Engineering news
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s national measurement institute, is to launch an instruments division, bringing ‘world-class’ measurement instruments and expertise closer to industry.
The instruments division will see an investment of £1.5m towards new machining centres and laboratories, as well as the recruitment of engineering specialists and advanced engineering apprentices. NPL currently has more than 600 measurement scientists and links between research and industry, which has seen the lab work with organisations including NASA, the Ministry of Defence and the European Space Agency (ESA).
In launching its instruments division, NPL said that it furthers its commitment to ensuring that business and commerce benefit from this expertise. The laboratory added that access to their precise measurement tools will aid in maximising reliability and efficiency of products that companies are developing.
Previously, NPL has developed a vibration test facility that underpins the performance of satellite components for European space missions and laser systems to control accurate machines to craft mirrors in NASA's space telescopes.
Dr Peter Thompson, chief executive of the National Physical Laboratory, said: “NPL is steeped in a rich history of measurement innovation that has laid the foundation for our modern lives. Alan Turing conceived the ACE computer here in the late 1940s, cementing the UK’s place as a leader in computing and data science. Atomic clocks were invented at NPL, making mobile communication and GPS possible.
“Today, NPL supplies instruments to industry to give organisations confidence through traceability: from vibration facilities at the ESA which will help test and improve satellite performance, to environmental mobile labs which give confident measurements of greenhouse gases. The launch of our instruments division gives industry access to our unrivalled measurement capabilities, underpinning prosperity and productivity.”
Mark Wagner, head of test facilities at ESA, said: “This new facility exhibits unprecedented measurement performance and will help us characterise spacecraft units on the ground with the aim of understanding their contribution to overall performance in orbit.”