The School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Dublin City University was established in 1987. Since then the School has been offering undergraduate and postgraduate taught programs and postgraduate degrees by research, with academic staff also pursuing individual research.

Most of the School’s staff is a member of the University Designated Materials Processing Research Centre. Through industrial contacts and national and international research funds, the School has developed expertise in the following research areas:

• Advanced Manufacturing processes
• Condition Monitoring
• AI in Manufacturing
• Design for Manufacturing and Assembly
• Materials Performance
• Virtual Manufacturing
• Manufacturing Systems and Processes Simulation

The Machining Team, managed by Ing. Mauro Comoglio, is the Fiat research group in the machining field. There are four main research branches: machine tool design, process design, development of material/coating for cutting tools, materials machinability. The team has worked on more than 30 European funded research projects (Alticut, Alumopla, Amadeus, Autofett, CD Treatments, CNC, Coming Dry, Dico, Dualco, Ecosystems, Engy, FGMSIATOOL, Incosynt, Mactest, MEA-PPNCD, Nacodry, Nanogrind, Sammi, Testify, Ulmat, Ultraflex), problem solving activities for Fiat Group and also for private customers external to Fiat Group. An Advanced Machining Laboratory is equipped with an advanced linear driven machine center (Renault Automation - Comau) for the development of high speed and dry machining of light alloys (titanium, aluminum and magnesium) and difficult to cut materials (innovative cast irons, superalloys, composite materials), and a CRF machine tool developed for the dies and moulds industry. The methodological approach is based on an integrated approach: on line wear/power/temperature monitoring, SEM/metallographic analysis of cutting tool and worked material, correlation between cutting tool properties/cutting performance, set up of cutting parameters and lubrication condition (oil, emulsion, MQL, dry), CAD/CAE/CAM design and FEM simulation/design, set up and testing of innovative cutting process.

The Production Systems Engineering Research Centre (CESP) is the main research centre in the Production Engineering and Systems Department of the Engineering School of Minho University. This research centre has actually 24 affiliated members consisting of 14 doctors and 10 PhD students. Apart from those affiliated members the centre also includes other 15 external researches, PhD and MSc students. The CESP human resources that we are directly assigning to I*PROMS are five researchers with PhD degrees as well as four PhD students. However, other members of CESP will participate in I*PROMS activities and contribute with the related research.

The CESP research centre is organised through four research groups, that cover four main scientific research areas: Industrial Management and Systems, Human Engineering, Economics Engineering, and Numeric Computation. The labs that are related to those scientific research areas are: LASAP (Automatic Production Systems Lab), Ergonomics Lab, CAD/CAPP/CAM Systems Lab, and Economics Engineering Lab. There are two new labs in the process of creation: LABVE (Lab for Virtual Enterprises and LABESP (Lab for Production Systems Engineering).

Fatronik is a private technology centre, providing research and development services to the industry. Since 1989, Fatronik is improving existing products and devising new solutions for its customers, most of them SMEs. During the last 14 years, Fatronik has been improving existing products and devising new solutions for its shareholders (all SMEs) as well as creating new designs with innovative final results that complies with market demand. The scope of Fatronik main activities is the development of advanced mechatronic solutions addressing different industrial sectors including Capital Goods and Assitive Technology.

TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, abbreviated name: TNO)is a knowledge organisation for companies, government bodies and public organisations. The daily work of some 5,000 employees is to develop and apply knowledge. We provide contract research and specialist consultancy as well as grant licences for patents and specialist software. We test and certify products and services, and issue an independent evaluation of quality. And we set up new companies to market innovations. The development and application of innovative knowledge is our business.We are active in five core areas: TNO Quality of Life, TNO Defence, Security and Safety, TNO Science and Industry, TNO Built Environment and Geosciences, TNO Information and Communication Technology.