He was subsequently awarded a scholarship by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology to undertake a PhD which he worked on in parallel to his role as a research engineer on the FP7 funded project ADACOM. In this work he developed a novel sensor for monitoring the in-process tool-side temperature during machining of thermally sensitive materials. Here, Kevin established his skills in polymer material characterisation, scientific instrumentation of CNC processes and data diagnostics of cutting process responses. He has been the AMRC’s Composite Machining Group Head and acted collaboratively across a wide number of communities of practice, including subtractive manufacturing, digital twins, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, automated composite manufacturing, accurate robotics and manufacturing process simulation.
He has spent the last 10 years producing world-leading research, utilising sensors to characterise process behaviours and responses of engineered composite materials during cutting and manufacturing operations. He works closely with industrial partners to introduce both new and enhanced machining and manufacturing processes for various applications. This has included aero engine / airframe parts, wind turbine structures, composite-metallic stack assemblies and large scale space components.
