Abstract
These papers in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Journal of Engineering Manufacture are based on presentations made at the 23rd International Conference on Computer-Aided Production Engineering, now known as CAPE.
At the conference itself, we were privileged to have an opening address by Professor Lesley Yellowlees, CBE, Head of the College of Science and Engineering at The University of Edinburgh.
Thereafter, there were a number of keynote presentations. Professor Yi Qin of The University of Strathclyde described ‘Micro-manufacturing Research; Drivers and Latest Developments’. Mr David Gow, CBE, FREng, winner of the MacRobert Award and head of SMART Services for NHS Lothian, described his work on ‘Medical Engineering – From Patent to Product – the story of the i-limb from 1993–2007’.
Then, Professor Daniel Esser, RAEng/Selex ES Chair in Laser Device Physics and Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, presented ‘Laser device technology for laser-based manufacturing’.
He was followed by Professor Ian Underwood FREng, FRSE, Head of the Institute for Integrated Micro-and Nano-systems, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, who discussed ‘Manufacturing Beyond Moore’s Law’.
I am grateful to Dr Jin Sun, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, for his keynote on ‘Applications of discrete particle simulation in additive manufacturing and electrical discharge machining’.
Industrial visit and presentations have been a hallmark of CAPE ever since it began. Mr Ian Hay of MacTaggart Scott gave delegates a tour and presentation of his company’s activities and emphasised the need for close cooperation between industry and academia.
In the same vein, at the conference dinner, Mr Ken Scott, Director of Alexander-Dennis, coach and bus manufacturers, and Falkirk described the most recent advances in production technology in their manufacture of 21st century vehicles.
Delegates to the conference came from all five continents demonstrating the continuing worldwide need for manufacturing in all countries. The Advisory Committee for CAPE also drew on experts from around the world and I was grateful to them all for their advice and direction in maintaining the ethos of CAPE. Some of them also served as Chairs for sessions for the duration of the conference.
This long-standing series has had a close involvement with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers right from the outset and the staff at the Proceedings publishing office have worked hard to seek out referees reports after CAPE in order to ensure that the papers accepted meet the standards for this prestigious journal. Special thanks are due to Lucinda Periac-Arnold, Martin McDonald and Christopher Osbourne at SAGE Publications Ltd, who are the publishers of Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
I would also like to thank the Committee Members who helped with CAPE 23. These were Duc Pham and Sein Leung Soo, Birmingham University; Kai Cheng, Brunel University; Dermot Brabazon, Dublin City University; Hassan El-Hofy, Egypt Japan University of Science and Technology; Gerry Byrne, Fraunhofer UK; Anjali De Silva and David Harrison, Glasgow Caledonian University; John Simmons, Heriot-Watt University; Grzegorz Skrabalak, IOS; Kenny Dalgarno, Newcastle University; Wei Wang, NUAA; Akira Okada, Okayama University; Jonathan Corney and Yi Qin, Strathclyde University; Eamonn Ahearne, University College Dublin; Linda Newnes, University of Bath; Michael Packianather, University of Cardiff; Jin Sun, University of Edinburgh; Paul Mativenga, University of Manchester; Dragos Axinte and Adam Clare, University of Nottingham; Marco Santochi, University of Pisa; Bryan Buchanan, Scottish Engineering; Masahiro Yoshida, Tokyo Metropolitan University; and Candice Majewski, University of Sheffield.