Boeing lauds opening of AMRC Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future

Citation

(2009), "Boeing lauds opening of AMRC Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 81 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2009.12781aab.019

Boeing lauds opening of AMRC Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future

Article Type: University and research news From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 81, Issue 1

In a recent grand opening at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, the wraps on what may be the most advanced factory ever built in Britain were officially removed from the Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future.

With its state-of-the-art facilities and some of the most technologically advanced equipment in the world, the AMRC Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future will apply scientific theory, environmentally sustainable solutions and manufacturing principles to solve advanced manufacturing problems and push the boundaries of manufacturing knowledge.

“I congratulate Rolls-Royce, the University of Sheffield and all of the other partners and participants at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre,” said Sir Roger Bone, President of Boeing UK. “The Factory of the Future brings together pure and applied research, as well as educational and industrial resources to form one of the world’s top incubators for creativity.”

In addition to its manufacturing research and development capabilities in areas such as materials cutting and joining, metal working, casting and preformed materials, the Factory of the Future also has been built with the environment in mind. It contains more than 20 environmentally sustainable features, including two wind turbines for the generation of electrical power. It has the goal of obtaining a zero-carbon footprint – and is representative of the desire of the AMRC’s member companies to make aerospace manufacturing as sustainable as possible.

“Boeing is very pleased to be an AMRC partner and to be associated with the Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future,” said Bart Moenster, Chairman of the AMRC’s Board of Directors and Director of Manufacturing Technology at Boeing Phantom Works, the company’s advanced research and technology organisation.

“We expect the AMRC to yield breakthroughs in manufacturing technology that Boeing can use directly and that will also be transferred to suppliers so that they can enhance their capabilities and performance as well,” Moenster said.

Moenster added that Boeing is using the AMRC, which has brought together aerospace industry leaders, academia and government to further common R&D goals, as a model to develop similar research centers in other parts of the world.