Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

CFM is a member of the J.D. Irving Limited family of companies and is one of Atlantic Canada's leading fabricating, machining and technical services company. CFM is looking to invest in leading edge fabrication and machining technologies through the acquisition of additive manufacturing equipment. CFM approached the New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) to partner on a research initiative to jointly explore technological advances in additive manufacturing with the intent to create a center of excellence in New Brunswick. CFM will utilize the expertise of the NBCC faculty in this area to research specific components that may benefit from the inclusion of additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, encompasses manufacturing technologies that create objects by addition rather than subtraction (through milling, for example). While 3D printing technologies were developed more than 30 years ago, this decade has seen a rapid advancement in tools, techniques, and applications in both commercial and consumer arenas (1). Although AM techniques have progressed greatly, many challenges remain to be addressed. These challenges include the limited materials that can be used in the AM process and lack of standards for the AM process (2). This project and partnership seeks to leverage the expertise between CFM and NBCC to explore solutions to these challenges and build a robust AM program at CFM.