CAMDT Research Projects

 

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: Acrebot Inc.

Principle Investigator: Ramzy Ganady, CAMDT

Student Research Assistants: Mohamed Kasim (MEET), Darius Inniss (MEET), Yashkumar Rajeshbhai Patel (MEET)

Technology Areas:Robotics, Vision, Mechanical design, and programming

In this project, we developed a vision-guided robotic harvester capable of harvesting tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers. This project addressed the advanced prototyping of end of arm tooling for a robotic arm, and the testing of all parts of the system together (navigation, vision, harvest).

The Challenge: The main challenge of this project was developing a system that is both reliable and repeatable.

The Solution:Multiple prototypes have been designed, fabricated, and tested. Various cycles of teaching the vision system were also performed. In the end, the system was able to harvest different types of vegetables successfully.

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: Compact Mould Ltd.

Principle Investigator: Dr. John Phillips, CAMDT 

Student Research Assistants: Drew Pitchford (MEET)

Technology Areas: Metal 3D printing, Metal mold cooling

A key challenge in the manufacturing of parts via blow moulding is the cooling time required; cooling typically makes up 80 to 85 percent of the overall cycle time. Proper cooling time is not only a major factor in the end quality of a part — it's the most time consuming component of a molding cycle.

The Challenge: Molds and blow pins are typically manufactured using CNC machines and are therefore limited to designs that are achievable with subtractive manufacturing processes.

The Solution: Three different blow molding components with custom cooling strategies were designed and manufactured using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) 3D metal printing technology. The designs were analyzed and optimized before manufacturing using CFD thermal modeling and compared to traditional conventionally machined cooling strategies. The parts were made using 316L stainless steel which is suboptimal for mold tooling and cooling but were successfully tested. The 3D metal printed parts were shown to decrease molding cycle times when compared to the conventionally machined parts.

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: Simplified Automation Inc.

Principle Investigator: Nicholas Johnston (Applied Computing, FAST)

Student Research Assistants: Imaan Kamau-Wanjiru (ACOMP), Omar Kooliyat (ACOMP)

Technology Areas: Cybersecurity, Authentication, Software Security Controls

This project reviewed the current login flow in detail so the existing security controls can be documented and assessed. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for login was later introduced to support users without email addresses. Secure password and other MFA credential resets were also enabled.

The Challenge: Missing or outdated security controls of the web application login and password reset workflow results in vulnerability to attack and compromise. An approach needed to be taken to introduce industry standard and appropriate security controls for industrial applications.

The Solution: Identified security control gaps were addressed by a solution proposal. The environmental constraints of the factory environments necessitated the research and development of authentication workflows beyond standard authenticating factors such as email addresses or mobile devices. The newly developed security workflows were implemented into a testing environment, with security and functionality testing carried out.  The security controls test solution was then transferred to SA for implementation into the production environment by the industry partner (execution is underway).

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: Rex Power Magnetics

Principle Investigators: Ramzy Ganady, CAMDT; Saleh Jiddawi, CAMDT Researchers

Student Research Assistants: Drew Pitchford (MEET), Mohamed Kasim (MEET)

Technology Areas: Robotics, Programming, Pneumatic Design, Industrial Automation

The project aim was development of an alternative process to improve productivity, to replace a process that is highly repetitive and prone to injury. This project successfully automated the stacking of u-shaped, steel laminations, to create an industrial process that was repeatable and reliable without human intervention.

The Challenge: In a single core, laminations varied widely in weight, rigidity, and length. The laminations were also extremely thin and non-rigid during movement.

The Solution: The team solved this challenge using a magnetic gripper mounted onto one of the ABB Robots. The gripper had a custom cushion pad with a slight draft angle that would bend the u-shaped laminations outward. A spreader was used to spread the laminations apart before the stacking process to improve repeatability. The end of the process stacked laminations in an upright position, rotated to a horizontal position and ejected the stack to a nearby conveyor.

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner:Stern Laboratories Inc

Principle Investigator:Joaquin Moran, MEET

Technology Areas: Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

This project utilized Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and High Performance Computing (HPC) systems for simulation of flow in nuclear reactor fuel channels. Single-phase CFD models were used to study the flow characteristics, heat transfer and temperature distribution inside a fuel channel. The fuel model analyzed was a CANDU 37M, currently in-use in Ontario nuclear reactors. Our goal was to better understand the heat transfer characteristics of the fuel channels in order to develop safer reactors, providing support to Ontario's clean energy industry.

The Challenge: Using numerical models to predict the heat transfer characteristics (and temperature profile) of fuel elements subjected to fluid flow, in order to compare to experimental data.

The Solution:The simulations carried out using the computational package ANSYS, were first based on a simplified geometrical model of the fuel elements. After fine-tuning the initial conditions, boundary conditions and other parameters, two turbulence models (RSM and K-epsilon) were tested in order to predict the temperature profile on the surface of the fuel tubes. The temperature values obtained in the simulation were compared to experimental data collected by Stern Labs. It was found that better turbulence mixing was captured by the RSM model, which reduced the azimuthal temperature gradients in a better agreement with the test data. A new (more detailed) geometrical model was created for the next stage of the study, in order to validate a full-scale simulation using increased computational capabilities.

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: Guelph Orthotics Inc

Principle Investigator: Dr. John Phillips, CAMDT  

Foot and skate position has been found to be significant in creating an efficient and powerful skating stride. Based on the natural position and alignment characteristics of feet some athletes are at either and advantage or disadvantage when it comes to their skating stride.

The Challenge: The production of a hockey skate orthotic which may improve performance.

The Solution: The production of a 3D printed prototype which can be used for real world testing by the industry partner.

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: Dapasoft Inc.

Principle Investigator: Saleh Jiddawi, CAMDT

Co-Investigators: Somayyeh Poshtiban, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering & Technology (MEET) / Douglas Whitton (Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design (FAAD), IxD )

Student Research Assistants: Sanket Patel (MEET) Yara Kashlan (FAAD)

Technology Areas: Electronics prototyping, IoT, Interaction Design

In the rapidly evolving pandemic, this research project will use cutting-edge technology to develop a geotracking wearable wristband.

The Challenge: The main challenge addressed is that of monitoring and tracking individuals under the 14-day quarantine due to COVID19 regulations primarily related to travel restrictions.

The Solution: Design and produce an aesthetically appealing, functional prototype(s) of the quarantine tracking wristband.

Funding Agency/Program: FedDev Ontario/ SONAMI

Industry Partner: 2unify

Principle Investigator: Saleh Jiddawi, CAMDT / Ramzy Ganady, CAMDT

Technology Areas: AI, Prototyping

This research project will work on improving their existing automated smart stand to ensure higher accuracy, easier assembly, and a smoother hands-free experience to guitar tuning. Next generation 2unify stands will be able to tune any stringed instrument for musicians and music institutions.

The Challenge: Challenges addressed in this project were related to the cost of manufacturing, assembly time, safe transportation, cord management and the mechanical motion of the prototype.

The Solution: Project produced 5 prototypes - each one incrementally better than the last. Each prototype focused on improving multiple aspects of the challenges shared above.