Dr Andy Gleadall

MEng PhD

  • Senior Lecturer in Additive Manufacturing

Andrew studied for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leicester from 2010-2013. This research involved the development of mathematical models and atomic-scale finite element simulations of bioresorbable polymer degradation.

After his PhD, he developed new design methods for hybrid manufacturing and additive manufacturing of tissue engineering scaffolds at the University of Nottingham. He created the 3D voxel modelling method “VOLCO” to predict microscale geometry and mechanical properties of intricate 3D-printed structures.

Since joining Loughborough University in 2017, he has continued to research material extrusion additive manufacturing in several areas, all enabled by microscale control of the print path:

  • Novel structural geometries and design methods
  • Simulation of microscale geometry and mechanical properties
  • Characterisation of mechanical properties, especially interlayer bond strength in additive manufacturing
  • Biomedical material performance

He developed and wrote open-source software, FullControl GCode Designer, to allow precise design for additive manufacturing - www.fullcontrolgcode.com. FullControl was originally created for in-house research activities but is now freely available to progress research into material extrusion additive manufacturing. It’s been used for a wide range of applications including process calibration, material characterisation, tissue engineering, 3D printed electronics, pharmaceuticals, microfluidics, prosthetics, artistic creation, and to control auxiliary equipment for in-process monitoring. The range of potential materials is unlimited, so far including thermopolymers, silicone, CFRPs, ceramics, metals, hydrogels, conductive inks and biological cells.

He strives to use rigorous engineering research to drive additive manufacturing and medical manufacturing beyond the current state-of-the-art. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you think there may be scope for collaboration or if you’re considering postgraduate research.

 

Research interests

  • Microscale simulation, control and characterisation of additive manufacturing
  • Custom GCode (manufacturing control code)
  • Carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers
  • 3D printed pharmaceuticals (drug-eluting tablets)
  • Tissue engineering
  • Biomedical materials
  • Simulation of biomedical manufacturing
  • Simulation of advanced structures (scaffolds, lattices, composites)
  • Computational models for biodegradation
  • Design for additive manufacturing (at the microscale)

Current teaching responsibilities

  • WSC606 - Additive Manufacturing for Product Development
  • WSC504 - Applied Engineering Design and Analysis
  • WSB302 - Engineering Computation for Sports Technology
  • WSP637 - Additive Manufacturing
  • WSD606 - Additive Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering
  • WSD503 - Project Engineering - Total Product Design

Current administrative responsibilities

  • Admissions Tutor
  • Organisation Committee for Final-Year Projects

Selected publications

  • Gleadall, A. (2021). FullControl GCode Designer: open-source software for unconstrained design in additive manufacturing. Accepted. Additive Manufacturing.
  • Moetazedian, A., Budisuharto, A. S., Silberschmidt, V. V., & Gleadall, A. (2021). CONVEX (CONtinuously Varied EXtrusion): a new scale of design for additive manufacturing. Additive Manufacturing, 37, 101576.
  • Allum, J., Moetazedian, A., Gleadall, A., & Silberschmidt, V. V. (2020). Interlayer bonding has bulk-material strength in extrusion additive manufacturing: New understanding of anisotropy. Additive Manufacturing, 34, 101297.
  • Moetazedian, A., Gleadall, A., Han, X., & Silberschmidt, V. V. (2020). Effect of environment on mechanical properties of 3D printed polylactide for biomedical applications. Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials, 102, 103510.
  • Gleadall, A., Ashcroft, I., & Segal, J. (2018). VOLCO: a predictive model for 3D printed microarchitecture. Additive Manufacturing, 21, 605-618.
  • Gleadall, A., Visscher, D., Yang, J., Thomas, D., & Segal, J., (2018). Review of additive manufactured tissue engineering scaffolds: relationship between geometry and performance. Burns & trauma, 6(1).