for a number of
research projects with various publications in the design field in various international journals and conference proceedings to his
name.
Following a short introduction by Dr Ing. Philip Farrugia, Prof Leibl gave a lecture on Creativity in Engineering Design. In his presentation Prof Leibl highlighted the fact that high cost countries have a high pressure on the engineering design process to be
successful in a worldwide market. This leads to the need of developing processes and methods to develop competitive products.
This in itself has to be reflected in the engineers’ education. Prof
Leibl explained how this education in one part is the theoretical
background received during the study courses at Universities and
another is the use and combination of this knowledge. Prof Leibl
went on to present how at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, during the last years, concepts for bachelor and master study
courses were developed to fulfil these requirements. The presentation showed such projects in detail. The project partners included
not only Universities, but others, such as partners from industry.
The Public Lecture was well attended with a student audience, engineers from industry, University lecturers and staff. Following the
public lecture some refreshments were served, and the audience
continued their discussions with Prof Leibl.
The project has resulted in a number of important contributions in the areas of reconfigurable manufacture and of manufacturing automation at both the national and international levels. A national survey on the use of automation in Maltese manufacturing companies, and of impediments to its use, has been conducted as part of the project, and has resulted in a clear understanding of the current state of affairs in Malta. During the project, AUTOMATE researchers have developed a new model to aid in the
development of reconfigurable, and where applicable automated, manufacturing systems for the production of product part
families. Meanwhile, a highly versatile manufacturing automation test bed has been designed, developed and set up in the DIME
Robotics and Industrial Automation Laboratory (RIAL), for potential use in the development of automation solutions to a wide
range of manufacturing companies operating in diverse
sub-sectors. During the project, three test case manufacturing problems submitted by our industrial partners
were addressed and solved using the new model and
test bed. Following completion of the reconfigurable
model development, of the survey analysis, and of the
three industrial test cases, condensed guidelines for the
implementation of manufacturing automation were developed, with a special focus on the local environment.
We would like to thank our three industrial partners –
ProMinent, Cheops, and Toly – for providing the test
cases, as well as our partner the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry (MCCEI) for helping in the
collection of survey data and in the dissemination of the
research results through a national workshop organized
in April 2009.
Prof Dr Ing. Achim Frick
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Aalen University, Germany
Congratulations
The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering would like to thank the outgoing Dean, Professor Ing. Robert Ghirlando for the excellent services rendered to the faculty during his deanship.
rd
On Wednesday the 23 of March 2011 the Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering, University of Malta, held a Public Lecture on
Quality Control in the Plastics Manufacturing Industry.
The Department would also like to congratulate Dr Ing. John C. Betts, on his recent appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and wish him good luck with this deanship, whilst offering our utmost support to the Faculty.
The Public Lecture was presented by Prof Dr Ing. Achim Frick, a professor
at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Aalen University, Germany.
Prof Frick is Head of the “Polymer Engineering Technology Transfer Cen‐
tre – PETZ” which provides polymer engineering services to industries
and also the head of the research Institute of Polymer Science and Processing (iPSP). Prof Frick is also the author of several scientific publications
concerning his research subjects and also author of books related to
polymer testing and troubleshooting.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
Participation in International Conferences
DesignED Asia Conference, Hong Kong
Staff Training
ARCAM Training in Sweden
In September 2010, Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia, Dr Ing. Arif Rochman and Mr Josef Attard attended a training course at the ARCAM Training Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. The course
covered a range of topics related to the Electron Beam Melting (EBM) Machine found at the
DIME labs.
Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg and Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia attended the DesignED Asia
Conference organized by Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong as part of
the Business of Design Week (BODW) event during 28th November - 3rd December
2010.
During this visit the Maltese delegation also visited Hong Kong Design Institute.
Sodick Training in the UK
Polymer Processing Society (PPS) Meeting, Marrakech, Morocco
In May 2011, Dr Ing. Arif Rochman attended the 27th International Meeting of the Polymer Processing Society (PPS), held in Marrakech, Morocco. He presented a paper on “Polymer Moulding Process in Post Crystallization Temperature Region”. The goal of
the society and the conference respectively is to provide a mechanism and format for interaction and presentation of research
results in the international polymer processing community; and to foster scientific understanding and technical innovation in
polymer processing by providing a discussion forum for the worldwide community of Engineers and Scientists in the field.
ESAFORM Conference on Material Forming, Belfast, UK
In April 2011, Dr Ing. Arif Rochman attended the 14th International ESAFORM
Conference on Material Forming at Queen’s University, Belfast, UK. He was a
co-author of a presented paper on semi-solid moulding of polymer materials.
ESAFORM is a European association with a mission to stimulate the applied
and fundamental research in the field of material forming. The main general
goals of ESAFORM are to reinforce the importance of material forming in
Sciences and Industry and to enhance teaching and research in manufacturing processes among others.
Ing. Pierre Vella and Mr Joseph Curmi attended a training programme on the Sodick AP3L electrical discharge machine. The training was held at Sodi-Tech, EDM
Ltd. in Coventry, UK by Sodick’s Applications Manager. It was a three full day
course that was customized to cater for the specific needs of the work that will
eventually be carried out on the machine.
DIME Masters and Doctoral Students
The last 12 months have seen 5 students defend their theses successfully to complete their postgraduate research degrees at
DIME.
On 6 October 2010, Ing. Dawn Zammit defended her M.Sc. thesis entitled “A Study on Industrial Automation Requirements and
Facilitation in Malta”. A few weeks later on 29 October 2010, David Cassar defended his M.Sc. thesis entitled “Development of
a Haptic Glove based on Magnetorheological Fluid”. Then on 10 November 2010, Ing. Carmel Ellul defended his M.Sc. thesis
entitled “Dexterous Actuation of Compact, Multi-degree-of-freedom Systems”. Dawn’s, David’s and Carmel’s theses were su‐
pervised by Dr Ing. Michael A. Saliba.
On the 3rd of November Oliver Fenech successfully defended his M.Phil Thesis entitled “Integrating Emotions into Product
Design: A Framework for Design for Emotion Assistance”. Amanda Galea defended her M.Sc. Thesis entitled “Life-Oriented Design Support by a Specification and Synthesis Decision Consequence Approach” on the 23rd of March 2011. Oliver’s and
Amanda’s theses were supervised by Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg.
ASME 2010 IDETC & CIEC in Montreal, Canada
In August 2010, Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia attended the ASME 2010 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and
Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, held in Montreal Canada. Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia presented the research paper entitled “A Framework Supporting Life-Cycle Guidance For Fabricating Micro Components By Compression Moulding.” In addition, Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia chaired a session on Integrated Product and Process Development.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Page 9
DIME Newsletter 2011
New Equipment
Participation in International Conferences
Plastic 3D Printer: Fused Deposition Modeller (FDM)
The DIME has acquired a Fused Deposition Modeller (FDM) via ERDF012. This machine is capable of generating 3D physical models made from ABS directly from Computer-Aided Design (CAD) data. Such a technology can be used across a wide spectrum of
sectors including consumer product design, architecture, archaeology and prototyping of medical implants.
4M CONFERENCE, Bourg en Bresse, France
In November 2010, Ing. Pierre Vella, attended the 4M 2010 Conference, which was held in Bourg en Bresse and Plastipolis, PEP,
Oyonnax, France. During the conference, additional research results of ongoing work being carried out , was presented in two
papers, concerning the methodology for capability maturity assessment of micro nano technology process chains.
IDMME 10, Bordeaux, France
In October 2010, Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia, Ing. Emmanuel Francalanza and
Mr Ryan Cann attended the International Conference on Integrated, Interactive and virtual product Engineering, held in Bordeaux, France. Mr Ryan
Cann presented the paper entitled “Towards Sketch-based Modelling for
Laser Cladding”, whilst Ing. Emmanuel Francalanza presented the paper
entitled “Factory Planning Through Paper-based Computer-Aided Sketching”. Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia chaired a session on Global Design & Manufac‐
turing. The Maltese delegation had the opportunity to taste the famous
wine and cheese of the French region.
Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM)
Electron Beam Machine (EBM)
ICME 10, Capri, Italy
In June 2010, Ing. Emmanuel Francalanza attended the Intelligent Computation on Manufacturing Engineering, which was organised by the Department of Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples "Federico II" in the beautiful island of Capri by the shores of Naples in Italy. Many interesting talks and presentations were given, notably a keynote by Professor Gerald
Byrne the then CIRP President and Professor Engelbert Westkamper from the Fraunhofer IPA research institute, Germany. The
conference is one of the CIRP International Conferences. CIRP is the world leading organization in production engineering research and is at the forefront of design, optimization, control and management of processes, machines and systems. Ing. Emmanuel Francalanza delivered a paper titled “A Framework Supporting Manufacturing System Synthesis for Optimizing Product
Families”.
Two state of the art machines, an Electron Beam Machine (EBM) and an Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM) with micro EDM
capability, have been installed at the DIME labs. This equipment has also been procured via the ERDF012. A number of projects
are already running on these machines, and further research work is planned to be carried out in the coming year.
SCARA ROBOT
During 2010, the Robotics and Industrial Automation Laboratory (RIAL) within DIME acquired
two major pieces of equipment. The first is an Epson SCARA robot model E2S651S, with a
reach of 650 mm and a payload capacity of 5 kg. This means that with the Mitsubishi RV-6SL
revolute robot (reach 910 mm, payload 6 kg) acquired in 2008, RIAL now boasts two state of
the art industrial robots. The second major piece of equipment acquired by the RIAL is a variable speed conveyor for use in manufacturing automation projects.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
1st IEEE International Conference on Applied Bionics and Biomechanics (ICABB-2010), Venice, Italy
In October 2010, Dr Ing. Michael A. Saliba, Ing. Carmel Ellul, and Mr David
J. Cassar attended the 1st IEEE International Conference on Applied Bionics and Biomechanics (ICABB-2010), in Venice, Italy. The main objective of
the conference was to reunite research groups, scientists, engineers and
practitioners to present recent results, technological innovations and
promising future directions in Applied Bionics and Biomechanics. During
this conference the DIME HAND Research Group presented papers on the
development of reporting and test standards for artificial hands, and on
the development and evaluation of a prototype force feedback glove
based on magnetorheological fluid.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Page 5
DIME Newsletter 2011
Recent Research Publications
Undergraduate Student Projects
Galea, A., J. C. Borg, A. K. Grech, and P. J. Farrugia (2010) "Intelligent Life-Oriented Design Solution Space Selection", International Design Conference (Design 2010), Dubrovnik, Croatia, pp. 1295-1304.
Final Year Projects 2010/2011
Galea, A., J. C. Borg, A. K. Grech, and P. J. Farrugia (2011) "Can Designers be Proactively Supported as from Product Specifications?”, International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED ’11), Copenhagen, Denmark.
NAME OF
STUDENT
Spiteri Christian
Galea, A., P. J. Farrugia, E. Francalanza and J. C. Borg (2011) “A Collaboration Framework for Amplifying Innovation in Manu‐
facturing , 17th CRIWG Conference on Collaboration and Technology, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (under review).
Bianco Christopher
Zammit Mario
Rochman A., Frick A., Martin P., "Polymer Molding Process in Post Crystallization Temperature Region", in 27th International
Conference of Polymer Processing Society (PPS), Marrakesh, Morocco 10-14 May 2011.
Francalanza E., Constantinescu C., Borg J.C., (2010) "A Framework Supporting Manufacturing System Synthesis for Optimizing
Product Families", Proceedings of the Intelligent Computation in Manufacturing Engineering Conference (ICME 2010), Capri,
Italy, June 2010.
Chetcuti Lawrence
Pollacco Kyra
TITLE
SUPERVISOR
A Robust Process Optimization for Electron Beam
Melting (EBM)
Simulation of Compressive Moulding Using Abaqus
FEA
Manufacturing of Embossing Mould for Rapid Hot
Embossing of Microfluidic Device
Production Concepts for Efficient Manufacture of
Vertical Wind Turbine Blades
Towards Emotion-driven Industrial Design
Dr Ing. Arif Rochman
INDUSTRIAL PARTNER
UoM
Dr Ing. Arif Rochman
UoM
Dr Ing. Arif Rochman
UoM
Dr Ing. Arif Rochman
Econetique Ltd.
Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia
UoM
Dr Ing. Philip J. Farrugia
Ing. Emmanuel
Francalanza
Dr Ing. Conrad Pace
UoM
Prominent Ltd.
Dr Ing. Conrad Pace
Prominent Ltd.
Ing. Pierre Vella
Playmobil Malta
Ltd.
Toly Malta Ltd.
Borg Stephanie
Towards Sketch-based Virtual Prototyping of a Factory
Farrugia P.J., Francalanza E., Attard G., Borg J.C. (2010) "Factory Planning Through Paper-based Computer-Aided Sketching "
Proceedings of the Integrated Design and Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering (IDMME) and Virtual Conference, Bordeaux, France, October 2010.
Farrugia Lawrence
Design of a Portable Water Purification System
Abdilla Shawn
A. Rochman, M. Magro, "Design Approach to Feasibility Study of Thermoforming Added Moulding Process", in 4th International Conference on Polymers and Moulds Innovations (PMI), Ghent, Belgium, September 15-17, 2010.
Said Luke
Improving Material Flow an Electronics Assembly
Process
Investigating the Potential of “Aesthetic” Laser
Marking in the Toy Manufacturing Industry
“Design for Manufacture” of a One-touch Damped
Opening Compact
“Design for Manufacture" of an Applicator System
for Use by the Cosmetic Industry
Environmental Quality in Factory Design
A. Frick, A. Rochman, P. Martin, "Semi Solid Molding Process of High Viscosity Thermoplastic Polymers", in 14th International
Conference of the European Scientific Association for Material Forming (ESAFORM), Queen's University Belfast, UK, 27-29
April, 2011.
Attard Kingswell Alan
Cann R., Farrugia P.J., Fenech M. and Bonnici A. (2010) "Towards Sketch-based Modelling for Laser Cladding", Research in
Interactive Design – Virtual, Integrated Product Design and Manufacturing for Industrial Innovation, Chapter 5, Section 5.4 –
Information Technology for Global Design and Manufacture, Vol. 3, Springer Publishers, pp. 100.
Karl Zahra
Minev R., Vella P., Brousseau E, Dimov S., Minev E., Matthews C. “Methodology for Capability Maturity Assessment of MNT
chains” 4M 2010, November 2010, France.
Minev R., Vella P., Brousseau E, Dimov S., Scholz S., Matthews C. Capability Maturity Study of the Horizontal and Vertical Integration of Structuring, Patterning and Characterization MNTs”, 4M 2010 Conference, November 2010, France.
J. Spiteri and M. A. Saliba, “Increasing the Operational Efficiency of a Commercial Laundry: Layout Optimization and Process
Automation”, Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM
2010), San Francisco, CA, July 2010, pp. 685-692.
S. Azzopardi, M. A. Saliba and D. Zammit, “The Application of an Intersectoral Reconfigurable Manufacturing Automation
Testbed to provide an Automation Solution to Industry”, Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Flexible Auto‐
mation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM 2010), San Francisco, CA, July 2010, pp. 693-700.
C. Ellul and M. A. Saliba, “Comparative Analysis of Artificial Hands: The Need for Reporting and Test Standards”, Proceedings
of the 1st IEEE International Conference on Applied Bionics and Biomechanics (ICABB-2010), Venice, Italy, October 2010.
D. J. Cassar and M. A. Saliba, “A Force Feedback Glove Based on Magnetorheological Fluid: Prototype Development and
Evaluation”, Proceedings of the 1st IEEE International Conference on Applied Bionics and Biomechanics (ICABB-2010), Venice,
Italy, October 2010.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
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DIME Newsletter 2011
Abigail Cutajar
Prof Ing. Jonathan C.
Borg
Prof Ing. Jonathan C.
Borg
Ing. Emmanuel
Francalanza
Toly Malta Ltd.
FxB Ltd.
Industrial Partners
The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering would like to take this opportunity to thank our Industrial partners who have supported us during the past year, these include: Toly Malta Ltd., Techniplast Ltd., Rayair Automation Ltd., Playmobil Malta Ltd., Econetique Ltd., FxB Group, Prominent Ltd.
Academic Staff Appointments
In February 2010, Dr Ing. Arif Rochman was promoted to a Lecturer after successful completion of his Ph.D. studies. The Department would therefore like to take this occasion to congratulate Dr Ing. Arif Rochman on this great achievement.
Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg was re-appointed on the Malta Chamber of Commerce Enterprise & Industry sub-committee for Research, Technology, Development and Innovation (RTDI).
Dr Ing. Michael A. Saliba was appointed member of the Scientific Committee of the 21st International Conference on Flexible
Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM 2010), San Francisco, CA, July 2010.
MISCELLANEOUS
In November 2010, Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg delivered a number of training sessions as part of the FP7 NMP Team Project
training workshop held on the island of Madeira. In May 2011,
Prof. Ing. Jonathan C. Borg represented the Malta Council for Science & Technology (MCST) at the EuroNano Forum held in Budapest, Hungary.
On 5th October 2010, Prof Ing. Jonathan C. Borg delivered a presentation at MCST entitled “Exploiting the FP7 NMP Pro‐
gramme for Industrial Competitiveness”.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Page 7
DIME Newsletter 2011