The Converge Awards is an annual awards ceremony designed to celebrate and reward Scottish academic innovation.
Co-founded by University of Strathclyde researcher, Momchil Vasilev, InProcess impressed judges of the Converge Challenge award category, which recognises novel business ideas with solid IP foundations, high commercial potential and scalability, earning a £50,000 cash prize and £20,500 of in-kind business support.
The new system uses waves to detect defects as they occur, potentially saving manufacturers millions of pounds and reducing network and delays.
“Welding is an integral part of modern society and enables a number of crucial sectors, including the manufacture of net zero infrastructure like wind turbines where weld defects are very difficult to detect. Currently, these defects are usually found at the end of production, with up to 20% of assets needing further repairs,” said Dr Momchil Vasilev, Vasilev, co-founder and CEO of InProcess.
“We've created the first ultrasonic sensor capable of detecting these defects during manufacturing, potentially saving fabricators millions of pounds. We want to bring back manufacture of high-value components into the UK, and we want to create high-value and high-quality jobs here in Scotland.”
Funded by the Scottish Funding Council and a network of eight corporate partners, Converge works in partnership with 18 of Scotland's universities. Since its launch in 2011, the programme has trained more than 670 aspiring founders and supported the creation of over 420 companies.
