Elite’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Ulster University has been awarded the highest possible grade of ‘Outstanding’ following an independent assessment by Innovate UK.
The two-year partnership brought together Elite and experts from Ulster University’s School of Engineering and School of Computing to embed advanced digital manufacturing capabilities within our Surface Mount Technology operations.
At the heart of the project was the development of a digital twin (DT) designed to enhance fault detection and isolation, optimise inspection processes, and provide real-time production monitoring for printed circuit board assembly.
Delivering Practical Manufacturing Improvements
The partnership successfully delivered a range of digital solutions to support greater efficiency, process control, and data-led decision-making across our manufacturing operations.
Key project outcomes included:
- A real-time Automated Optical Inspection data pipeline, supported by SQL and Power BI dashboards on the production floor
- A digital twin-based threshold optimisation model designed to reduce false inspection flags
- A machine learning-based predictive maintenance system for SMT turrets
- An Optical Character Recognition solution to automate the conversion of customer bills of materials into production-ready formats
The project also contributed to wider academic and industry engagement, including a peer-reviewed paper presented at IEEE INDIN 2025, poster presentations, and the opportunity to showcase the work to more than 200 visitors at the Northern Ireland Science Festival 2026’s ‘Robots at Work and Play’ event.
The Outstanding grade reflects the strength of the collaboration between Elite, Ulster University, and the wider KTP team.
We would particularly like to recognise KTP Associate Shruthi Kogileru, whose technical expertise underpinned the project, Professor Yaxin Bi, Academic Supervisor from Ulster University’s School of Computing, and Mark McBride, who played a key role in delivering the project at Elite. We would also like to thank the KTP advisers and the wider teams at Elite and Ulster University who contributed throughout the partnership.
The project has strengthened our digital manufacturing capabilities and provided a strong foundation for further innovation as we continue to invest in smarter, more efficient, and more resilient manufacturing operations.