Is there anything more inspiring or useful than our world presented to us in the miniature? Scale models of land and sea have been motivating explorers and inventors for centuries. In our modern world, they’ve served as the foundation for new technologies and tools such as GPS and Google Maps.

And now maps have inspired a team of Canadian experts and researchers to use additive manufacturing to turn 2D into 3D.

It was the potential of 3D printing and additive manufacturing to accurately portray geographical features that inspired Fred Norouzian of Environment and Climate Change Canada to call Mohawk College’s Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre (AMRC). Norouzian was looking for help to produce a scale model of the Turkey Lakes Watershed. The watershed, located 50km north of Sault Ste. Marie, is the subject of a multi-disciplinary research study on the anthropogenic perturbation of Canadian Shield ecosystems and is one of the longest running watershed studies in North America.

“It’s important for our focus in water chemistry and hydrology to show the proper relative elevation of each lake and stream with respect to the other lakes and streams in the watershed- both upstream and downstream,” explains Norouzian.

His initial solution should have been a topographic map. Topographic maps, or raised relief maps, are commonly used to visualize an area’s landscape. They are traditionally made of vinyl molds, using information from GPS data, field surveys, and aerial photography.

But what Norouzian wanted was a scale model that incorporated more than a birds-eye view map of the area. He wanted to use the research data collected by researchers from the various government agencies involved in the area and create a three-dimensional teaching and training tool for the team.

That’s how Mohawk’s additive manufacturing expertise came to play a role.

The 3D printing of topographical maps, created on-demand and available online, has been gaining in popularity, primarily for its ability to commemorate travel experiences- say a trip to the Grand Canyon or to Whistler. But for more remote areas, 3D printing from existing aerial maps doesn’t work- it will only result in two undefined landmasses with no clear distinctions between topography features such as rivers and the lakes.

That was far too imprecise for Norouzian and his colleagues. What Environment and Climate Change Canada needed was a custom solution that would use various 2D data sources to generate a 3D map of the area.

For the team at the AMRC, accustomed to working with industry on manufacturing and automotive projects, it was a project that captured their imagination with the following question:

How do you combine 2D and 3D data into a single, 3D printed output?

“It’s easy to go to Google Maps and find major physical landmarks and print them out,” said Simon Coulson, manager of the AMRC. “But if you try to find this watershed using an online map or a similar tool, there isn’t enough data available to produce an accurate model.”

“However, when you combine the accuracy and the level of detail available from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s various data sources, that’s when you see the potential of the technology to capture every detail and make it a viable tool for researchers.”

Mohawk Mechanical Engineering student and AMRC co-op student Jason Podger was tasked with creating a step-by-step process to transform the data into a usable file for 3D printing.

“While the data that Environment Canada gave us had all the contours marked, it was like a piece of paper with no thickness,” explained Podger. “We had to convert it to a solid model and then add in the lakes and water so you can fully see the area in 3D.”

When Podger first started this project, in late 2015, a documented process for 3D printing topographical maps wasn’t yet available. (Although a few online tutorials have since sprung up, none, as of writing, address the complexity of the files that the AMRC was working with.) So before the printing of the scale model in plastic could begin, Podger had to create a 12- step process that used four different software tools in order to make the map multi-dimensional.

The new process created by Podger for the 3D printing of topographical maps resulted in a model, measuring a tiny (in comparison) 40 cm by 46.7 cm, that accurately captures the terrain of the watershed area.

For Norouzian, the resulting product is the perfect tool for a team that includes researchers and collaborators from The National Water Research Institute of Environment Canada, The Great Lakes Forest Centre of Natural Resources Canada, The Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Science of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, The Meteorological Service of Canada of Environment Canada, The Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada, and The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

“It was exciting to see the watershed and its landscape 3D printed and produced to this high level of accuracy. Now other researchers, scientists and collaborators can truly see the relative location and elevation of each lake within the system,” said Norouzian.

Just as the new scale model of the Turkey Lakes Watershed Area helps researchers like Norouzian see the terrain in a new way, Coulson believes that the model has the potential to also help us see 3D printing in a new light.

“When we think of additive manufacturing, we often think that you have to start with a design for a three dimensional part in order to use the technology. With a project like this, you can see how you can start with a two dimensional part and bring it to life.”

About the Author: Andrea Johnson is the Promotions and Industry Liaison Officer for iDeaWORKS.

Follow iDeaWORKS on Twitter @mohawkideaworks

Industry partners can use their VEBTA to work with Mohawk's Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre (AMRC), a state-of-the-art research and development lab in Hamilton, Ontario that offers expertise in metal 3D printing (Direct Metal Laser Sintering-DMLS) and plastic Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).

As an applied research centre, the AMRC supports the research, development, education and innovation activities of companies, supporting and facilitating the transition from an initial idea or concept, and preparing a company for their next step of working with 3D print service bureau. The AMRC can work with companies in Aero-space and defense, medical and dental, and other manufacturing areas. It can also work with companies that require design and optimization support to help develop a prototype.

At the end of each VEBTA project, a company will have a prototype and/or design to secure future investment and/or move directly into mass production of their project.

The AMRC will work with 19 VEBTA companies over the next 8 months. In order to apply for an OCE voucher, please email Simon Coulson, manager of the AMRC at simon.coulson@mohawkcollege.ca.

He spent 35 years in industry, engineering design and management, product design, and research and development in a range of sectors, including food, pharmaceuticals, confectionary and general industrial.

“I always kind of thought that, at some point, I would want the opportunity to give back, mentor student and usher in a new crop of engineers.”

That opportunity came in the form of a professor of mechanical engineering position that opened up at Mohawk about four years ago. It was earlier in his career path than he had imagined, but Gerritsen decided the time was right to get into education.

He brought with him experience in exploring additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, for industrial applications. And he was just in time to help open the doors to the Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre (AMRC) at Mohawk’s Fennell campus.

“I delivered on the concept but the real visionaries in seeing an industry need and putting the concept forward were Tony Thoma (Dean of Engineering Technology), Brad Bowman (Professor in Engineering Technology) and other colleagues,” said Gerritsen, who serves as AMRC’s coordinator and lead faculty researcher.

In a nutshell, additive manufacturing creates an object by building up layers of plastic or metal material. That’s different from traditional manufacturing techniques, such as machining, casting and milling which remove material to form a part.

The industrial-strength additive manufacturing printers in Mohawk’s $2.5-million lab takes computer-generated digital or CAD files and prints them within oxygen-free chambers using a laser to fuse fine layers of plastic or metal powder into solid forms.

“This is one of the best-equipped labs in the country and then added to that we have an enormous amount of local expertise at McMaster and the CANMET lab to support the AMRC. This is developing into an industry cluster around additive manufacturing. Our centre helps attract businesses to the region.”

The big advantage of additive manufacturing is the ability to create objects that are either impossible or too costly to create with conventional techniques. There’s the added bonus of far less waste of valuable and costly materials. Products can also be built as whole units rather than as parts needing assembly. That cuts down on labour and eliminates potential failure points such as bolts, adhesives or welds.

The machines can print multiple copies of the same part or dozens of different ones at the same time. But the printers are still slow compared to other manufacturing techniques and the process doesn’t work well for producing parts in large volumes.

Gerritsen says 3D printing is just another tool for industry, not an across-the-board solution. It can produce designs not possible through conventional techniques. As Gerritsen explains, curved holes can’t be drilled but they can be printed.

“It’s the right tool for the right job,” he said. “It deals very well with complexity and can produce impossible geometry.”

The “pride and joy” in the lab’s equipment is an EOS M280 direct metal laser sintering machine, which can produce parts out of stainless steel, chrome, titanium, nickel, aluminum and other metals. Only a few academic institutions in Canada have that technology. None are currently available at a college or university in Ontario.

The facility is also home to an EOS P395 selective laser sintering machine, which prints parts in polyamide, polystyrene and thermoplastics. A Stratasys FDM printer and state-of-the-art design tools, as well as other additive accessories, are also in the lab.

Demand for industry partnerships has been huge. The client roster is now well over 100, with Mohawk partnering to educate, develop new materials and find additive manufacturing solutions to production challenges.

Mohawk works with McMaster and CANMET to offer a “one-stop shop” to clients in aerospace, healthcare, consumer goods and a wide range of industrial production.

Use and access to the lab continues to grow. Adding to a roster of targeted industry workshops and internships and co-ops using the lab’s resources, Mohawk kicked off is first embedded course at the start of the year. The course is offered to third-year mechanical engineering technology students.

“We are constantly thinking about the evolution of the lab, such as degree offerings and post-grad certificates.”

The lab is already a terrific recruiting tool for the college and one of the clearest manifestations of Mohawk’s commitment to collaborations, partnerships and applied research, he says. Mohawk aims to be among the top 10 colleges in Canada for applied research activity.

Students who have trained in the lab are immediately snapped up for industry jobs.

“This affords them access to absolutely state-of-the-art equipment in a rapidly emerging technology.” says Gerritsen. “They have skills and experience that are in heavy demand and short supply.”

AMRC received a total of $720,000 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund, along with industry partners.

And support from Mohawk’s leadership for the lab has been “outstanding,” says Gerritsen.

“When you start engaging with applied research and new emerging technology, it takes some fortitude and strength to make one of the best labs in the country a reality. That’s what we’ve achieved here at Mohawk.”

Contact Robert at:

robert.gerritsen@mohawkcollege.ca

Spotlight on is written by Freelance writer and editor Meredith MacLeod.

Follow Meredith on Twitter @meredithmacleod

Mohawk College educates and serves 30,000 full-time, part-time and apprenticeship students at three campuses in Hamilton, Ontario. Mohawk has been ranked the number one of the college in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area for student satisfaction for the past six years and number one for graduate satisfaction and employment for the past four years. Mohawk has also been recognized as one of Canada’s greenest employers and one of the top employers in Hamilton-Niagara.

In a project led by Mohawk professors Reid Flock and Robert Gerritsen, a Neolithic Jomon piece from Japan, owned by Burlington, Ontario-based retired architect James Koyanagi, was scanned using a high resolution CT (computerized tomography) scanner. Thanks to Trillium Health Partners - Mississauga Hospital and Siemens Healthcare, a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash CT, was used during a staff training session. As a result of this partnership and collaboration with the three teams, an exact replica of the interior and exterior of the vase was able to be reproduced using an additive manufacturing technology called selective laser sintering.

The Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre is now among the first in Canada and the only college in Ontario to use a combination of 3D scanning and 3D printing to advance archeological conservation and preservation. It is also among the first to use medical data to build a CAD file that could recreate an archeological piece.

The resulting plastic vase, printed in a grade of Nylon 12, is an exact replica of the original 4,000 BCE piece. The replica will allow researchers to examine the full details of the original fragile piece, without risking damage or harm to the piece. Additionally, from the model that was made from the scan, it is now possible to recreate the missing pieces of the vase both digitally and physically through further 3D printing.

From concept to execution, the project incorporated an interdisciplinary approach. Mohawk’s Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre (AMRC), established in 2014, has already been praised as being a hot spot of applied research, educating and testing for the 3D printing and additive manufacturing revolution. For the Jomon project, the Centre’s researchers and students collaborated with Mohawk’s ceramics faculty and healthcare professionals based at Sunnybrook hospital.

QUOTES: 

Downloadable video of the vase is available at: https://vimeo.com/143034234.

For more information, please contact:

Andrea Johnson
Promotions and Industry Liaison Officer
Mohawk College
Phone: 905-870-3049
andrea.johnson4@mohawkcollege.ca

Ann Adair
VP Communications & Government Affairs
Siemens Canada
Phone: 416-567-7831
ann.adair@siemens.com
Follow us: www.twitter.com/siemenscanada

• Today’s announcement includes over $34 million through the CCI Program, which is managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

• Since its launch in 2009, the CCI program has supported 102 colleges across Canada, through over 1124 projects and $293.3 million.

• The Government of Canada is also investing nearly $2 million through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s CIIF Program. The CIIF seeks to enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada by providing them with key industry-relevant equipment to foster partnerships with the private sector.

• Since the creation of the CIIF in 2012, over $22 million in industry-relevant infrastructure support has been awarded to enhance the capacity of colleges to support business innovation in Canada and to foster partnerships with the private sector.

• Recently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered on the government’s commitment to provide an updated science and technology strategy. The strategy, Seizing Canada’s Moment, is a vision and a roadmap for strengthening Canada’s position as a global leader in scientific research while looking to harness greater Canadian research and development that create jobs, increase prosperity and improve the quality of life of Canadians.

• The CCI and CIIF programs corresponds to all three pillars of the updated science and technology strategy (Knowledge, People and Innovation) by developing highly skilled people, building research knowledge and sharing this expertise with business to improve processes and technologies.

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AMRC Grand Opening at Mohawk College from Communications and Media on Vimeo.

• The Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre serves as a test lab for advanced manufacturers and a living lab for Mohawk’s Engineering Technology students.

• Only three colleges and universities in Canada have 3D printers that can produce metal parts. Mohawk’s centre is the only one of its kind in Ontario.

• The $2 million Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre received matching $720,000 grants from both the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund, with additional funding from industry partners and the college.

• The centre features two advanced printers that turn digital images into three dimensional models, prototypes, tooling and production parts made out of titanium, aluminium, nickel, stainless steel, bronze and other metals. The centre also has plastic printers for creating preliminary designs.

• Mohawk is already working with 43 advanced manufacturers and government and education partners on applied research projects that:
  
  
  
  • Test the feasibility of making existing products using additive manufacturing.
  
  
  • Improve the designs of existing products and reduce costs.
  
  
  • Design new products that cannot be manufacturing using conventional processes.
  
  
  • Develop and test new materials to manufacture products using additive manufacturing.
  
  
  
  

• In addition to the Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre, Mohawk also conducts applied projects with industry, education and government partners at the Mohawk eHealth Development and Innovation Centre (MEDIC) and the Applied Research Centre in Energy.

• More than 4,500 students are enrolled in Mohawk’s Faculty of Engineering Technology program and the collaborative Bachelor of Technology degree program in partnership with McMaster University. Applied research capstone projects are incorporated into the students’ curriculum and co-op work terms.