Resources • Research and Development
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) knows that the industries it serves must be competitive. The manufacturing sector is of tremendous importance to the Canadian economy, and NRC has recently revitalized its manufacturing research programs to help manufacturing compete successfully at an international level.
Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute
In 1997 the NRC opened the Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute (IMTI) in London. The Institute's focus is on the integration of manufacturing technologies as they relate to discrete product manufacturing.
IMTI is a leader and catalyst for the research and development of manufacturing technologies to allow the Canadian manufacturing industry to be competitive. Specifically, IMTI activities are concentrated in two areas:
- Design - IMTI provides the tools so manufacturers can exchange design, manufacturing data and information in real time with others (customers, suppliers and others) anywhere in the world. The IMTI Virtual Environment Technologies Centre (VETC) is the most advanced centre of its kind in the world. The Centre offers manufacturers the chance to create a virtual reality model of a product to better view any design flaws so that changes can be made without the time and expense of creating a scale model. This technology drastically reduces the time between concept, design and manufacturing.
- Production - IMTI provides manufacturers with novel production processes to fabricate the products that their clients want. IMTI takes full advantage of material properties and produces shapes that are difficult or impossible to make with conventional processes. The IMTI Precision and Freeform Technologies Centre (PFTC) provides industry with tools to develop new technologies that can lead to commercialization. It can organize and conduct joint development and application projects that integrate new or hybridized process technologies into machines and systems.
The integration of these two areas to create new machines or systems that users can buy is crucial. To this end, IMTI seeks the collaboration of users and system integrators (machine suppliers, equipment builders) to participate in the R&D and the transfer of technology. For highly competitive companies, these resources can make the difference between success and failure.
Faculty of Engineering, The University of Western Ontario
The Faculty of Engineering at The University of Western Ontario supports several local manufacturing companies with resources, research facilities and groups.
Advanced Fluid Mechanics Research Group
The Advanced Fluid Mechanics (AFM) Research Group is an interdisciplinary team based in the Faculty of Engineering Science. The group's mandate is to further fundamental and applied research in the general area of fluid and thermal sciences, to promote technology transfer with industry and to provide training for highly qualified personnel.
The fundamental and applied research profile concentrates in the areas of turbulence, bluff body (industrial) aerodynamics, environmental sciences, heat transfer, biomedical flows, single and multi-phase systems. The industrial activities of AFM include the automotive sector, heat exchangers, food manufacturing and processing, electronic cooling, sensor design, particle separators (active filters), turbo-machinery and pipe networks. The group is involved in the transfer of new technologies as well as the training of technical personnel and engineers.
Concurrent Engineering and Agile Manufacturing Research Laboratory
Agile manufacturing integrates people, technology and organization to achieve an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to the entire product development cycle. Effective cross-functional concurrent engineering teams supported by information technology are a key to agile manufacturing competitiveness.
The mission of the Concurrent Engineering and Agile Manufacturing Research Laboratory is:
- To pursue leading edge applied research to identify, develop and apply tools and technologies to support world-class Canadian manufacturing in the 21st century.
- To develop and implement innovative approaches to engineering education to prepare students for successful careers in the new economy, and to provide Canadian companies with the skilled engineers they need to thrive in the global marketplace.
