Impact case study database

National Grid supply chain engagement

Under the funded innovation project [G3.1] the workflow to re-manufacture obsolete parts by metal 3DP demonstrated to the client in December 2017 was a first of a kind in this sector. Fourteen 3DP use case parts were demonstrated for grid infrastructure, e.g. large pressure pipe fittings used in a compressor station that failed in service. They were showcased at 8 National Grid innovation events [5.1] involving internal and external stakeholders and represented by IISE staff. In December 2018, the 3DP staged workflow, with an instructive dashboard-based decision tool, was embedded in Premtech and National Grid business-as-usual practice. Twelve high quality industrial reports [5.1] were completed describing each workflow stage, citing relevant standards with active links to the dashboard tool.

Obsolescence in infrastructure is recognised internationally. The Norwegian accreditation service DNV GL, recently established a new centre for 3DP in Singapore as an incubator and test bed to build trust in 3DP, citing added value benefit to the Oil and Gas sector of USD30 billion. 3DP is a policy ambition of National Grid listed as a key topic for their Innovation Funding post-2020 (Refer to 5.1).

Financial benefits

National Grid maintains 12,000km of gas pipeline infrastructure across the UK to supply natural gas to domestic users and industry. It is a highly regulated industry sector. Gas utility infrastructure within the UK is aged and unique. Unexpected asset failure can result in an outage so parts must be replaced periodically when the need arises. Some spare parts are held at large depots to repair assets which carries a huge inventory cost. Traditional fabrication methods are still used to manufacture spare parts because digital part models are not held. 3DP is an on-demand solution and SmarTech Publishing forecast that 3DP will become a USD450 million market in the oil and gas sector by 2021, rising to USD1.4 billion by 2025. The World Economic Forum Transformation Initiative (2017) estimated 3DP could save cost and time worth USD30 billion of additional value to oil and gas companies.

Aerospace supply chain engagement

The cost and time to manufacture one off engine test rigs to clients such as Rolls-Royce limits opportunity to appraise new engine designs typically to one or two models. Suppliers of prototype engine test rigs to clients include FTT (Derby) and ITP Aero. Prototyping engine components use traditional fabrication methods such as precision CNC machining from solid stock. Machining a prototype outlet guide vane (OGV) with 140 airfoils in a superalloy to the precision required incurs a typical cost of GBP25,000-GBP40,000 [5.2, 5.3] and requires at least 5-10 weeks machine time. In 2018, Dr Wood developed and demonstrated a method to 3DP a complex OGV component in a superalloy by selective laser melting. The benefit with this approach is a significant cost saving of upwards of 50%, manufacturing time also reduced by 50%, together with reduced risk in programme delays.

Rail supply chain engagement

The German working group, Mobility Goes Additive (MGA) initiated in 2019 by Siemens Rail to leverage 3DP for aging rolling stock (see 5.4) has grown quickly into a large European wide forum with 132 business members, broadening its reach into healthcare and other sectors. IISE is the sole UK participant at this working group joining it in 2019. The UK Rail Sector is seeing impact from 3DP for example Angel Trains deployed its first 3D printed non-structural part on British passenger trains in 2019 and Deutsche Bahn Environmental Social Governance (DB ESG) invited Dr Wood to contribute to a metal 3DP Innovate UK SBRI project proposal (March 2020).

Additional regional SME engagement

Over 50 SMEs, including Addqual and FTT, have benefitted from workshops and services many of which included 3D printing delivered under the European funded programme called Enabling Innovation Time 2 Innovate [G3.3]. The independent report “A Final Evaluation of Enabling Innovation” assessed the programme’s effectiveness overall and included survey input. The Executive Summary concluded: “ just over half of respondents to our survey had improved business efficiency, productivity and business competitiveness. Around half had progressed a new technology/product/service towards market, again helping to reduce risk/uncertainty associated with R&D.” (See 5.5, Executive Summary).

New skills acquired, job creation and business growth

Two engineers who had just graduated were recruited by Premtech [G3.1] to support delivery of the project [5.1]; they acquired new skills by learning on the job over the period the project was active. Knowledge exchange across the project team at Premtech included a project manager and company director. Within National Grid a gas pipeline maintenance engineer was assigned to lead the project along with a project manager. Two new skilled jobs were created at Addqual following project [5.2] [G3.3], by recruitment of two engineers who acquired their experience by working directly on these projects at the IISE. The impact for Addqual enabled the business to grow from no sales or customers to a current turnover of over GBP500,000 in just 3 years. One of these engineers who was recruited by Addqual has provided a testimonial [5.5]. To date, 18 students have developed 3DP skills through the Additive Manufacturing Masters course by University of Derby [5.7].

Environment benefits through reduced GHG emissions

The reduced carbon footprint of 3DP a complex engine component makes a compelling case [5.2]. Manufacturing Life Cycle Analysis has shown 80% of high value material is machined away to reduce 55kg of solid stock to 10kg generating high waste stream. GHG emissions for production of the solid stock alone generates 6t of CO₂. By comparison, metal powder stock used to 3D print the OGV generates 0.3t of CO₂ which is 5% of that produced from solid stock because only the material needed is used, with waste stream below 10% of that produced from solid stock . Further CO₂ and waste reductions are possible by reducing the finish machining allowance which means 3DP to higher precision.

Enterprise generation - new Intellectual Property in 3DP

The 3DP workflow [3.1] was applied in the design and manufacture of Ankle Foot Orthotics which led to the creation of new IP centred on 3DP for healthcare, UK Patent No.1817926.7 (Joint orthosis with resiliently deformable hinge). An International Patent with application No.PCT/GB2019/053097 was submitted in June 2020 to extend the UK patent internationally.

(1) Expanded and enhanced creative immersive audio technology

In the early 2000s, it was difficult to utilise published work on Ambisonics for audio production due to a lack of available tools. To this end, 1^st and Higher Order Ambisonic software developed by Wiggins [3.1] could be loaded into Digital Audio Workstations, allowing existing workflows to be leveraged with minimal changes. Both the software and a set of instructional videos were made available online to facilitate uptake [5.1]. The impact was in niche areas until May 2016, when YouTube released a spatial audio implementation which permitted head-tracked audio within 360° videos. Ambisonics was used here, and the format is now mainstream. Early adopters required tools and learning materials, which were provided by Wiggins [5.1]. For example, what’s thought to be the world’s 1^st 360° YouTube music video with spatial audio used AmbiFreeverb2 as the 3D reverb effect (109k+ views) and was featured on YouTube’s playlist showcasing immersive audio (>3 million subscribers before it was unlisted) [5.1]. The creator of these early videos stated: “ *Bruce Wiggins’ website was essential in obtaining tools and knowledge that were not available anywhere else to me at that point in time. He provided AmbiFreeVerb2, which became essential in my early endeavours to produce a professional sounding 3D music mix.*” An early criticism of YouTube’s implementation was that it had an unnatural frequency response. Wiggins’ research provided publicly available correction filters [3.2] – the owner of Tumble and Yaw continues: “ …it became clear that YouTube’s binaural rendering filter applied some severe equalization curves, which especially in music mixes made for a very unnatural thin sound. Again, Bruce came to the rescue, providing the community with an inverse filter curve, which could be applied to the mix, before uploading it to YouTube, thereby ensuring that the mix sounded exactly again as intended.”

One of the world’s most popular cross-platform media players, VLC v3.0, added Ambisonics support in 2018 [5.2]. VLC allows audio to be rendered over standard irregular speaker arrangements such as 5.1 and 7.1. A VLC developer contacted Wiggins in 2017 as an expert in irregular decoder design [3.1]. This resulted in the decoding coefficients used to reproduce audio from 360 videos being provided by Wiggins for 1^st to 3^rd order Ambisonics for 5.1 loudspeaker arrays, and the software library author using a derivation method based on Wiggins’ work to generate decoders for 7.1 [5.2]. VLC is the only media player available that can render 360/VR videos over surround loudspeaker arrays, which has been made possible using Wiggins’ research. VLC has been downloaded over 672 million times since v3.0 [5.2].

(2) Enhanced live event listening experiences

On a larger scale, Wiggins’ reputation in spatial audio led Funktion One to approach the University in 2006. WigWare was augmented with bespoke tools for use at large-scale outdoor events. Initial outdoor tests showed lower noise levels off-site and more acoustic envelopment on-site compared to other stages controlled in a standard stereo-based manner. Since August 2013, WigWare has continued to be used annually by Funktion One on the Glade Stage at Glastonbury Festival (~200,000 attendees per year), and at other events, internationally. The founder of Funktion One, while receiving a lifetime achievement award in 2017, stated: “ *The Ambisonics [at Glastonbury in 2017] was working the best I’ve ever heard it, the bass was incredible and Goldie’s set has to be in my top five audio experiences of a lifetime.*” [5.3]

Hill’s ongoing research on live sound subwoofer system optimization [3.5] was adopted by Gand Concert Sound (USA) at Pitchfork Music Festival (from 2012 to 2019, with ~60,000 attendees, held over three days each year) and more recently at Ashley Arts Festival in July 2019 (50,000 attendees). This stemmed from collaborative research between Hill and Gand Concert Sound engineers since 2009 [5.4]. Gand Concert Sound’s Chief Engineer commented that originally the sound system design gave a, “…disproportionate build-up of [subwoofer] content right down the middle – usually referred to as “power alley”. When Dr. Hill told us that he had developed a method to counteract this, we were all intrigued and eager to try. The client [from Ashley Arts Festival] was extremely happy and impressed. I am looking forward to implementing this method more this coming summer.” [5.4]

Also in 2019, Hill’s subwoofer system optimization [3.5] was implemented on The Prodigy’s “No Tourists” tour, spanning 26 sports arenas around the world. The Prodigy’s sound engineer (who came across the optimization approach through word of mouth) said the subwoofer system design, “based on [Hill’s] research, and produced using data from [Hill’s] proprietary software, gave us a new and more detailed insight into the system we were intending to utilise for this tour. We had previously used the manufacturers’ predictive software which had proved, at times, unsatisfactory for the purpose. [Hill’s] software, and the results obtained from it, produced a very robust solution for our problem.” [5.5]

This optimization was applied to corporate aircraft through a consultancy with Alto Aviation (USA) in 2018, which came about from an Alto engineer discovering and using Hill’s acoustic modelling software [5.6]. Hill’s optimization routine was built into Alto’s existing software, saving time required for system tuning. Alto Aviation’s VP of Engineering commented that: “[we] now regularly use the bass optimization algorithms as part of our product installation. This is typically over 100 installation per year. The tool saves us up to one hour on each installation and the resulting sound quality and bass balance is noticeably improved.” [5.6]

The impact from Hill’s diffuse signal processing (DiSP) research [3.3] occurred in 2018. Acoustic Directions’ (Australia) Principal Acoustician said: “the decorrelation algorithm was able to substantially improve the amplified sound in the new auditorium at the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington. We were the acoustic engineers for that project, which recently won one an architectural award and is now being praised for its acoustic qualities. That outcome is due in part to Adam’s work for which we are grateful. We have also used that algorithm in sound systems in courts in South Australia and found it to be very helpful in creating highly natural amplified speech.” [5.7]

The transient content detector used within DiSP came from Hill’s research on virtual bass synthesis [3.4]. This algorithm was adapted for use within an underwater acoustics project (Hill was invited to contribute to the project upon recommendation from a mutual acquaintance of the lead researcher, who was aware of Hill’s work in audio and acoustics), focusing on coral reefs with the aim of estimating reef health at any measurement distance underwater. The research was featured on BBC Blue Planet II (the most-watched show in the UK in 2017, so popular in China that it caused the entire internet to slow down, and awarded the ‘impact award’ from the National Television Awards 2018) [5.8], where Hill’s co-author spoke about the importance of improving and maintaining the health of coral reefs.

(3) Improved understanding of health-related aspects of sound

Hill’s research highlighted flaws in the standard measurement procedure for speech intelligibility [3.6]. These findings are referenced in the latest version of BS 7827:2019 Designing, specifying, maintaining and operating emergency sound systems for sports grounds, large public buildings, and venues - Code of Practice as well as IEC 60268-16:2020 Objective rating of speech intelligibility by speech transmission index. A BSI and IEC Standards Committee Member (who chaired the latest revisions on both standards and prompted/supported Hill’s research into this area) stated that: “[t]he work has already had an impact on the PA and emergency sound system industry in that it has been cited in and influenced associated International and British standards that are regularly specified and mandated. It is also likely to further influence industry guidance and practice as the findings become more widely known and as other related standards become due for revision.” [5.9]

Hill’s comprehensive work on sound exposure and noise pollution highlighting significant knowledge gaps and variable international practice [5.10] has impacted work towards an international regulatory framework for audience safety, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Make Listening Safe initiative, which Hill was invited to contribute to through recommendations from two independent researchers. One of the WHO researchers leading this initiative stated: “The research of Dr Hill has so far had substantial impact on the WHO regulatory framework for loud sounds that is expected to be published in 2021. During the next year WHO is planning to develop a draft of the regulatory framework, parts of which will be based on the research undertaken by Dr Hill. In addition, the draft will be sent to Dr Hill to provide comments and suggestions in his expert role.” This regulatory framework will lead to worldwide changes in practice at live events to ensure the safety of all audience members [5.10].