Masters Degrees (Industrial Engineering)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Industrial Engineering) by Author "Beecroft, Bruce"

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    Development of a technology transfer and an intellectual property strategy for titanium machining
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-03) Beecroft, Bruce; Dimitrov, D. M.; Von Leipzig, Konrad; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa holds the second largest share of the world’s titanium mineral deposits. However, there is no capacity for the development of titanium metal, mill products or components. It is at these stages of development that most of the value is added. For this reason, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has been undertaking a research-led industrialisation initiative. The aim of this initiative is to establish a titanium industry strategy within South Africa. This research comes at a time when the demand for titanium, particularly from the commercial aerospace and biomedical sectors is growing rapidly. A South African industrial strategy framework has been developed by the DST to deliver titanium related competencies across the entire titanium value chain. One of the key building blocks within the strategy framework is targeted at the machining of titanium metal. This is a core competence required for the manufacture of finished titanium products. This research is fully aligned with the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS) and its objective of improving industry competitiveness via the development of advanced manufacturing technologies, as well as to the objectives of the Titanium Centre of Competence (TiCoC), whose mission is to develop and commercialise the technology building blocks required for the establishment of a titanium industry in South Africa. In order to implement the titanium industry strategy successfully in South Africa, all research being conducted in this field needs to be transferred to industry as well as protected. This is the focus of this thesis and is achieved through the development of technology transfer (TT) strategy as well as an intellectual property (IP) strategy for titanium machining. Without a TT strategy, the technological developments which are made might not be successfully implemented into industry as intended. An IP strategy is equally as important as, without one, entire research and development projects can be lost to those seeking to take advantage of incorrectly protected IP. To develop the TT and IP strategies, substantial information on the basics of these fields was considered. Titanium machining relevant information, such as contract details, industrial partnerships as well as the level of development which the research had achieved upon starting this study was also considered. Together this information created a solid foundation for decision making with regards to how both IP and TT should be handled for the titanium machining research initiative. Each new technology developed, along with its respective IP needs to be considered individually, as the scenarios for both its protection and transfer into industry will be in some way unique. As such, the strategies developed within this report attempt to provide a general outline for the decision making process for any situation which might arise. Ultimately both strategies are represented within this thesis. In order to take the research presented in this thesis further, the development of an IP portfolio is suggested allowing for decisions to be made with regards to technology specific IP outputs. For the technology transfer further implementation of tests for validation purposes at the industrial partners is recommended, in order to begin to develop an understanding of their environments and capabilities.