Personnel, knowledge and industry scale equipment resources to support machining production troubleshooting, tooling and process development, and process optimization
Nearly every industry is experiencing technological disruption. In manufacturing, developing new tooling and processes to meet shifting demands allows our partners to stay ahead of the disruption curve, and we're proud to help them do it. Since 1999, we've been a strategic partner to industry, applying our world-class expertise and cutting-edge facilities to solving manufacturers’ challenges — honing processes to maximize productivity and quality while reducing cost and facilitating product innovation.
With a core focus on service to industry, our group has worked to tailor our personnel, knowledge and industry scale equipment resources to deliver real value and practical, implementable solutions to our industrial partners. Please do not hesitate to contact us about any challenges or opportunities related to your machining production to see how we can build our resources around your needs.
Machining Process Development, optimization and troubleshooting; machining simulation; tool wear testing; machining parameter selection and testing; Industry 4.0; preventative maintenance; metal cutting tooling selection, development and testing; Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coating selection and development; material property assessment, material characterization; surface characterization; wear analysis; root cause analysis for enhanced process stability and robustness; vibration analysis; design for manufacturability; technology demonstration; ultraprecision machining.
- Aerospace and satellites
- Automotive
- Chemical industries
- Defence and security industries
- Education
- Energy
- Forestry and forest-based industries
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Manufacturing and processing
- Mining, minerals and metals
- Professional and technical services (including legal services, architecture, engineering)
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Machining Systems Lab | Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines (10) | Wide range of capabilities: 60k rpm spindle and 5-axis for duplicating industrial processes for testing and development |
| Machining Dynamometers (on all machines) | Measuring cutting force and torque to assess tool and process performance in milling and turning | |
| Alicona Infinitefocus G5 | 3D measurement system with nanometer resolution measurement of small features and surface roughness | |
| Keyence VHX-5000 | For rapid assessment of tool wear and inspection of small components/features | |
| Ultra-High Speed Camera (Phenom Fastcam SA-Z) | Observe cutter and workpiece interactions and other high-speed processes at up to 2 million frames per second | |
| Kobelco AIP-S20 PVD Coater | Arc and magnetron Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coater for protective coating development and applications | |
| Zeiss Prismo VAST Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) | 3D scanning of parts | |
| Material Property Assessment Laboratory | Micro-Mechanical Testing Equipment (indentation, scratch, impact, high temperature testing) | Nano/Micro scale testing of a wide range of materials including films and thin coatings. |
| Scratch and Adhesion Tester | Characterize film-substrate systems and quantify parameters such as adhesive strength and friction force | |
| Atomic Force Microscope | 3D information on surface topographies and morphologies at the nanoscale | |
| Pin on Disk Tribometer | Simulating a wide range of in-service conditions including different movement and contact, speed, and lubrication | |
| Heavy Load High Temperature Tribometer | On axis adhesiometer designed to duplicate many manufacturing conditions | |
| CAPPA-D - Centre for Advanced Polymer Processing and Design | 2 Twin Screw Extruders (Leistritz) with liquid injection, side feeding and palletization | Development, granulation, high shear mixing and scale-up of polymers, foods, pharmaceuticals and natural materials |
| 2” Davis-Standard Single Screw Extruder | Material blending, various screw designs for high and low shear mixing, material homogenization and process scale-up | |
| Haake Batch Mixer | Small volume (200g) melt mixing. Ideal for formulation development and material testing | |
| TA Discovery Hybrid 2 Rheometer | Polymer melts, UV cured gels, gels, liquids. curing of UV cured materials & below zero viscosity - liquids or gels | |
| Rosand Capillary Rheometer | High shear viscosity, and extrusion die pressure measurements | |
| TA Q200 Differential Scanning Calorimeter with R90 chiller (-90˚C) | Measure heat flow and capacity, glass transition, melting and crystallization temperature with modulation to – 90 ˚C | |
Thermo Fisher Scientific Nicolet 6700 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIS) | Chemical composition analysis of films, sheets and powders | |
| Instron 6300 Universal Mechanical Testing instrument with Environment Chamber | Tensile, compression, flexural, and puncture testing in a heated or cooled environment |
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Industry Partnership Success Story | https://www.ncinnovation.ca/blog/portfolio/vrsc-success-story |
| 5minofscience.com | https://5minofscience.com/members/steven-remilli/ |
| MMRI Listing in Canada Makes | https://find.canadamakes.ca/details/mcmaster-university-manufacturing-research-institute? |