Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools and their controllers are large capital investments formanufacturing industries in any sector including aerospace. With the advent of Lean Manufacturing andprocess optimization, there's a need for greater flexibility in the manufacturing process. One of the limitingfactors in improving the processes is the amount of memory available on the controller. Maximizing machinetool memory size is needed in the aerospace and mold making sectors. The Yaskawa Yasnac i80 controller cantake up to 2MB of memory, but the original manufacturer can no longer supply them. This controller waswidely sold in North America and according to recent estimates there are at least 500 of them just in theprovince of Ontario. A large aerospace manufacturer has shown great interest in upgrading their controllers.The object of the project is to develop a new printed circuit board by reverse engineering the old design. Thenew memory card will use modern components with lower production costs. The project includes the design ofa 2MB memory with a lithium battery backup, the testing and validation of this new design. The project isexpected to take 4 months with 3 students working on it, as well as 1 faculty member supervising their work.This will allow students to gain valuable skills in designing and prototyping printed circuit boards for oldermachinery.