Explore some of our significant technology achievements, projects and case studies from the last 25 years.
2003 The AMRC’s twin spindle configuration for the Dowty propeller hub allowed for a ‘single-hit’ solution with non-machining time reduced from over three hours to less than half an hour.
2004 The AMRC worked with Messier-Bugatti- Dowty to develop an innovative machining strategy for making titanium landing gear components from a new grade of titanium alloy for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The time taken to machine the components was reduced by a factor of 18 and tooling costs by 30%.
2005 Titanium 6-4 pintles, the bolt around which the landing gear rotates, for the Airbus A380 were machined in 19 hours using the AMRC’s machining strategies, compared to the original time of 145 hours.
2008-2013 A vast expansion of the AMRC campus saw, first, the opening of AMRC 1 (2004) and later the Factory of the Future (2008), an open-plan workshop focused on machining research. In 2011, the AMRC Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC) opened and a year later the AMRC Composite Centre was built, as an expansion to the Factory of the Future. In 2013 the Design Centre (previously known as the Design, Prototyping and Testing Centre) was launched.
2012 The AMRC worked with Rolls-Royce to reduce the production time and increase performance of machining aero-engine disks. Innovations developed by the AMRC allowed Rolls-Royce to reduce the time it takes to manufacture each disc by 50% and de-risked a £100m investment in its North East fan disc plant, securing high value-added jobs.
2014 The University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre opens its doors on the Advanced Manufacturing Park, providing high-quality vocational pathways to bridge the regional skills gap.
2015 Factory 2050 launches on Sheffield Business Park, the first fully reconfigurable digital manufacturing research facility.
2015 AMRC uses digital measuring techniques to create 3D models to h elp archaeologists preserve historically important sites from the Middle Ages .
2016 An AMRC research project to enable robots to accurately machine holes in composite aircraft components matured into a production system that saved BAE Systems millions of pounds in capital and operational costs.
2017 The AMRC integrates automated robotics into production for Footprint Tools , a Sheffield-based tool manufacturer, saving 150 workdays per year, preventing production outsourcing to Asia and boosting company sales by 40%.
2018 Engineers at Yorkshire Water used virtual reality technology developed by the AMRC to help design and visualise new treatment works which saved the company £1m in design costs over two years.
2018 THREAD , the game-changing 3D printing process developed at the AMRC was a featured technology at a Spacecraft Additive Design Workshop held by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - the only technology developed outside the USA to be featured at the exclusive two-day workshop.
2018 The £50million McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham and is the result of an on-going partnership between McLaren Automotive and the AMRC.
2018 Boeing Sheffield , a £40 million facility, opened on the doorstep of the AMRC. The AMRC developed a virtual simulation model of the new Boeing Sheffield facility which helped to validate the opportunities Boeing has to increase productivity by up to 50 per cent.
2018 Oliver goes for more Oliver Marsh – a bass player in a rock band and process engineer with a gift for taking the waste out of wheelie bin production – has beaten off fierce competition to make it to the national finals of the National Apprenticeship Awards.
2019 Mimic the brilliance The leaders of an audacious £20 billion transformation plan for Australia’s third largest regional economy have teamed up with the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to build a high value added manufacturing district connected to an emerging Aerotropolis around the new Western Sydney airport.
2019 Doing it the Wright way AMRC engineer-in-training Rebecca Wright – a self-confessed teenage tearaway who turned her life around with an apprenticeship – says she’s proud to have reached the final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2019.
2020 MiniTANKS , a lightweight fuel tank for small-scale satellites, designed and developed by metal additive manufacture engineers at the AMRC.
2020 The AMRC proved out the mass manufacture of key ventilator components as part of the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, answering a plea for help from the Prime Minister. The AMRC’s facility in Wales, AMRC Cymru, was then turned into a production facility for the life-saving devices.
2020 A hole lot of trouble for loco rebuild fixed A steam train not seen since the 1960s is being rebuilt by a group of engineering enthusiasts with the help of industrial laser scanning experts at the University of Sheffield AMRC who got the measure of a mysterious discrepancy between the original drawings and the actual locomotive.
2020 Getting a handle on marginal gains A British track cycling team say ground-breaking bicycle parts manufactured at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) could provide the marginal gains they need to break three world records
2021 Sheffield-based Magnomatics’ labour-intensive process to position powerful permanent magnets onto large generators for offshore wind was made 60 times faster by automation experts at the AMRC.
2022 Digital twin achieves UK-first for machine tool feedback control A UK-first in digital twin technology research to develop autonomous, self-optimising subtractive processes for sustainable manufacturing has been achieved by research engineers at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).
2023 Engineers making a difference An AMRC engineer features in a new book that will be sent to every secondary school in the UK to inspire and excite young people about careers in engineering.
2023 New robots to provide remote medical treatment in hazardous environments Game-changing robotics technology to provide remote medical treatment to casualties in high-risk emergency environments has been developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield.
2023 AMRC to become world leader in new sustainable materials for manufacturing The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) secured funding for a new capability, the first-of-its-kind in the UK, to research and develop novel fibre reinforced thermoplastic tapes. These recyclable materials have the potential to transform sustainability in composite manufacturing.
2023 Toyota on the road to ‘green’ future propulsion Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK has signed a deal with AMRC Cymru to accelerate the decarbonisation and digitalisation of the transport sector by optimising hydrogen fuel cell assembly.
2023 AMRC co-pilots Future Air Support with BAE Systems Aerospace giant BAE Systems has teamed up with the AMRC to drive digital innovations including data visualisation, automation and digital inspection into the maintenance of aircraft to reduce costs, improve efficiency and lower carbon emissions.
2023 The AMRC secured £50m to establish the COMPASS (Composites at Speed and Scale) facility in Sheffield to enable a groundbreaking research programme with Boeing at the centre. The investment was announced as part of the South Yorkshire Investment Zone.
2024 ‘Tasty Spoon’ aims to boost flavours for people with dementia A new spoon to enhance the flavour of food for dementia patients experiencing a loss of taste is being developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre AMRC.
2024 University of Sheffield AMRC and Boeing win award with their catalysing industry-academia research The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Boeing have won the 2024 Bhattacharyya Award, a prestigious honour backed by the UK Government, that celebrates the most impactful collaborations between academia and industry.
2024 AMRC helps drive forward blueprint for production rates of SMEs electric motors New processes have been devised and technology de-risked by the University of Sheffield AMRC to help increase electric motor production rates for the UK’s largest supplier of electric drive systems - with an ambition of transitioning from 60 to 5,000 traction motors per year.
2024 Industry 4.0 smart factory adoption transforms aerospace company’s production line The main challenge for the project partnership was developing the smart factory production line and began with a need to liaise with machine tool builders, to design the machines to fit LISI’s requirements.
2024 AMRC innovator assists in the race for Paralympic Gold The AMRC’s Mike Booker collaborated with elite cycling brand WattShop to develop record-breaking equipment used by Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
2024 Cultivating the future of agriculture AMRC Cymru ploughed ahead with trials of the UK’s first commercially available fully-autonomous tractor at Coleg Glynllifon to see how it fares in grassland farming.
2024 Cultural heritage meets cutting-edge technology The University of Sheffield AMRC, in partnership with PES Scanning, supported a major restoration project at Wentworth Woodhouse to help preserve its 18th century Germanicus statue for generations to come and open up new ways to raise vital funds for the stately home.
2025 Making the ancient art of casting fit for the future of aviation The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which sets the strategy for UK aerospace and funds groundbreaking research and development, identified an opportunity for the UK to become a world leader in aluminium casting.
2025 AMRC: Start-up The ambitious start-up programme welcomes its first cohort, helping turn bold ideas into breakthrough innovations by supporting early-stage entrepreneurs across South Yorkshire.
2025 The AMRC is supporting Rolls-Royce SMR to deliver a factory-built nuclear power station to meet the world's future sustainable energy needs, with Rolls-Royce SMR selected to partner with Great British Energy – Nuclear to develop small modular reactors for the UK.
2025 From the AMRC to Tennessee . A test unit nuclear reactor vessel fabricated in partnership with the AMRC and Cambridge Vacuum Engineering is successfully installed by Kairos Power at its USA campus in Tennessee.
2025 Advancing nuclear waste disposal The AMRC collaborates with Deep Isolation on project to prove feasibility and commercial readiness of deep borehole disposal solutions, validating key technical aspects and identifying pathways to strengthen the supply chain for advanced nuclear waste disposal.
2026 A new scale-up programme is launched designed to help high-growth deep tech companies scale manufacturing in defence, aerospace and energy.
2026 Taking the heat out of industry. The AMRC secures £1m funding to establish HyDecarb, a first-of-its-kind, open-access research capability dedicated to the decarbonisation of industrial natural gas.
2026 Investing in the future of aerospace production. The AMRC’s landmark R&D facility COMPASS is opened to boost UK aircraft manufacturing, giving the UK next-generation aerospace manufacturing capabilities - accelerating production times and using advanced materials to make aircraft lighter.