Championed by the Principal Dr Herbert Schofield, an engineer who created the ‘Training on Production’ programme, the two main outputs from the institution were trained people and real products. An all-women cohort in 1916 were the first graduates.

At present the Manufacturing Research Theme is one of the themes at the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering but it does not live in isolation from the rest of the School or the University because many researchers outside this theme apply their science to solve manufacturing complex problems.

In the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, we develop manufacturing systems and scientific knowledge in multifunctional materials and surfaces, for electronics manufacturing, we exploit recycling technologies for a sustainable future and create new processes of advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing or embedded intelligence fabrication. Manufacturing processes can be translated to the bioengineering world, and our regenerative medicine bio-manufacturing research has facilitated remarkable advances in the production of medical devices.

The multidisciplinary character of what we do makes an impact to a variety of industries and sectors. For example, we work with the automotive industry developing the new generation of lightweight components that will diminish emissions to the atmosphere; we design and make sensors that will be deployed into the food  industries to curb waste and increase efficiencies; we embed multifunctionality and create new products using novel hybrid layer-by-layer technologies; biopharmaceuticals and immunotherapies are benefitting from the automation and process control developed at Loughborough.

The High Value Manufacturing theme maintains a 3D Printing Suite that serves students and researchers within the School as well as commercial partners. The facility includes the following:

1. Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
2. Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
3. Selective Laser Melting (SLM)
4. VAT Polymerisation