Resources and facilities available to the MAterials and STructures (MAST) Research Group

We have a wealth of facilities, equipment and resources at our disposal
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Rapid Prototyping

The Faculty has:
  • a 100 watt laser cutter/engraver with a 1 metre square bed.
  • Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printers: - 220 x 220 x 250 mm print bed, ±0.1 mm tolerance using PLA, non-soluble support material (4 machines).
  • professional Continuous Carbon Fiber 3D polyamide printer: - 320 x 132 x 154 mm print bed, 100-200 μm print resolution, non-soluble support material
  • : advanced industrial-standard FDM machine compatible with STL for ABSplus with a build area of 254 x 254 x 305 mm and 1200es BST (breakable support) or 1200es SST (soluble support).
  • NextEngine laser 3D desktop scanner.
The has a range of first phase facilities located on the .
The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business has complementary facilities in their Digital Fabrication Laboratory .

Materials characterisation and non-destructive testing

  • (Alloy) DPO-2000-CC hand-held X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) with precious metal upgrade
  • Olympus Panametrics Epoch LT ultrasonic flaw detector
  • Olympus eddy current flaw detector
  • Tramex Skipper Plus moisture meter ()
The moisture meters are held in the Faculty Project Store (SMB310) and can be booked out via the .

Thermal Analysis suite

  • Mettler-Toledo (differential scanning calorimetry) -150°C - 700°C
  • Mettler-Toledo (simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry) 30°C - 1,600°C
  • Mettler-Toledo (dynamic mechanical analysis) -190°C to +600°C
  • Mettler Toledo (thermomechanical analysis/simultaneous differential thermal analysis) -150°C to +1600°C

Microscopy and surface quality assessment

The School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (SECaM) has a suite of microscopy and surface analysis equipment including:
  • Bruker SkyScan 1174 x-ray micro-computer-tomography (located in the Electron Microscopy Centre)
  • Zeiss EVO-15 electron microscope
  • with Table Stable TS-150 anti-vibration mounting
  • Olympus BX60M and BX61 optical microscope with ColorView Soft Imaging System

Composites Manufacture

Our laboratories are equipped with a range of manufacturing and test equipment:
  • Aeroform/Roaches autoclave (200°C, 6 bar).
  • resin injection machine for polyester or epoxy.
  • Composite Integration one-metre square glass fronted heated/cooled mould tool.
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  • Vacuum and conventional ovens.
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  • SNOL 9/1100 vented muffle furnace for burn-off.
  • Brookfield R/S-CPS rheometer with Peltier temperature controller.
  • (1.3 x 1.3 m work envelope).
  • .
The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business has a vacuum forming machine.

Polymer recycling

Mechanical testing

We can test materials and components on a range of accredited laboratory machines.
Test programmes can be either quick stand-alone evaluations, composites 'forensic' work, or form part of a wider programme of work involving design or optimisation.
Our Structural Integrity Laboratory has a range of machines for tension/compression, torsion, fatigue and creep including:
  • Instron 68FM screw-driven 300 kN universal testing machine
  • Instron 5582 screw-driven 100 kN universal test machine
  • Instron 3345 screw-driven 5 kN universal test machine
  • Instron ElectroPuls E10000 10kN dynamic electromagnetic fatigue machine with torsion
  • Instron ElectroPuls 3000 3 kN dynamic electromagnetic fatigue machine
  • Instron MDS 666C high temperature chamber
  • Instron high temperature 4-point bend rig
  • Barcoll, Rockwell, Shore, superficial and Vickers hardness

Complementary facilities on the South West peninsula include:

  • 500 kg payload (ORE Supergen)
  • (Honiton)
  • (Bideford)
  • (Brixham)
  • Toshiba EMC Laboratory (Plymouth Science Park).

Our facilities

We also have these facilities available to us