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PhD opportunities: Manufacturing Engineering

Compare 18 doctoral research opportunities connected with Manufacturing Engineering, including project summaries, funding and application deadlines.

Manufacturing Engineering

Development of natural ageing resistant, heat-treatable lean aluminium alloys for automotive applications

Brunel University of London

About the Project BCAST is a specialist research centre in metallurgy with a focus on processing of metallic materials for lightweighting applications. See www.brunel.ac.uk/bcast for more information. The project is sponsored by Constellium, a global leading manufacturer of high-quality technically advanced aluminium products and systems.

Location
London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
30 September 2026
Funding
Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

Understanding the potential of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for use as a 3D Printing material

University of Sheffield

About the Project Powdered polymer Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) processes such as Selective Laser Sintering and High Speed Sintering have shown increasing potential for a wide range of applications, due in large part to their complex geometric capabilities. However, despite the attention these processes have been receiving, their development has suffered from the limited range of suitable materials which can be processed in them.

Location
Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
17 November 2026
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

PhD Studentship: NSF Swarf: A Novel Forging Processes for Closed Loop Recycling of Metallic Swarf

University of Warwick

About the Project Machining generates large quantities of swarf, with many components losing 60–90% of their material during the machining stage. This swarf is typically collected and discarded, where it becomes mixed with other grades and loses much of its inherent value. WMG has recently secured a patent for a novel forging technique in which pre-compacted swarf is heated to just below the melting point of the material and then deformed.

Location
Coventry, University of Warwick, Warwick, United Kingdom
Deadline
25 November 2026
Funding
UK Students, EU Students, International Students; £21,805

Manufacturing Engineering

PhD Studentship: Development of a Digital Twin for Smart Sustainable Steel Section Production

University of Warwick

We are seeking a motivated and talented PhD student to work alongside our Digital Twins team within the Advanced Steel Research Centre at WMG, University of Warwick. Our Digital Twin team are developing a suite of models to deliver a through-process microstructural and mechanical property prediction framework for steel.

Location
Coventry, United Kingdom
Deadline
28 February 2027
Funding
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

A Nature-Inspired Approach Towards the Development of an Intrinsically-Auxetic Polymer

Sheffield Hallam University

About the Project Please note, there is no funding attached to this project. All tuition fees and any other associated costs (including bench fees) must be financed by the student. Please consider this before submitting your application. The Industry and Innovation Research Institute (I2Ri) draws on talents, expertise and facilities across Sheffield Hallam University.

Location
Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

A comparative study between binder jetting and powder bed fusion additive manufacturing processes for metallic materials

Cardiff University

About the Project This PhD project will explore the capabilities of novel metal binder jetting additive manufacturing process for metallic materials, in particular the materials that are compatible for metal injection moulding (MIM) process. The surface integrity, mechanical, thermal and tribological properties of the built parts will be compared against parts produced via powder bed fusion process from equivalent materials.

Location
Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

A novel approach to the circular production of sustainable powders for metal additive manufacturing

Cardiff University

About the Project 3 Year Self funded project This PhD project will ignite an exciting new research area for the sustainable production, consumption and recycling of metallic materials for use in Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes.

Location
Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

Alloyed metallic grain control and tribological characterization

Edinburgh Napier University

About the Project Metallic material properties can be attributed to various mechanisms such as grain refinement and precipitation hardening. In additive manufacturing the alloy, grain size and subsequent heat treatment is of great interest for their tribological properties and through the potential for architecture by manufacturing improved properties could be realized.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

Circular hybrid manufacturing involving metal binder jetting process

Cardiff University

About the Project This PhD project will ignite an exciting new research area for the sustainable production, consumption and recycling of metallic materials for use in Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes, in particular binder jetting process. With the proposed research route, the energy footprint of producing metal powders will be dramatically reduced. Chips will be collected after machining and converted to powders for binder jetting.

Location
Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

Data-Driven Alloy Design and Autonomous Alloy Development

University of Birmingham

About the Project Combinatorial and autonomous approach for new material discovery with the combined modelling, machine learning, automation, and high throughput experimentation is the cornerstone of modern materials science. This approach has been approved to be highly successfully with the discovery and optimization of several materials systems.

Location
Birmingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

Design and development of next generation textured cutting tools for improved tribological properties during machining

Cardiff University

About the Project 3 Year Self funded project Surface texturing/structuring has witnessed a substantial progress over the past decades as it is seen as a viable option for surface engineering, resulting in significant improvements in load capacity, wear resistance and friction coefficient of tribo-mechanical parts, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable manufacturing and surface functionalisation of components.

Location
Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

Developing the Next-Generation of Material Extrusion 3D Printers

University of Bristol

About the Project Project Overview Material Extrusion (MEX) remains the most widely adopted 3D printing technology globally. The market for desktop systems continues to expand, driven by decreasing hardware costs and increasing software sophistication. However, despite these advancements, desktop MEX processes are still constrained by fundamental limitations due to their mode of operation.

Location
Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Competition Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

Innovative Manufacturing of Nuclear Components

University of Derby

About the Project Use additive manufacturing to streamline the fabrication of nuclear components, reduce welds, integrate sensors and demonstrate regulatory compliance.

Location
Derby, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

Numerical simulation for thermoplastic composites overmoulding process

University of Sheffield

About the Project This project aims to develop a numerical simulation model for thermoplastic composites overmoulding process and validate the model using experimental manufacturing data. Thermoplastic overmoulding is an advanced composites manufacturing process combining stamp forming of aligned, continuous fibre composites (CFCs) and injection moulding of randomly orientated, short fibre composites (SFCs).

Location
Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

Preserving Design Intent: Long-Term Digital Threads for Nuclear

University of Nottingham

About the Project Develop a strategy and implementation of a semantic digital thread that preserves design intent and change management from design through manufacture, inspection, service and end of life.

Location
Nottingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

Risk-Aware Tolerance Stack-up & Assembly Philosophies

University of Nottingham

About the Project A new approach for defining assembly philosophies for nuclear assemblies, accommodating feature safety significance and producing a robotic process plan with integrated metrology.

Location
Nottingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Manufacturing Engineering

The Development of New Piezoelectric Sensors for Force Measurement Applications

Edinburgh Napier University

About the Project Subtractive manufacturing processes such as turning, milling, and drilling remain the backbone of industrial production across sectors, including aerospace, automotive, and energy. Despite the rise of additive technologies, subtractive methods continue to dominate due to their precision and reliability. However, these processes are not without challenges.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Manufacturing Engineering

Towards a Cleaner Industrial Environment

Edinburgh Napier University

About the Project Industrial manufacturing has long been associated with environmental pollution, particularly in the form of airborne particulate matter generated during machining and processing activities. These particles, often invisible to the naked eye, pose significant challenges not only to the immediate workplace but also to the broader ecosystem.

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only