CASE STUDIES
ELASTIC
ELCAT | FLEXCELLE | MADE SMARTER | ASTRAL | VADIS | WINGLIFT | AUTORAMP | SMARTER | CASE STUDIES
ELASTIC MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS
.png)
The Elastic Manufacturing Systems project developed a revolutionary new concept for manufacturing, where operations are delivered as a service, dynamically scaling resources based on real-time demand. This vision introduces entirely new business and cost models, allowing manufacturing to become more adaptive, resilient and sustainable.
Launched in October 2020 and finished in 2025, the project was a collaboration between the University of Nottingham, University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The project worked closely with the Made Smarter Innovation Centre for Connected Factories, contributing to the wider Made Smarter mission of digital transformation across UK manufacturing.
By enabling systems that can “stretch” or “contract” as production needs change, Elastic Manufacturing Systems (EMS) will allow the UK manufacturing sector to remain competitive amid growing global complexity and increasing demand for sustainable, high-quality and cost-efficient products.
In high labour cost economies, productivity and competitiveness rely on the efficient use of resources, the creativity of the workforce and the ability to capture and apply knowledge from every stage of a product’s lifecycle. Traditional manufacturing systems, however, are often rigid and struggle to adapt to fluctuating volumes or supply chain variability.
The Elastic Manufacturing Systems project tackles this issue by introducing a holistic new model for production. Drawing inspiration from the elastic behaviour of materials, it focuses on developing systems capable of reversible scaling — expanding or contracting their capacity in response to real-time conditions.
This approach builds upon concepts from elastic computing, collective decision-making, cognitive systems intelligence and context-aware instrumentation, translating them into the manufacturing domain.
The project is guided by a set of strategic objectives designed to redefine how manufacturing systems are conceived and operated:
-
Define the conceptual framework and system architecture for elastic manufacturing systems
-
Develop methods for deploying manufacturing as a service, using dynamically allocated resources
-
Create computational models and optimisation algorithms for achieving elastic system behaviour
-
Investigate business models that support elasticity and enable manufacturing assets as a service
-
Prototype, test and evaluate system architectures through experimental testbeds and industrial pilots
-
Engage the research community, industry and wider public to encourage uptake and collaboration
Research focus areas include system morphology and semantic modelling, elasticity metrics, scalability and adaptability, and the role of emerging product-service systems in enabling flexible operations.
-
Elastic Manufacturing Systems provides a multidisciplinary research platform at the intersection of manufacturing engineering, mathematics, control, computer science and business studies.
Through collaborative research, the project has already delivered progress across several domains:
-
Manufacturing systems science: Definition of elastic architectures and methods for service-based deployment
-
Applied mathematics: Development of mathematical models for formation, optimisation and system behaviour
-
Control engineering: Integration of intelligent sensing and distributed control for context-aware, adaptive systems
-
Computer science: Exploration of data-rich interactions between products, processes and elastic system behaviour
-
Business studies: Design of new workflows, logistics and performance metrics for elastic manufacturing environments
-
The UK’s long-term prosperity depends on building a resilient and sustainable manufacturing sector that can produce a high variety of complex products faster, better and more affordably.
Elastic Manufacturing Systems addresses one of the most significant industrial challenges: how to make manufacturing systems that can dynamically adapt to changing product demand.
The project’s impact extends across multiple industrial sectors, particularly those that face high regulation and variability, such as aerospace, automotive and food production.
Industrial Benefits
-
Aerospace: Enables cost-effective, variable-volume production of complex airframe structures using flexible, cognitive manufacturing cells.
-
Automotive: Allows rapid adaptation to part supply fluctuations, regulatory changes and customisation demands.
-
Technology Providers: Offers new standards and frameworks for integrating equipment, control systems and adaptive software.
-
Manufacturing Software Vendors: Opens opportunities for new digital applications and control platforms.
-
The research is closely aligned with national and international priorities, including the UK Government’s 2017 Industrial Strategy, Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, Made Smarter Review, UK Automotive Strategy for Growth and Sustainability, UK Productivity Review, EU EFFRA Roadmap and ATI Aerospace Technology Strategy.
By advancing the understanding and implementation of elasticity in manufacturing, the project will deliver:
-
Reduced industrial costs through improved resource utilisation
-
Improved system resilience and shorter time to market
-
Enhanced adaptability for rapidly changing markets
-
Better product quality and sustainability outcomes
-
.jpg)
Elastic Manufacturing Systems will continue shaping the next generation of smart, scalable manufacturing environments. Its research outcomes will not only transform how factories are designed and managed but also empower UK manufacturers to respond effectively to complexity, uncertainty and demand variability, creating a foundation for sustainable industrial growth.