The outstanding performance relating to industrial project activities of South Eastern Applied Materials (SEAM), has led to additional funding
Companies across Ireland will benefit from additional funding given to the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) research centre that uses cutting edge technologies like CT scanner and 3D metal printing to analyse and prototype products.
Regarded as one of Ireland’s leading Technology Gateways, SEAM currently provides assistance to over 100 companies on Materials Engineering related aspects. It has been awarded €900,000 through two Enterprise Ireland programmes.
The funding will contribute towards helping many more companies across Ireland innovate and improve products and components. Gearoid Mooney, Director of Research & Innovation at Enterprise Ireland congratulated SEAM on its performance to date and looks forward to SEAM's increasing connections to companies.
“Thanks to a stellar performance in serving industries of wide ranging sectors, SEAM has been awarded up to an additional €450,000 in funding to expand its industry reach through the Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway programme,” he said.
Dr Ramesh Raghavendra, Centre Director of SEAM, thanking Enterprise Ireland for this additional funding and its continued support said: “Our prime focus in SEAM is to advance the cutting edge of innovation bringing novel technologies with a view to transferring the knowledge acquired to Irish based industries. These additional funds will help strengthen our human resources and expand our services to more industries. Furthermore, this will also assist in delivering our committed action plans set in the South East Action Plan for jobs 2015-17 to drive enterprise and employment growth in the region.”
SEAM has also secured a second Innovation Partnership project worth €450,000 with Carten Controls, following the success of its first project with the Waterford-based precision engineering company.
The Innovation Partnership programme gives Irish-based companies the opportunity to work with Irish research institutes to develop new and improved products, processes, services, and generate new knowledge and know-how.
Declan Irish, of Carten Controls said: “SEAM offered a unique opportunity to utilise Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to aid in the search for a solution to a long standing industry issue. SEAM successfully met all the challenges with a new design which included prototypes that achieved a durability rating of over 20 times of the original.”
About SEAM
An industry dedicated materials research and development facility, SEAM (South Eastern Applied Materials) Research Centre located at Waterford Institute of Technology, has been a success story in expanding opportunities in the Medical Device, Precision Engineering, Pharma and Energy Sectors in Ireland. SEAM, supported by Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Gateway programme, has established itself as the first stop for companies seeking assistance on materials related issues that cannot be solved by utilising their on-site resources. SEAM’s polymer, metallic, and ceramic experience are proving invaluable to its clients due to offerings of its niche technologies (X-ray CT Scan & Finite Element Modelling, 3D Metal printing) and materials research capabilities to resolve their day to day process/product and quality related issues.
SEAM has an impeccable track record of delivering for industry, having executed over 900 direct funded industry projects spanning across over 100 companies since its launch in 2009. Notable SEAM repeat clients in the region include Teva, Bausch and Lomb, Schivo, Honeywell Turbo & Engines, Genzyme, PPI, Lake Region Medical and Boston Scientific.
Part of the School of Engineering at WIT, SEAM helps companies in the materials engineering industry to improve their products and components. It does this through technical analysis and physical prototyping. Its work is supported through commercial clients, funding for industry outreach, and Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Partnership programme.
SEAM has two CT scanners that can x-ray metal components, for example, which helps with technical analysis. Using 3-D printers, the SEAM team can re-produce an item based on its CT scan.
Examples of work SEAM does is to do a failure analysis on a product that has been the subject of customer returns to analyse through a CT scan where the fault lies. It can also help with product design through analysis, modelling and prototyping of items and components.
SETU Waterford, Cork Road, Waterford City, 
