The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) organised its annual Summer School, 8th-12th June, which took place for the first time in the association’s history, in the UK. The week-long programme was hosted by the University of Sheffield, at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and coordinated by Professor José Torralba of the University Carlos III of Madrid and Denzil Lawrence of the AMRC with Boeing.
The content of the programme was delivered by a range of professionals, drawn from both industry and academia, whose expertise reflects many aspects and topics currently being employed in today’s Powder Metallurgy industry.
A 55 strong European audience of graduates and industry personnel new to the PM sector benefited from the AMRC’s excellent facilities, which included laboratory work at University of Sheffield’s Mercury Centre, where delegates were able to get first-hand experience of the various PM processes. The 5-day schedule included two tours, one to the AMRC, where participants were shown how research into PM was helping to improve manufacturing processes. The second tour featured a visit to Metalysis, a UK-based company producing a wide range of high value metal powders and innovative alloys at a lower cost and with a smaller environmental footprint than traditional methods.
“As part of the EPMA’s commitment to the Summer School programme we are always striving to keep the content of the course as relevant as possible” explained Joan Hallward, EPMA’s Summer School Coordinator. She added “An example of this was the new lecture on High Temperature Materials, by Dr Mayer, University of Leoben. “
The annual Summer School event wouldn’t be without its closing dinner, which was held in the heart of Sheffield at Silversmiths, a multi award-winning family run restaurant. The evening proved a huge success with excellent food, accompanied by the now traditional mini Eurovision song contest.
The 2016 Summer School is currently in the planning phase, with more details available in early 2016, from the EPMA website.
