Nigel Briggs, B.Eng (Hons)

Director 
Avant Design Ltd 
6 Manvers Road 
Eastbourne 
East Sussex 
BN20 8HJ 

Phone: +44 (0)1323 723706

Email: briggs@tensiontech.com

Nigel Briggs is the director of Avant Design Ltd (www.avantdesign.co.uk) which was formed at the beginning of 2009 to offer a complete design service, from conceptual ideas through prototype manufacture, product testing and production manufacture. He has gained over 29 years of experience from working with companies on the forefront of their respective fields, in such diverse technologies as vacuum engineering, nano-technology, industrial pump design, metal particle atomisation, high voltage power supply and distribution, military avionics and automotive design; working on development projects for Daewoo, General Motors, British Aerospace, General Dynamics and Sulzer Metco to name a few.

Nigel has held senior, project lead roles with his employers and has become well known for his dedication and enthusiasm for bringing new ideas, through into production reality. He has a specialist interest in computer aided design and has been closely involved with all his clients, when formalising and presenting their concepts through digital prototypes. Principally working with Autodesk Inventor he has been fully trained to provide an introduction, to all aspects of data management and configuration of 3-dimensional CAD modelling. He has been taking part on software development and testing with Autodesk products, providing a first-hand feedback into the future development of the software.

Major Accomplishments

Brought forward into production manufacture, a chemical vapour deposition system for growing carbon nano-tubes, at low temperatures, on silicon substrates. This world breaking technology was developed through the renowned Advanced Technology Institute at Surrey University and lead to funding from SEEDA, to form a new spin-out company which allowed the University to develop and market it’s own intellectual property, through capital investments.

Design consultant for BSKYB to develop a camera tracking system for Premiership football, which allowed the broadcast of low angle footage from behind the goal. This in turn, lead to the discrete camera mountings used at Centre Court for the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships and high speed tracking of Formula 1 race cars, at the British Grand Prix.

Nigel was also part of a team who engineered a high speed camera tracking system for the Salt Lake City, Winter Olympics in 2002. The linear, magnetically driven camera pod, rapidly accelerated to 40mph (18m/s) for 260m of track, before decelerating in a short space. The camera payload combined with the long distance of tracking, required a new concept in camera tracking technology and was developed in close consultation with Bath University.

Designing ultra vacuum chambers to 5 x 10-9 torr and high pressure furnace vessels to 300bar (4350 PSI) for thin film depositioning systems and inert gas atomisation of metal powders, meeting the stringent specifications of BS/PD5500 and ASME VIII.

Lead engineer and programme manager for the upgrade of the USAF, F/A-15 and F/A-18 tactical aircraft, payload carriage systems; designing for the harsh environments of high altitude flight and super sonic speeds above Mach 2.25. Successfully meeting and passing USAF and US Navy, testing and procurement standards.

Developed a system of high voltage, capacitive discharge systems for use within electron beam microscopy and a 3-dimensional, medical imaging for Philips health care products. Also a 260,000 Volt system used within CERN for the Large Hadron Collinder, high-energy particle beam accelerator.

Took the lead engineering role for air induction systems, used on passenger and commercial vehicles manufactured by (then) Korean car company Daewoo. Nigel developed the induction system, modelling the air intake, turbo charger, charge air cooler and inlet manifold using computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis, reducing prototype manufacturing time by using digital and rapid prototyping methods.

Education

B.Eng (with honours) in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Kingston University, 1998. Awarded the Institute of Mechanical Engineers student award for outstanding work with his final year dissertation.

H.N.C in Mechanical and Production Engineering, Eastbourne and Hastings Technical Colleges

Formal, electrical apprenticeship with South Eastern Electricity Board.

Experience

ITT Defence, Lead engineer for aircraft carriage systems, 2008

HiTek Power Ltd, Snr Mechanical Engineer, 2006 – 2008 Surrey

Nanosystems Ltd., Snr Mechanical Design Engineer, 2004 – 2006

BOC Edwards Ltd., Snr Mechanical Engineer, 2001 – 2004

Daewoo Technical Centre, Air Induction Systems Engineer, 1997 – 2001

General Dynamics Ltd., Snr Mechanical Design Engineer, 1989 – 1997

HMD Sealless Pumps Ltd., Design Engineer, Product Marketing, 1985 – 1989

SSP Pumps Ltd., Design Engineer, 1982 – 1985

South eastern Electricity Board, Formal Engineering Apprenticeship, 1979 - 1982