Projects

Design, Optimization and Efficient Engineering Methods to Manufacture New Products

Researcher: Lamia Tahsi Aroni

Funder: NSERC (SONAMI ARTP)

Project Details

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Masco Canada Limited is a leader in designing, manufacturing and distributing branded home improvement and building products. Masco Canada has taken pride in offering a collection of brands focused on delivering innovative water solutions to the building and home improvement market for more than 100 years.

Masco Canada Limited and Lambton College have partnered to address some challenges they have faced in product development and manufacturing. The first proposed applied research activities to be conducted during this project will focus on new product development concerning process efficiency using advanced tools like FEM/CFD simulation. The next challenge to be addressed will be reducing manufacturing steps by exploring manufacturing.

The overall goal of this project will be to support prototyping, selection of new material and process improvements. Masco Canada will increase revenue while lowering costs for the development of new and improved products, and improved processes. This will allow for future growth and job creation.

Development of an Injection Molding Process for the Production of Novel Orthotic Out-Sole Adjustable Footwear

Researcher: Simon Langford and Dariel Gomez

Funder: NSERC/OCI

Project Details

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Garnet Orthopedic Solutions provides a wide range of services and products, such as assessing gait patterns, posture, and foot health to fabricate custom orthotics while also correcting lower body kinetic chain deficiencies and reducing the overall strain on an individual's body and joints with their custom foot orthotics.

The Lambton College team worked with Garnet to optimize a 3D-printed design and produce optimized prototypes. The team then identified the correct material formulation for the design function and molding capability. Lambton College developed 3Dprinted molds required for the footwear in one size. Once the molds were produced, the molding process for the production of injection molded parts was developed, producing functional parts out of the chosen material formulation.

Further molds and mold processing for other shoe sizes will be developed. The outsole parts from the injection molds will be used to create functional shoes. Those shoes will be used to conduct studies to determine the effectiveness of the design.

The project’s overall goal is to develop an injection molding process to produce the shoe and outsole, along with the various corrective outsole attachments, a patient will need throughout recovery.

Preventative Maintenance Software Development and Integration for Quickmill Inc. CNC Machine

Researcher: Priteshkumar Patel

Funder: SONAMI

Project Details

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Headquartered in Peterborough, Ontario, Quickmill Inc. manufactures a line of CNC gantry and bridge type machining centers. Incorporated in 1984, Quickmill began by selling vertical drilling machines, with conversational software developed by owner/inventor David Piggott, to machine shops in North America. Quickmill is one of the few thriving North American made CNC Machine tool builders with the majority of components sourced from North American vendors. Today, Quickmill has expanded its engineering and manufacturing capabilities to offer a diverse line of high-quality CNC Machine tools that meet the ever-expanding needs of global market place.

The goal of this project is to monitor the condition of critical CNC machine components and provide the operator with advanced notice if a part requires service. This will provide operators the opportunity to schedule downtime for machine maintenance before a costly and time-consuming failure occurs. Specifically, during a standard motion profile, condition monitoring will be performed using accelerometers to measure vibrations in target components. With the assistance of machine learning algorithms, vibration profiles will be analyzed and compared to determine each component’s condition and remaining useful life.

Success of the project will result in software development and integration of developed machine learning algorithms into Quickmill’s CNC machines.

Development of a Novel Biodegradable Packaging Film for Erthos

Researchers: Sandy Kirkbride & Abdul Raheem

Funder: SONAMI

Project Details

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Erthos is passionate about delivering sustainable and viable solutions to the plastics industry. They are transforming the zero-waste landscape by changing how we make and use single-use plastic. Erthos utilizes biobased, biogenic inputs such as locally sourced agricultural by-products, enabling them to develop 100% compatible and compostable alternatives for common plastic inputs such as polypropylene and polystyrene. The team employs various agricultural and plant products (plant fibers, powders, etc.) to develop a cost-competitive and viable solution for businesses looking to address plastic waste. Erthos’ eco-resin materials are directly compatible with existing plastic manufacturing lines, which allows brands and manufacturers globally to replace their plastic inputs without retooling or replacing their existing infrastructure.

Erthos has partnered with Lambton College on the proposed project to expand and optimize those existing technology platforms and manufacturing processes. This will be done by analyzing the production methods of different eco-resin materials, conducting various analytical tests, and performing characterization techniques to optimize erthos ecoresin for large-scale production.

This project’s success will prevent hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic pollutants from entering our atmosphere and littering our environments, ultimately contributing to a greener future. Through collaboration with Lambton College, Erthos will gain access to technical expertise and world-class facilities to address their technical challenges.