The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) is a University of Strathclyde manufacturing research centre near Glasgow Airport and part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.
The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) is a manufacturing research centre at the University of Strathclyde. It describes itself as a globally recognised centre of excellence in innovative manufacturing technologies. Forming means shaping metal by forging, pressing or similar processes, and the AFRC helps companies make better parts for industries such as aerospace. It is part of the University of Strathclyde's Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management and is also part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).
The AFRC began with a small team, and its founding members signed a membership agreement in 2008. It was officially launched in 2009. Its founding partners were Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Mettis Aerospace and Timet. The first meeting of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult took place at the AFRC in 2011, and it is the only one of the Catapult's seven centres based in Scotland. The pages we read do not give a mission statement, so we have not invented one.
The main facility is near Glasgow Airport in Renfrewshire, in a building of about 5,680 square metres that was extended in 2014. A Metallics Research Centre with Boeing opened in 2021 at Westway Park in Renfrew. A Sheffield forging office, also opened in 2021, gives local forging and forming companies easy access to the AFRC's support. The centre has more than 75 employees and more than 70 members and partners, according to its own page.
The AFRC's website lists sections such as Meet the team, News, Events and Career Opportunities. The pages we read describe the centre mainly by its facilities and partnerships rather than by culture, so we do not make claims about working style. The University of Strathclyde runs apprenticeship degrees and postgraduate research, but those general university pages were not specific to the AFRC.
People who work at a centre like this include materials and manufacturing engineers, researchers, technicians who run forging and forming equipment, project managers and business development staff. If you are curious about how metal parts for aircraft engines or energy equipment are shaped and tested, the AFRC is one of the best places in Scotland to find out. It also shows that UK manufacturing research is not only in England.
Website: www.strath.ac.uk/research/advancedformingresearchcentre
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